I sit.
He moves slowly, circling around me like a predator assessing prey. His wings rustle with each step. His claws click softly against the floor.
"Do you know why you are here?" he asks.
"For our session," I say. My voice sounds small. Uncertain.
"No."
He stops in front of me.
His amber eyes are glowing.
Not gold.
Orange.
Dangerous.
"You are here because I require an explanation," he says. "And you will provide one."
My stomach drops. "An explanation for what?"
He pulls a tablet from the supply station and taps the screen. A holographic display flickers to life between us—audio waveforms, timestamps, encrypted communication logs.
"Two days ago," he says, his voice completely flat, "you were contacted by a collection agency operating under the subsidiary umbrella of Sentinel Dynamics. They offered to erase your entire debt portfolio—fifty-seven thousand, four hundred and twelve dollars—in exchange for architectural blueprints of my obsidian vault security system."
My blood runs cold.
"Cyprian—"
"You did not report this contact to me," he continues. "You did not inform my security team. You did not utilize the emergency communication protocols I provided."
"I was going to—"
"You were going towhat?" His voice rises slightly. Not shouting. But sharp. Cutting. "You were going to inform me after you had time to consider the offer? After you had weighed the financial benefit against the risk of betrayal?"
"No!" I stand up, my hands clenched into fists. "I was going to show you the recording I made! I was going to prove that I told them to fuck off!"
He doesn't move.
Doesn't blink.
"A recording," he says slowly. "Which you have had in your possession for forty-eight hours. And yet you did not send it to me. You did not contact me. You waited."
"I wanted to show you in person!"
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to see my face when I told you I would never betray you!"
Silence.
His amber veins flicker.
"Your financial desperation is well-documented," he says. "Fifty-seven thousand dollars in medical debt. Three months behind on rent. Utility bills in collections. You were eating ramen and toast because you could not afford groceries."
My chest tightens. "So?"
