Flio could only stare at the man standing over him. His breath came in short, uneven gasps, and somehow the greenhouse felt much smaller than it had moments ago.
For a moment, Flio's mind simply refused to process the sentence. It was absurd. Completely improper, completely against everything Flio had been taught to do as Zarius's aide. Asking him to abandon Zarius wasn't just asking him to leave his position. It meant walking away from the person he'd devoted himself to serving.
"Do you even realize what you just said?" Flio's voice cracked slightly. He forced his jaw to set, fighting to pull his usual composure back over his face. "Tell me this is but a jest, Karson."
Karson didn't blink. The sunlight filtering through the high glass dome caught the sharp lines of his face, leaving deep shadows beneath his cheekbones. He didn't look like a man who had just made a fool of himself. He looked terrifyingly resolute.
