Zion was already inhaling, ready to call Dean back, ready to turn the entire hallway into a courtroom - when Arion tilted his head and leaned into the doorframe with an air that screamed danger.
"Leave him alone, Zion," Arion said, his voice cold enough to frost the marble.
Zion stopped mid-word like someone had pressed pause on him. His grin wavered, recalculated, then returned with bravado that was mostly a coping mechanism.
"You have no fun, Arion," Nero said instead, wickedly pleased, because Nero had never been smart enough to fear consequences in time. Or maybe because the consequences gave him more chances to fight.
"And you have no self-preservation instincts," Arion shot back without looking away from Zion. His gaze stayed steady, his posture relaxed, but the calm in him had sharpened into something that made even the guards at the end of the corridor pretend they hadn't heard anything.
Nero's smile only widened. "I'm still alive."
"Tragically," Arion replied.
