"It is my honor to serve you, Your Highness!" He slowly knelt on one knee before me, his black robes pooling around him like spilled ink.
The gesture put me in an awkward position, reinforcing my suspicion that he had long schemed to gain something from me. His posture was flawless—the perfect picture of devotion—yet something about it felt calculated. His pale, elongated face, though composed, carried an icy detachment, and the distant gleam in his sunken, hawk-like eyes left me no choice but to remain wary. Those eyes had seen too much, schemed too deeply, to be trusted fully.
Yet, upon reflection, I could discern no benefit he might seek from me. What could a high priest want from a human princess entangled in vampire politics?
After a tense silence lasting three seconds, I couldn't help but ask, "Don't you need time to consider? I can grant you that."
