[There's the slightest twitch in his cool mask as soon as it comes to matters of demanding shards, something angry and absolutely repelled by the very idea. His expression comes back under control again fairly quickly, but a hint of it might leak into his tone.]

And if that time comes before I've somehow ruined her, then I'll come up with someone else to avoid it.

[There's a muted viciousness in the statement, but it vanishes as quickly as it came, and he moves on before any weight can settle there.]

But please, tell me how your interrogation went. Are the Seelie monarchs truly sweeter?