Arik entered the family breakfast room twelve minutes late and alone.
Damian looked up from the tablet beside his coffee.
His son had made very little effort to resemble a visiting sovereign.
Arik wore dark trousers and a black shirt with the sleeves pushed carelessly to his forearms, the collar left open and his hair still carrying enough disorder to suggest Severin had succeeded in removing him from bed but had not convinced him to cooperate with anything that came afterward.
Damian glanced toward the empty doorway behind him.
"Where is Liam?"
"Coming later."
Arik crossed the room and dropped into the chair opposite him.
