I hear him shift before his weight settles next to me. “So, what, you’re planning on spending the whole trip in this room?”
“So what if I am?”
He snorts at that. “Olbric,look at me.”
His voice holds that dangerous, authoritative tone I’m so familiar with. Before he was kidnapped by Diran, he was one of my more regular evocation casters, and a... devastatingly effective one at that.
Reluctantly, I roll, turning to face him. I’m met with an open-handed slap on the cheek. It’s not particularly hard, but it’s abrupt enough to send an unexpected shock through me.
“What the fu -” I start, but my outrage is cut short when his hand finds my throat. It silences me, and I’m given no choice but to meet Alix’s sympathetic gaze that stares me down.
“You needed that.” He squeezes gently, making my eyelids flutter as pleasure chases off some of my misery. The gentleness in his voice is at odds with what his hand is doing. “Look, I get it. You’ve got a complicated relationship with your father, and you don’t want to be here. Frankly, I don’t want to be here, either. Feels like I just got back to the Crux and Orabelle only to be pulled away again. So, let’s at least be tolerable to each other, yeah?”
I swallow as he loosens his grip on my neck. “I-I don’t want to see him tonight. Please.”
The hand on my neck travels up to cup my cheek. “You’re going to have to face him eventually.”
“I know.” I sigh and lean into his hand. “I... I know he’s going to try and keep me here. I’m just not sure what tactic he’s going to use yet. I’d... like to avoid him until I have a better idea.”
“See, nowthat’san answer I can accept,” he says, tapping my cheek gently. “Just know I’ll slap you some more if you try to take your bad mood out on me again.”
I give a huff of a laugh as I flop back against the bed. “And if I take my bad mood out on you again, I welcome any and all slapping. God knows I’ll need the distraction.”
Alix’s smile is a little sharp. “Good thing I brought some casting supplies just for the occasion.”
The fact that Alix knew I might need his particular brand of stress relief makes warmth gather in my chest. “Thanks, Alix.”
He gets to his feet. “I’ll tell Arlon you’re not coming. Rest up, alright?”
I hug my pillow a little tighter. “I will.”
He sweeps out of the room, and I hear the chatter of the rest of the delegation gathering in the main room before that too fades. I let out a sigh as I roll the sending between my fingers. No doubt the Shykhdar has something extravagant and drawn out planned for tonight, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of alone time.
I’m just about to release the spell and contact Dom when there’s a quiet knock on my door. I freeze, dread seeping like ice through my veins.
“Master Olbric?” One of the royal attendants. Who I guess are my attendants by proxy for this trip. “You have visitors at the door.”
I barely dare to breathe. “Who?”
“They say they’re your sisters.”
The dread vanishes, and I pull the door open so quickly I think I startle the bearer of good news. “Thank you!” I call and hurry past her to the main door. And when I throw it open, I’m greeted by Lavleen’s excited shriek.
“OLBRIC!”
My younger sister all but throws herself at me, and I gasp at the sudden and unexpected weight. “Gods, what happened toyou?” I crow as I spin her around. I suddenly realize how long six years really is. Lavleen was only twelve when I last saw her, but now... “There’s no way thatyouare the same little tadpole of a sister I remember!”
Lavleen laughs brightly as I set her back onto her feet. She’s got our father’s deep brown eyes. They’re as large as a doe’s on her face, but it’s our mother’s smile that beams up at me. “Your fault for staying away for so long.”
A smaller, but still bigger than expected figure grabs me around my waist. Jahanna, who was only six when I left. “You’re going to stay, right?” Her quiet question sounds more like a plea.
I wrap my arms around her, not sure what to say. I open my mouth to try, but a familiar voice beats me to it. “No, Hanna, he can’t stay.”
“Samira,” I breathe. Although she’s a year older than me, we could be twins for how similar we look. The same hazel eyes, the same nose and cheeks, hell, even the same length of hair, now.
Jahanna’s arms loosen from around my waist, and I let out a short laugh as Samira pulls me into a fierce embrace. I hold her for a long moment, tears pricking my eyes. Some of Galiva’s parting words float through my head -what if you see your sisters again?
I hadn’t realized just how much I needed that until now.
