“You’re without Aeton today?” I grip his hand firmly and nod to the women.
He stiffens. “Aeton has chosen to visit Queen Valentina. We are separate beings, so he may go where he wishes.”
When we release hands, he neatly tucks his chin-length blonde hair behind his ears. It curls and flips out at the bottom, unruly despite the way he tries to tame it. Both Arius and Aeton are fair like their mother. Only their bright green eyes filled with mischief remind me of our father.
I hum. Coincidentally, Casimir is also visiting Queen Valentina today... I don’t say that out loud, but I can see it like a secret buried in Arius’s gaze. He loves Aeton viciously and would do everything in his power to protect him. So I lower myself into a high-backed navy armchair and pray that they are tending to Casimir’s wounds.
“Please, take some tea.” Queen Lairis sweeps her intricate blonde braid over her shoulder before waving a hand at the servant who waits patiently in the corner of the room.
“Cream, no sugar,” I say when the girl looks at me expectantly.
The room remains quiet as the visiting women sit back down in their seats, picking up their needlework, and Basilus finally glances my way. I avoid his gaze. When the tea is prepared and the warm golden cup is placed in my fingers, I sniff at the drink. A somewhat pleasant scent—earthy, floral, and sweet—greets me.
My two guards hover in the corner of the room. I snap my fingers at the girl who made the drink and lift it back up for her to take. “Are you unsatisfied, Prince Merrick?” she asks softly.
What I must do pains me, but such is life here in the palace. “Take the first sip, girl.”
She looks at Queen Lairis, whose gaze has turned dark and haunted. Basilus chuckles, stepping up to his mother’s side with arms crossed over his chest. “Do you think one of us wants to poison you?”
“Father says I can never be too careful.” I turn back to the girl, now trembling. “Drink. If you have not handed me a poison cup, you should have nothing to worry about.”
Her attention carries over the room, stalling on the doorway as if she might drop the tea and sprint away. I was not truly worried that I’d be poisoned before, but the way she hesitates makes me wonder.
“This is insulting, Prince Merrick!” Queen Lairis finally hisses. “We would not think to poison you, much less in your own home.”
Ah, she mustn’t remember that this is a house of vipers. And her son is next in line for the crown. I am not foolish enough to forget.
“Drink.” I allow the authority I’ve been taught to command since birth to drip into my tone. It’s fierce, deadly, and scary-sounding enough that the girl brings the cup to her lips and drinks.
Warmth seeps back into my fingertips as she hands the mug back, waiting for her next order. The whole room stares, waiting for some sort of reaction. The needles still against fabric. A shared breath is held.
“Very good.” I nod and finally take a sip of my own while the servant scurries back off to her corner with bright red cheeks. Everyone shares their exhale.
“Ridiculous,” the queen mutters into her drink. Basilus shakes his head and takes his spot by the fire again.
Stretching my legs out in front of me, I make a show of sighing with contentment as I snuggle into the seat. Heat from the fire is washing over me, but I ignore the sweat collecting under my neckline. Here, I make no move to try and loosen my collar. I don’t dare show a single sign of discomfort, for they will prey on any weakness shown.
“We were just talking about the visit with the Court of Wind.”
“Ah, yes. So sad to see them off this morning.” The farewell had been long, drawn out, and far too dramatic for my taste. I’d patted Prince Dalziel on the back and laughed when he’d told me what a handful my sister must be. He’d whispered that her beauty likely makes up for all the trouble. It was a battle within myself to spare Basilus a glance, because if he’d heard, he no doubt would be smirking.
“Father’s attempts at negotiating did not go well, I hear.” Basilus picks up a fire iron to poke at the burning wood.
The strong taste of the tea is pleasant on my tongue. My small drink and a moment to savor it helps to disguise the way my mind begins to spin.
How would he know? Father had stormed away, been in and out of the castle since Violence’s visit, and he hadn’t spoken to anyone. Not even me. Basilus is smart though. No doubt some of the guards are paid off or well rewarded for their loyalty to him. I do as much for myself as well. Though none of my men have come to whisper in my ear about what had happened behind closed doors with King Deonairdus.
“That is not good news to hear.” Arius drapes an arm over the back of the couch, his legs cross and point toward Regina. I wonder how much he plans on actually paying attention to this conversation and how much he plans on playing with the girls. As if in answer, he picks up one of her carefully formed curls and twirls it around his finger. Regina blushes and giggles as she pushes her needle back through the fabric.
Arius is only twenty and much too far from a chance at the crown to truly care about more than the luxuries of his status. I’d been young and dumb once, too, dipping my wick into anything that’d hold still long enough to allow me. That time has long since passed, and only on rare occasion do I miss it.
“I’m sure Father has other plans. He is a wise king.” I try to breathe slowly but deeply to appease the tightness in my lungs.
“Very wise,” Queen Lairis says, our small squabble over tea already forgotten.
Paola sets her sewing in her lap and looks quizzically between us. She watches Basilus a little longer than me, and I am relieved to know she does not seek my own affections, even if it is mildly insulting. “I heard the Court of Light’s army is doubling every day. My mother whispers how brutal they are, how they start teaching their children how to fight when they are only three years old. How terrible!”
“Barbarians!” Queen Lairis sputters.
