"Not bad. Fine on the tongue. A World Dragon's less rank than I'd figured—not so gamy." Behind the words, Orion's head was full of the grim picture of Leonidas split open and his heart scooped out.
It was a cold joke that didn't quite land. Neither Commander nor Kaidric picked it up; they were more interested in the roasting, and they set to it themselves.
"That fabled Sovereign of the Boundless Expanse never showed. My guess is a Divine Mantle drops a sixth-stage apex into a deep sleep, and short of dire need they won't wake." Orion turned his spit with care, working the heat on the heart while he laid out the read he'd taken off the fight. "If that holds, we can pull in more allies and push our borders out as far as they'll go while the chance lasts."
