Sairis's POV
The words hit a little closer than he liked to admit. He was worried about Loreen, no matter how much he tried not to show it. But there was certainly no way Sairis was going to show that side of him to Loreen.
He slowly lifted his gaze and met Loreen's eyes directly. "I guess I am," he said quietly.
The silence that followed stretched between them, quiet but not empty.
Loreen leaned back slightly, his gaze drifting again. "My mother died like this," he said suddenly.
Sairis looked up at him.
"It started the same way," Loreen continued, his voice calm but distant. "They said it was a blood illness. Something hidden. Something that could not be stopped."
He paused, his fingers curling slightly against the table.
"But it was not."
Sairis frowned. He knew the part where the royal physician had told the royal family that Loreen's mother was sick and dying, but what did Loreen mean when he said it was not? "What do you mean?"
