Polo stood near the window.
He had spent the last hour receiving reports, sending orders, and refusing to look as tired as everyone else. Now he held one curtain aside with two fingers, studying the dark inner courtyard below.
Yise leaned against the wall beside the door, arms folded.
"You will see very little from there."
Polo adjusted his glasses. "I see enough."
"With those?"
Polo looked over his shoulder.
Yise smiled.
Metheea had already learned that smile meant he had found someone to provoke and intended to enjoy himself.
"My eyesight is adequate," Polo said.
"I am sure it has improved."
"Since when?"
"Since you began standing close enough to frighten the glass."
Polo released the curtain.
"Would you prefer to take my place?"
Yise glanced toward Metheea. "The company is better here."
Metheea met his gaze.
He smiled at her as though the room held no sleeping Regent, no exhausted guards outside, and no reports arriving every few minutes.
