Kael stood in his father's study, head bowed, his mind racing faster than he could keep pace with.
"As I told you, Father," he said carefully, "we found the woman His Highness was looking for in Aurelmont. But on the way here, in the forest, she was attacked by monsters. His Highness went feral and used an Aurelion Lattice, killing half the creatures there."
He paused and looked up, gauging his father's reaction.
Edric sat behind the elaborate desk with his hands folded before him, his expression unreadable. He looked at Kael the way a man might look at a blade to see whether it had been properly sharpened.
Kael swallowed.
Should he continue?
He had never in his life thought this much before speaking.
"And this woman…" he went on, choosing each word with care, "I found her in the forest. She is feral. She has not lived in civilized society for at least a decade. She is malnourished. Scarred."
It was not entirely a lie.
