Page 10 of His Realm

“I grew up there for a time,” he said darkly, his brows furrowing. “I only left when Varic’s mother came.”

I had seen Isabella interact with Zev, and it was different than she was with others. She didn’t treat him like a courtier, as she did Hadrian and Tiago. And it wasn’t that she treated them with coldness, but to her, they were servants. As kind as she was, as warm, they were still beneath her, and that distance in their station was clear.

With me, with Varic, even the king, she laughed and held our hands, hugged us whenever she felt like it, and kissed our cheeks. Even with her own courtiers, there was respect and care, but not closeness. She was the queen, after all.

But with Zev, it was like he was family. She called him her wolf, which was basically his name, and put her hand on his cheek when she spoke to him. He, in front of others, rolled his eyes at her, and people were stunned when she laughed. I’d been so busy, I hadn’t gotten to the bottom of small mysteries I wanted answers for. That one needed excavating.

“You grew up under Decimus?” I pressed him.

Quick nod.

“Until you were how old?”

“Seven,” he said, still scowling, like the memories were bad.

“And then the queen visited?”

He took a breath. “She came for my mother and found me herself.”

“What do you mean, she came for your mother?”

“My mother was dear to her, and she had been taken to Decimus’s holding.”

“Against her will?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” I said, then corrected myself. “I don’t mean why. There could be a hundred reasons why. I mean, how—if she was dear to Isabella—was she taken anywhere without the queen’s consent?”

He shook his head. “This is neither the time nor⁠—”

“Why weren’t you with your mother?”

“This is not important.” He clipped his words. “What is of vital concern is how these events have changed your course.”

“I—”

“He’s correct,” Brenna concurred with a glance at Zev.

“I just don’t understand why Decimus is allowed not to follow the king’s orders.”

“Because for Messina to wrest the castle, the land, and the people from Decimus would mean more than the king wants to do.”

“Wrest?”

“Take? Do you know that word?” Zev goaded me.

“I know what wrest means. I simply don’t understand what you’re implying.”

Zev shrugged. “I think you do.”

“You think it would be war?”

“Perhaps,” Eris chimed in, “but this is not the time to⁠—”

I cut her off. “Does Decimus have children Varic is friends with?”

“As far as I know, Decimus’s two sons, Ødger and Balon, have never left the holding.”