Her grip tightened for a moment, and then she let him go. “Me, too.”
It had been so hard to see her injuries every day and not be able to do anything about them.
“Will you sit with me?” she asked. “If he wishes me to leave afterwards, I will do so.”
“Of course,” Trill agreed. “Let me get us something to drink.”
Yannoma headed to the study, and Trill was turned away from making tea in the kitchen, the cook and housekeeper insisting that they would have it sent to the study shortly. Trill asked the housekeeper to let Perian know that they needed to speak with him when he was available. Then he went to the study to join Yannoma in the armchairs by the fire.
She’d sat in the one that was further away from the flames, but she hadn’t run off while his back was turned.
“You intend to stay with the two pretty Mage Warriors?” she asked.
There was no censure in her voice, but maybe a bit of friendly mockery.
He bit his lip and nodded. “They asked me to. Until we know if the Prince is successful in his efforts to change how the Queenand everyone thinks about us, I’ll have to stay hidden from everyone else. But I won’t have to hide from a whole group of people, which is amazing.”
“The Prince intends to change the Queen’s mind?” Yannoma asked.
Trill had forgotten that she’d left the table before the Prince had made his declaration. He filled her in.
She huffed a breath and said dismissively, “So young.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what we need,” Trill insisted. “Someone young enough to dream.”
She looked annoyed for a moment, but then her expression softened. “I would be astonished if this dream became reality, but if he makes a true effort to achieve it, it would be more than anyone has done in a long time.” She pinned him with a stern look. “Be careful. If you become an object of political machinations, you could come to harm.”
Trill nodded. He trusted these people, but he agreed that it could spin out of control if they weren’t careful.
“I fear that it’s Perian who will become the focus of everything,” he confessed, “since he’s the one the Queen knows about.”
Her face tightened. “True.”
“But,” Trill hastened to add, “I don’t know anyone who could stand up to Brannal. He’s incredibly formidable.”
She nodded, but said, “Any one person can be overwhelmed.”
That was also true. An impenetrable shield only stayed that way as long as you could maintain it.
Still, though, it was a good place to start. Trill would much rather have Brannal in his corner than against him.
The housekeeper brought them a loaded tea tray, complete with biscuits, milk, and sugar. Trill prepared it for himself and Yannoma. She had easy use of her hands now, but Trill had gotten used to doing some of the finer work for her. Tea wasalways a good idea, because then even if you didn’t know what to talk about, you had something to do with your hands and mouth.
They were on their second cup by the time there was a knock on the door, and Perian entered, followed by Brannal.
“Good morning! Evalon said you wanted to talk to me?” He greeted them cheerfully, though he looked a little worried.
Yannoma shot Trill a look, but he shrugged unapologetically.
“Yes,” Yannoma said reluctantly.
“Do you need privacy?” Brannal asked, glancing between them. It was clear he didn’t want to leave.
“No, you’d better stay,” Yannoma said after a moment. “Trill, too, if you don’t mind.”
Perian glanced between them. “No, that’s fine. What’s going on? Is everything all right?”
“Come and sit down,” Trill offered.
