"He insists I am of more use as I am. Nevermind that I endure as many assassination attempts as him without getting shot and handle them without backup, that I've trained just as hard as any of his falcons, that I was meant to be a Merlin to our previous boss." Bitter thoughts and words welled up and overtook his common sense, eyes dark and pained behind crisp glass.

"And now he has little need of even the thought of me among them." Here he was, a member of the family on paper, doing the work of keeping the business running, caring as much as any- and set apart. "...I must apologize, you did not come to hear this."