Emery was not well-versed in the procedural intricacies of Magus Alliance law, but he understood enough to recognize that something was deeply wrong. A preliminary hearing conducted within just days of his capture—without his presence, without formal interrogation, without counsel—was not merely irregular. It was deliberate. It meant pressure. It meant orchestration.
Yet none of that mattered as much as the question burning through him.
"How is Klea?" he asked.
She stared at him, incredulous. "That's the first thing you ask?"
"Klea," he repeated, more firmly.
Her frustration faltered. She exhaled slowly, then answered.
"She's at my estate. Under my protection. I have the best healers available tending to her."
A pause.
"Unfortunately... She hasn't woken."
The words hollowed him.
"Let me see her" Emery asked.
