There was certainly more to it. In reality, it wasn't just anguish.
If he had to put it into words, it felt like his heart had been carved out, leaving nothing but a hollow void, only for that emptiness to be swallowed by anguish so consuming it nearly drowned him.
No wonder his body shut down. That wasn't something anyone could just shake off.
And now the air between them was heavy, awkward, because Kael's reaction made it obvious he had been affected by what was said. The dragon lord's mask had cracked for a heartbeat. And while prying into the golden lizard's private business was the last thing on his list, neither did he want to be caught unprepared the next time this kind of thing happened.
What if he were in the middle of running for his life and suddenly collapsed because of it?
Wouldn't that be the most humiliating obituary ever? Human aide, flattened mid-sprint, cause of death: secondhand dragon feelings.
