While Jaegel was still crouched behind the tree, knees shaking and mind spinning, he found himself frozen in thought.
The image of Liam, calmly striding through an inferno with the unconscious woman in his arms, seared itself into the front of his mind. Jaegel gulped, eyes wide, tongue slithering nervously past his lips before retreating.
'I have to stay useful,' he told himself. 'If I want to survive… no, if I want to live under him, I have to stay useful.'
But just as he was sinking further into that desperate train of thought—
"Jaegel."
The name struck him like a whip.
His heart nearly stopped.
He stumbled up to his feet, his back straightening unnaturally as if strings had pulled him upright. "Y-yes! Yes, my lord! Right here, your humble servant is right here!"
He moved quickly from behind the tree, walking briskly—but not too briskly—trying to project the perfect amount of obedience without seeming desperate.
But the truth was, he was watching everything.
