|Kairos|
“Congratulations,” Thorne said as he approached, his voice smooth with just the right edge of sarcasm to make it hard to tell if he truly meant it. That ever-present smirk curved on his lips, the kind that made you wonder if he was amused or mocking. I gave him a tired shake of my head in response, knowing better than to take his words at face value.
He raised the slender stem of his crystal flute with practiced elegance. I mirrored the gesture, and the soft chime of our glasses meeting broke through the ambient hum of conversation around us.
“First, you shocked us all by getting married,” Thorne went on, his tone light but his eyes sharp. “Now you’re expecting an heir. What else are you hiding up your sleeve, Kairos? You’ve turned into quite the man of surprises.”
He ended hi
