"No," Arion said.
Nero's smile didn't go away, but his posture changed, as if he had already known the answer and just wanted it to be made public.
Arion continued, voice level. "I consider both of you younger than me. That is not the same thing."
Caelan's eyes narrowed by a fraction.
Zion stopped trying to break Nero's foot.
Nero, because he was impossible, asked, "And if we were not younger?"
Sebastian closed his eyes briefly, perhaps in mourning.
Arion did not. "Then I would consider you by merit, not placement."
Then, because Arion and Sebastian were somehow the only two sensible people within immediate range of the disaster, Arion made the grave error of trying to mitigate whatever Nero had decided to set on fire.
"Is there a problem with the placement of the Palatine Crown Prince, Your Majesty?" he asked, turning to Caelan with that same flat, controlled tone.
Caelan's gaze shifted to him.
