The guardians came for Saret at two in the afternoon. Alir was among them, his black eyes cold and expressionless.
When they reached for him, Saret shrugged off their hands and walked out of the room on his own, following them toward his execution chamber.
Laira was already there, looking somber as befitting the occasion. Saret had met her once and immediately disliked her. She reminded him of Korum. Same sharp intelligence, same ruthless ambition. She applied to work in his lab a few decades ago, before she became known as a rising star in the field. After a brief interview, Saret turned down her application, enjoying the crushed look on her face when he told her she was unqualified.
There was some twisted irony in her being his executioner today.
They strapped him down on a float, ma
