Chapter 11 The Debt Collector's Shadow

• Kaelen's mood shifted after the prince left. He sat at the counter with the inn's ledger spread open, running his finger down the columns of numbers. His jaw was tight, and he kept tapping the crutch against the floor like a nervous habit.
• "You're staring," he said without looking up.
• I was. I couldn't help it. The prince's retreat should have felt like a victory, but Kaelen looked like a man bracing for a storm.