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“—and we compared the handwriting to Eneko’s,” Lefric finished as though Sebald hadn’t said anything. “It’s a definite match.”
“But you said there were three conspirators,” I said. “That means there’s one left. Did Lord Vikhrov’s search uncover who that was?”
“No,” Lefric said, still excited. “And Vikhrov’s loyal men searched the rooms of everyone who works within the estate thoroughly. He even had other men search the rooms of the men who were conducting the searches.”
My brow went up. “That is thorough.”
“I think it’s a good thing that the rest of Vikhrov’s staff are loyal,” Peter said, “but it means that the third spy is loose in the city somewhere.”
“He probably works for one of the other primary families,” Neil added.
“You’re probably right,” I said.
I didn’t know what to add other than that. I didn’t know the people in Good Port. I didn’t have much of a clue how the city worked. It was nice that Lefric was so excited about the intrigue in his adopted city, and I knew it was important for the future of the frontier in general, I just couldn’t bring myself to feel so passionately about it myself.
I did try to follow the conversation as my friends continued to discuss the matter. The feeling was that King Julius was attempting to undermine the new kingdoms of the frontier by having men loyal to him elected as their leaders. He’d started with Gomez, but Jace, Peter, and Neil had thwarted that plan without even knowing it. The election that put Vikhrov on the throne of Good Port—which wasn’t really a throne, since it wasn’t exactly a kingdom—had been incredibly close. Lefric was convinced Gregorius had been embezzling from Olympus so that the overall value of the Hakobyan family would sink, meaning they would lose another election for leader, if it came down to it.
At least, that’s what I gathered from Lefric’s mile a minute explanation of things.
I wasn’t really interested in the conversation until we’d all finished our meal and started to stand.
“…which means we’ll have the entire day for me to show you all the best spots along the waterfront,” Lefric was in the middle of saying. “Olympus is heading down to the warehouse with Patrius as well, so we can head there first, then I’ll show you the rest of my favorite places.”
The men at the head table stood as well. Magnus and Olympus came right over to check on Peter and Neil and Lefric.
My chest squeezed as I watched Magnus kiss Neil, then Peter. He leaned in and whispered something to Peter that had Peter nodding.
Meanwhile, Olympus kissed Lefric and grabbed his ass and told him, “Be good today. I don’t want to have to drag you out of any trouble.”
“Oly,” Lefric said, rolling his eyes. “When have I ever gotten into trouble?”
Olympus laughed out loud and kissed Lefric again. “Practically every time you leave my sight,” he said.
Their exchange left me feeling hollow. The way Sebald helped Avenel to stand, then brushed crumbs from his tunic sent longing through me. So did the way Jace held Gennadi’s face for a moment and brushed his thumbs over his cheeks.
I’d never felt so alone in my life, and there I was, surrounded by my closest friends and their lovers.
“Have you heard anything more about Ludvig?” I asked Magnus as we all made out way to the exit.
Magnus glanced over his shoulder at me, his arms around Peter and Neil. “In fact, I have heard,” he said. “Constantine was at breakfast earlier. He informed me that the healer Lord Vikhrov sent for has determined that Ludvig’s wounds are serious, but that he will recover fully. He just needs time and careful attention.”
“It’s a good thing we’re staying in Good Port for at least a week, then,” Neil said, smiling as though he’d found the silver lining behind the cloud. He, too, looked at me and said, “You’ve no need to worry. Ludvig is in good hands and will have time to rest in a beautiful place.”
I was relieved. Beyond relieved. And as the Sons broke away from the older men and made our way across the sloping lawn of the estate, I felt guilty. I should spend my day sitting by Ludvig’s bedside, making sure he was resting the way he should. Maybe he needed someone to bathe him. We weren’t lovers anymore, but we’d seen each other naked enough times that he wouldn’t feel self-conscious about me bathing him.
Then again, Ludvig wasn’t the sort to be shy with strangers. And if I did try to sit vigil at his bedside, he’d probably tell me to go play with my friends.
Whatever I did, I was going to feel bad, and I would have rather felt bad with my friends than on my own.
“I explained the rights of way to Peter, Neil, Jace, and Gennadi when they were here before,” Lefric said as we left the estate through an ornate gate and started down an enclosed pathway I could see led all the way to the waterfront in the distance, “but I’ll explain it to you as well.”
He glanced from me to Avenel and Sebald, who walked ahead of us. Peter, Neil, Jace, and Gennadi walked behind us. Olympus and Patrius were several yards ahead of us, already in some sort of deep discussion.
“Each of the primary families have special colors,” Lefric went on. “Blue and purple are the colors for the Hakobyan family. Incidentally, it’s red and white for the Lobe family and yellow and green for the Arzumanyan family. See, the colors are painted on the wall. That means anyone from those families, including the servants, are allowed to use these paths, but not anyone else.”
I nodded at his explanation, and at everything else he explained about Good Port, but some of the things seemed unbelievable to me. Things like color combinations that only certain people could wear and paths that only certain people could walk on, and all of that determined by wealth, felt almost as crude and uncivilized to me as the feral ways of the wild wolves.
“What about the people who don’t have enough money for things like colors or rights of way?” I asked as Lefric finally ran out of breath, just as the sacred path let out onto the much more well-traveled boardwalk that ran along the waterfront. “How are they supposed to live?”
