According to Eirene, it's probably his greatest strength. There is little that will stand against love, in whatever form it happens to take. Not that she thinks this is the right moment to tell him that.

"People think I'm more naive than I am," she speaks after another long silence. "Part of it, I think, is because his father never could get me under his thumb. That would be a coup for the house of Ares."

Now her shoulders tense.

"And I have rebuffed him several times. Were I his wife, I could not deny him the marriage bed or be punished for it."