A full minute later Angel was as tense as ever, but when he placed his hand over Angel’s heart, the thumping was slower. Still in a state of heightened stress and awareness, Angel was hanging on to his mental and physical integrity for dear life. Just a year ago Angel would have pissed himself when subjected to this level of stress, so his improvement was a testament to how far he had come.
“Is your breathing okay?” Kael asked.
Angel nodded, but the muscles in his thin body tensed again and a strained moan issued from inside the hood. The boy was walking a finely balanced tightrope between screaming panic and stability. Kael had seen it many times before, both in slaves who walked voluntarily into his dungeon and men and women in real-life torture situations, so he knew the psychological
