"I spoke with him directly," Adrian admitted finally. "Not simply observation, Elena. A conversation, several days after the courtyard incident with Garrick's spy. I sought him out deliberately."
"Why would you seek him out?" Elena asked, studying him carefully now.
"Because I needed to understand him," Adrian said. "Not simply as my rival for your hand, but as the man my own father fears enough to order me away from. I provoked him once, you may remember, touching your hand deliberately in that training yard weeks ago, specifically to test his reaction."
"I remember," Elena said, the memory of Logan's eyes flashing gold still vivid in her mind. "You admitted that test afterward."
"What I did not admit," Adrian continued, "was how carefully I studied his reaction in the days following.
