“Then I would be in rather a lot of trouble with both my mother and my father.” Sidony shrugs a shoulder, acting as if none of this bothers her at all. “With Octavian being a member of the Mortalitasi it falls to me to make the political marriage and I’m afraid choice has never been part of the equation.”

It makes her feel a little nauseous - this is not entirely dissimilar to a conversation she’d had with Anders not so long ago. Breathing out, she tries not to wrinkle her nose too horrifically. She does not see herself as a proper wife despite her training.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be horrendous, but I have read about pregnancies. I’d rather not engage for as long as it might be avoided.”