Chapter 26

• The King’s lips twitched into what could barely be called a smile—a fleeting gesture that vanished as quickly as it appeared. The expression did little to soften the sharp angles of his face or the coldness in his eyes. “I see,” Lucas murmured, his gaze drifting away as if the matter of Isabel and her efforts were already beneath his notice.
• “She has been moved into your old role,” he said, his tone dismissive, as though the rearrangement of lives and positions was no more significant than shifting chess pieces on a board.
• Lucas’s brow furrowed momentarily, confusion flickering across his face, but he quickly shrugged with an air of indifference. “Anyway,” he continued, changing the subject with practiced ease, “we’ll meet tomorrow to discuss the details, but for now, you are to oversee all things slave-related—necessities, jobs, tasks like that.”