Sahir was beside Dax when Rowan's voice drifted through the archway.
They had just left a meeting that smelled like dominant alpha pheromones, legal clauses, and the exact type of diplomacy that required teeth. The topic had been Rohan. The princess. The "incident." The uncomfortably strategic possibility that yesterday's events could be a partnership between Adonis Malek and Varlen. Sahir had been the one to say it aloud in that calm, unwavering way that meant it should not be ignored.
"If this was a test," he had said earlier at the council table, "then it was one of nerve. If it was a message, it was written in blood. And if it was a declaration… then Rohan has decided to involve themselves in Saha's internal stability in a way that is neither respectful nor deniable."
Dax had been quiet through most of it.
Quiet in that way that meant everyone had spoken carefully, because kings didn't always shout when they were furious. Sometimes they went very still.
