I just loved how Jaik felt so free to tell me what to do, but I wasn’t going to argue with him in front of his father.
For now, I just nodded. We could talk about it later. For now, just as the royals always said, we’d be one united front.
“I don’t want to see you mounted like a pony,” Teris told Talisyn. “You can take a few horses back.”
“You know how horses feel about us, Father,” Talisyn said. “I don’t mind being a pony. Not for Honor.”
“You should,” Teris said dryly. He looked at me curiously as if he wanted to understand why these men were so drawn to me. It was an understandable question, since I often wondered the same, although he knew what I really was. Wolves mated for life. Maybe dragons were the same. I couldn’t ask anyone; I didn’t exactly know of any other girl dragons.
If there ever had been any, maybe Pend had destroyed them the same way he’d destroyed all those books and spells, so he could hoard more power himself.
Talisyn rode protectively close to me, as if he didn’t trust Teris. Overhead, my dragons circled, turning in slow, effortless circles like hawks. The Olds had already gone ahead.
“I wanted to talk to you, son,” Teris said.
Talisyn and I shared a glance, as if to wonder what the hell Teris would even say in front of me.
“We don’t often get the chance to talk now without Pend’s supervision,” Talisyn said mockingly.
“You should be careful what you say about the king. Even with those friends of yours,” Teris cautioned.
“I’m always careful,” Talisyn promised.
It was the first hint I’d seen of faults in the bonds between Pend and his lords. But I knew that I wasn’t going to hear any more about it from the way Teris looked at me.
“Talisyn,” Teris said. “Hold fast to those friendships in the coming days. Your friendships will save your life. But sometimes, friends can be hard to believe in.”
Everyone had felt suspicious about Branok after the castle blew up. I was sure Teris knew something about that explosion.
“This is a strangely sentimental thought coming from you,” Talisyn said. “But you and the other Elders have always been such good friends. I guess you’ve set an example.”
“Yes.” Teris gazed at Talisyn, his face troubled. “For the better part of a hundred years, they were the only true family I had, the only ones who mattered. But now here you are.”
Talisyn ducked his head, obviously uncomfortable with his father’s attention.
The two of them rode on, unspeaking, even though so much seemed to hang between them.
Chapter
Forty-Nine
Honor
That night, we all sat down to dinner, except for Cal, who made himself scarce. I was nervous thinking about how I’d steal from Lord Joachim later. Knowing I was about to do something so dangerous and stupid made it hard to get excited about eating salad. And I’d never been that excited about eating salad to begin with.
Damyn had taught me a spell to change my face. But could I use that spell to be someone besides Lucien?
“Where is my other son?” Pend demanded, glancing around the table.
“I think Caldren assumes you don’t want to even look at him.” Talisyn said the words glibly, but there was an edge underneath.
“Just because he can’t rule doesn’t mean I no longer see him as a son. Find him,” Pend said to the servant who was leaning over his shoulder to serve his soup, then cast his glance around at the other servants, encompassing all of them.
She nodded and took off, and the other servants poured out. Apparently the rest of us weren’t getting soup. I tried to memorize Tanith’s face as she went out; she seemed like Lord Joachim’s personal servant when he was here. She’d brought him his drink without a request and he’d thanked her absently as he took it from her without looking, knowing just what it would be. She was a tall, dark haired shifter with a hooked nose and shapely lips, and I tried to commit her face to memory without staring at her in a weird way.
I probably failed at that, given that I caught Branok watching me, as always.
I made sure there were no kings watching, then I stuck my tongue out at him.
Branok’s lips quirked up slightly at the edges. He seemed lighter since discovering his sister wasn’t under an enchantment anymore. I’d thought he might be the kind of man who clings to a falsehood rather than accept he’s made a mistake, and I felt strangely relieved that wasn’t who he was after all.
The rest of the bowls of soup were on a tray at the edge of the room, waiting for the servants to disperse ours after they’d served the king. My stomach rumbled.
I couldn’t take it. Etiquette was fine and all, but I wasn’t going to mind my manners if that meant being unnecessarily hungry. I rose from the table and grabbed a couple of bowls of soup. I debated who to serve first as I carried the soup toward the table, trying not to slosh it over the edges; there was a reason I was in housekeeping, not food service. My first instinct was to serve Alina and myself first, because Lord knows, women should come first for once around here. But it might keep the peace best if I just served the Olds first.
I was saved from the need to decide, though, as chair feet scraped across the fine wooden floor. Branok rose first, but the rest of the royals were on their feet within a second after. Talisyn took the bowls of soup out of my hands and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, before taking them to the table and setting them in front of Teris and Gorion.
I turned back to the tray, but there were no bowls of soup left. Jaik was serving my bowl of soup and Alina’s.
I settled back into my chair, smoothing my napkin over my lap. The look on Pend’s face was distinctly unimpressed, and it made my stomach throb faintly.
But my soup was delicious.
Caldren strolled into the room, his hands in his pockets. “You wanted me?”
He sounded cocky as ever, but seemed to stumble over how to address Pend.
The servants followed him in, then seemed flummoxed by the presence of soup on the table. They returned to their positions along the walls.
Pend waved the servants away. “I need privacy to deal with my two sons.”
Jaik had gone stiff. Caldren pulled out a chair across from me and settled in, his expression wary. The two of them looked alike as they shot each other dark looks.
“When are you two going to put aside this ridiculous rivalry?” Pend demanded. “You two have been fighting for years. I understood it better when the two of you both hoped to replace me one day, but now the die has been cast. Jaik will rule. What purpose is there in continuing to needle each other?”
Even an evil king makes a good point now and then.
“We can just dislike each other,” Caldren said dryly.
“And distrust each other,” Jaik agreed.
The two of them shared a glance full of unspoken understanding… and enmity.