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At least that’s what I thought was happening, until the two of them stepped back onto the stairs and made their way up.
Toward us.
“Prince Nikolai!” Aodin blurted as soon as he noticed the pair. Kai looked at me, and it was like being embraced, but the moment was far too short. “It is so wonderful to see the man ofmystery. Though, I admit, I’m not sure if the rumors about why you disappeared are going to increase or decrease after this.”
Wow, I admired the fae for outright saying what was on his mind and seeming genuinely excited to see Kai. Either he was areallygood actor who knew how to dance around the truth, or he was just especially honest. Strange how similar those two traits appeared.
“There are always rumors in the Camdarian court,” Kai said vaguely, his eyes already moving past the fae. I wasn’t used to his being so outright dismissive, but whew, he wasn’t kidding about the capital putting him in a bad mood. “If not about me, I’m sure something else will take their place.”
He was wrong, but geez, what a depressing outlook. The man in front of me was so different from the captain I was used to. It made me want to whisk him away so he didn’t have to deal with the toxic environment of the palace. To take him back to Ford Canid where he could be the kind leader I knew.
“Oh, o-o-of course, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to imply—”
“I wish to speak privately with those in my traveling party. If you’ll excuse us.”
It wasn’t a request, and Aoden clearly didn’t take it as one. The fae gave a bow, then hurried off. I felt bad for him but only slightly. Mainly I was concerned about Kai.
Except Aodin apparently wasn’tquitefinished. He was exiting the room, same as we were, when Kai made the motion for us to leave, but he paused just a few feet away from me, flashing me an affable smile.
“It was a novel experience meeting you, Healer Everton. Perhaps if your trip’s delayed, you can give a magic lesson to a curious fool like me.” With that, he winked.
I took it as a habit, but Kai didn’t, and I could feel him bristling behind me. Unsure what to do next, I simply gave Aoden a noncommittal nod and followed our party out.
“You know this would stop happening if you and the captain would just properly claim each other,” Mad Dog remarked idly as they stepped into a smaller, less ornate hallway and then another room beyond that. It looked like a study, but one which hadn’t been occupied in years.
“Shh!” Oren hissed, leaning against the door with his ear pressed. When he finally stood, I assumed he’d heard nothing and it was safe to converse.
“What’s with the shh-ing? All this drama,” Mad Dog said.
“No one can know about our captain and Healer Everton’s connection. It’s ofvitalimportance not a single person in this palace finds out.”
At that, I saw a rare thing: Mad Dog looking furious. “All right, first y’all didn’t tell me about our captain being our country’s long-lost prince—thanks for letting me find out secondhand, by the by. Now you’re just telling me to keep your guys’ ‘will they, won’t they’ sexual tension on the down low? Is there anythingelseyou’re keeping from me that’ll make me unintentionally endanger our mission?”
When he put it like that, I felt bad. I hadn’t ever meant to leave Mad Dog on the outs, but keeping him in the dark seemed like the best decision.
“Like maybe, for example, therealreason why we’re here in this hoity-toity palace with these hoity-toity people whose heads are so far up their hoity-toity asses, they’ve grown used to the smell of their own bullshit.”
That was a rather colorful way to refer to the nobles of the court, but it didn’t seem inaccurate, either.
I wanted to tell Mad Dog everything, and to apologize, but I looked at Kai first. Normally I’d never be so deferential, but we were in his territory, in a land I was unfamiliar with, and a culture I didn’t know.
“For now, we need to stay in the palace and watch each other’s backs. The king is likely to have his own people keeping a close eye on us. All of us.” He drew a breath, and his shoulders straightened while his face relaxed.Therewas the captain I’d missed. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but we need to just be the best guests we can and avoid talking about the war in any general audience.”
“Mad Dog—”
“Actually, it’sMaddox,” Darla said, only for Kai to ignore her entirely.
“…you should probably stick to the training yard. If you can, get in good with some of the guards. See what gossip and power struggles you can pick up on there. Most of the court underestimates just how much the palace guard knows.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oren, you’ll be with me most of the time, although I’ll send you on tasks requiring a greater knowledge of the palace.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Darla, I want you to do what you do best.”
“Win people over with my indelible charm and mega-watt smile?” She said it while batting her eyes, meaning she was trying to ease tensions, but Kai just nodded.
