“I didn’t say what the job is.” Marek hasn’t even decided what the job is. He offered on a whim, sensing Ludvik would be interested.
“Doesn’t matter, Stormrider.” Ludvik lifts his water glass in salute. “I’m accepting before you change your mind.”
“Then consider this your job interview. Why did Zora tell me to talk to you?”
Ludvik sets down the glass. His eyes are more focused, his high fading. “Probably because I was Irenka’s adjutant. Irenka wanted Count Petir’s connections. Petir wanted inside Irenka’s sexy wyrmskin trousers. Oldest and stupidest story in the book.”
Every gossip in Ostomar knew what Petir wanted from Irenka. It’s the other half of the transaction Marek has never been able to figure out. “What did Irenka need those connections for? She was already a wing-captain. Her career was going well.”
Fuck. Marek probably should have asked this before Ludvik’s high wore off. Ludvik is too lucid and cautious now.
“I can’t answer that.”
“You’re in the dragon corps again,” Marek says. “That means you obey me as your wing-marshal, not just your prince. Why did Irenka need Petir?”
Ludvik chews his lip, eyes darting across the room. “Fire me if you want, Stormrider. I still can’t answer.”
Marek’s blood runs cold.
Ludvik isn’t a bad soldier. He enjoys experimental herbs and elixirs, sure, but only on his days off. The man is loyal to Draskora and the dragon corps. If he’s refusing an order, that can only be in obedience to a higher authority.
Obedience or fear. Because only one man in Draskora outranks Marek.
“Thanks, Ludvik.” Marek fishes a metal token from his pocket. It will get Ludvik through the palace gate. “Report to the garrison on the sixteenth. Kamil or Zilata will meet you.”
A couple days’ delay will give Marek time to figure out a job for Ludvik.
Marek leaves Ludvik there, to the man’s clear relief—and stops. The table that should host Sei, Kamil, and Delline is completely empty.
Nothing to worry about, Marek tells himself. Kamil and Delline have strict orders to watch over Sei. No doubt they’re just somewhere else in the Tipsy Tree. Sei has probably befriended the bartender, three servers, and a dozen other patrons by now.
Marek descends the garlanded staircase at a normal, unhurried pace. He definitely isn’t worried about his betrothed leaving his sight. Kamil and Delline are more than capable bodyguards, even if Marek gives Kamil shit.
Downstairs is more crowded than upstairs, but Marek spots his claim immediately. The three of them have moved their card game to a table near the bar, joined by two wine bottles—one empty, one half-full. Kamil faces the front door, Delline faces the kitchen door, and Sei sits in profile, picking a leaf-card from the pile.
Then Sei turns, and his smile steals Marek’s breath away.
Marek noticed how pretty Sei was the first time they met. He tried to ignore it because Sei was intended for Vana. Eyeing his brother’s claim would be wrong. Besides, Marek has never been particularly drawn to pretty men. Pretty or handsome, plain or ugly doesn’t really matter. He’s drawn to energy. To strength.
Right now, Marek is drawn to the sheer unrestrained delight of Sei Mallory.
Shoving that revelation aside, Marek marches to the tableside. “You’ve had too much to drink, haven’t you?”
Sei cranes his head up, still plastered with a silly, gorgeous grin. “No, I haven’t. I hardly feel the wine.”
Marek lifts an eyebrow. “Really? Stand up for me.”
“What? Why?” Sei drops his cards and stands up. As soon as he’s upright, he sways and grabs the back of his chair. “Wow. I totally feel it.”
Wordless, Marek stares down Kamil and Delline.
“What?” Kamil protests. “He barely had anything. That’s only his second glass.”
Delline straightens up from peeking at Kamil’s cards. “Well, we also did shots of zalvin.”
Sei braces himself on Marek’s forearm. “The zalvin was in a cute little glass, so it doesn’t count,” he says earnestly. “I didn’t like the zalvin as much. The wine iswaybetter.”
Maybe Marek should have warned Delline that Sei had never drunk alcohol before. A tiny shot of zalvin is as strong as both the glasses of wine combined. Still… Marek can’t regret it too much. Sei looks so happy right now.
