"What did you do to him?" I ask again, softer this time.
His gaze holds mine.
"I reminded him what's at stake and what he's job truly entails."
My stomach tightens.
"How."
He reaches out and brushes a damp strand of hair away from my cheek.
The gesture is almost gentle.
"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
I search his face for something...remorse, maybe?.
Instead, I see certainty.
"He'll still protect you," Zane adds. "Better than before."
"Because he's scared?"
"Because he understands now."
I swallow.
"You scare people into loyalty?."
"I enforce structure."
"That's not the same thing."
He studies me for a long second.
"You walked out of here knowing there were threats outside these gates," he says. "You put yourself in reach."
"I know."
"You put him in a position where he had to choose between disobeying you or disobeying me."
I don't answer because he's right.
