Cassian did not answer him. His golden eyes never left Lin Wan's sleeping form on the nearby diagnostic slab.
She looked very exhausted. Her small face had grown thinner, gaunt from her desperate escape through the woods. Ugly, dark purple bruises wrapped around her wrists where rough restraints had chafed against her pale skin during the trek back. Her breathing was quiet—almost too quiet.
Something raw and heavy inside Cassian's chest tightened.
The physician swallowed hard, his voice cracking under the sheer pressure radiating from the king. "I... I have personally confirmed it three times." He lowered his head further, until his nose touched the stone. "The female... is carrying new life."
The infirmary became deathly still. Even the flames of the candles seemed to freeze, stopping their flickering entirely.
Cassian's expression remained unreadable, a mask of pure ice. "...It appears my ears may be playing a game with me, Repeat what you just said."
