Liona said nothing.
Her silver eyes had gone cold the moment Celestia had casually mentioned what she'd overheard from the balcony, the part about Azael, about seducing the Empress, about the whole ridiculous exchange between him and Lucas.
The temperature of her gaze dropped several degrees.
Celestia noticed. Of course she noticed it clearly.
She pressed her lips together, trying and failing to hold back what came next.
She laughed.
It was not a polite, but a genuine one, bright, the kind that rarely escaped a woman of her composure. She set her wine glass down before she spilled it.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she said, waving a hand. "I'm not interested in him. Not in the way you're clearly imagining." Her blue eyes were bright with amusement. "Relax, Liona."
Liona's expression didn't soften.
"I am relaxed," she said flatly.
"You look like you're deciding where to bury someone."
"I'm deciding nothing."
