Tobias coughed, a flush of color hitting his cheeks as he realized he had overstepped with a high-ranking royal. "Ah, no... no, that wasn't exactly what I meant. My apologies." He quickly turned back to his shimmering info book, fingers dancing over the pages to hide his embarrassment. "But what exactly is this 'path animal'? I'm checking the archives now, and I see no mention of an evolving dragon on the high-tier bounty list."
Lord Zedd's gaze went cold as he watched the creature in the clearing. "This one is special. Let's just leave it at that. Some things are kept off the info books for a reason."
The conversation inside the barrier had shifted from immediate terror to the cold, calculating reality of global politics. The golden walls of Tobias's bell-shield hummed, vibrating with the sheer pressure of the mana gathering outside, but inside, a darker truth was being unraveled.
