'Well, I know what my father would say,' Damen replied, his smile still warm, still fond as he watched the way in which Laurent cradled his glass of water. There hadn't been a single moment Damen had considered Laurent small or helpless, not even when Laurent had been drugged and targeted for assassination.

But now he seemed... slight in a way. Still not small and certainly not helpless, but younger as he spoke of his brother. 'But it does seem as though your uncle has poisoned many things. I do wish we might have seen a Court under the rule of King Auguste if he was anything like the man you remember.'