My brother looks up as we near. His eyes on my wife, he tenses. A forkful of pancakes covered in syrup hovers in front of his scared lips.
“Morning,” he says tightly. Ducking his head, he shovels food into his mouth.
“Morning,” my queen responds brightly as we walk over to join him.
I pull out her chair, then scoot her in. Taking my place on her left, I sit opposite my brother.
“Have a pleasant night?” Nicholas asks, each word a monotone of control. I know he wants to excuse himself, to hide away in his solidarity, but I rarely get to see him (if someone attacks, it’ll be harder for them to take us both out at once) and I want him to feel comfortable around my wife.
Blushing, Arienna glances at me and Jace as he sits down beside me. “Ah, yes… very uh… pleasant.”
“Deliciouslypleasant,” Jace adds, helping himself to a stack of pancakes. Unlike Nicholas, he smothers his in a soft cheese, topped with parsnip sauce rather than in something disgustingly sweet. I pick up my fork, wanting to stab him in the hand with it.
Instead, I grab my wife’s plate and use the fork to pile savoury pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fried snakon, crispy slices of snake meat, onto it.
My brother grins with understanding. His eyes on me, his shoulders relax just slightly. “I thought you weren’t the sharing type.”
“He’s not.” Jace digs into his breakfast with a gusto I hope he chokes on. “He had me –”
“Eat all of it,” I tell my queen as I place her plate back in front of her. My eyes briefly shut as laughter churns up all around me.
“That he did,” Arienna giggles, setting the two off even louder.
Shaking my head, I fill my own plate. By the time the two idiots and my queen finally stop laughing, not only have I finished my breakfast but Nicholas’ guard has too. He went outside to swap places with Irin. She’s also finished, and now Marrabel sits with us.
There is pain in her eyes, but there is a lightness too. Death comes too quickly in this world, and Saragese is not the first person she’s lost. She has already buried her grief under a mountain of rock, left to be ignored.
Turning my attention to Nicholas, I ask him about last night and what terms the Vylian king has to keep the peace betweenour kingdoms. There’s nothing extravagant in his requests. He wants his people taken back to Vyla and their wares paid for. He is still keen to try the markets in his kingdom too, and they will open next week as planned. He’s heading home this morning, with an escort of our Royal Guard, led by Echo, but he’ll be back in three days’ time to collect those Deirdre manages to resurrect. His queen will stay in Vyla.
“Find Deirdre and pay the going rate for her services. Do not accept any alternative,” I tell my brother. She’ll want to barter with her payment, offering to do it at a discount if we deny the Vylian herbalist the right to open up shop here. After yesterday’s attack, he might not want to expand into Raza anyway, but she never was one for relying on luck.
He nods and finishes the last of his breakfast. Just as he stands though, Fabia walks into the room, heading towards Marrabel’s recently vacated chair.
“What are you doing here?” he demands.
“I’m in Ari– Queen Arienna’s guard.”
“The hel you are.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” she says sarcastically. “I’m just lying, and everyone here is in on it.”
“Richard,” Nicholas starts as he turns to me. “She’s still in training.”
“Which is why she isn’t guarding Arienna on her own.”
“But do you want to borrow her for the day?” my queen asks, perking up with a sly smile. “Or the night?”
“Arienna,” Fabia hisses.
“Can I do that? Order them on a date?” she asks as she looks at me.
“Yes,” I say because fuck it; it’ll do my brother some good to do something for fun for once.
“Fabia –”
“Richard!” Nicholas snaps.
“Arienna,” Fabia hisses, “I’m trying to learn to protect you. I can’t do that if I’m off on a date.”
