Sairis's POV
Sairis watched quietly as the king lowered himself onto the bench beside him. Even now, he still could not fully believe it had worked.
When he had stepped into the room and spoken Athena's name aloud, he had honestly expected guards to rush him to the ground. At the very least, he had expected Markus to explode at him for daring to speak so boldly in that manner.
Instead, the opposite had happened.
The king had stopped and calmed down.
Just like that, there was no more shouting. No more throwing things across the room. The rage that had filled the sunroom moments ago had faded into something quieter, heavier.
Sairis pressed his lips together as he studied the older man carefully.
Markus looked tired.
Not physically. It was something deeper than that. His shoulders were tense, his jaw tight, but his eyes kept drifting toward Loreen, who sat across the room while Ardent wrapped cloth around his injured arm.
