She smiled and looked at Octavian, who was watching the parade with an amused smile.
Her heart skipped a beat.
He looked so happy. She hadn't expected that he would be so happy. He'd seemed happy before, of course. She'd not seen him as unhappy, exactly. He was a more stoic man than many, but not a gloomy one.
He just. He was so. He was glowing right then.
He looked so excited and so alive and full of life. His eyes were bright, and he looked like he couldn't be any more content or satisfied than he was at that very moment. She was happy he'd found such joy in their marriage. It made her happy too.
He'd given up his home for her. His rightful throne.
And yet even though she grappled with whether that was right, and whether she should feel guilty and reject it, he didn't look the least bit unhappy.
It was a little intimidating. But that was mostly her own sense of inadequacy and not him.