The vision winked out as Ryll shoved Ari hard enough to send him stumbling into Dilys. “Storms sink you, Calmyria! Quit making it sound like I’m after his princesses!” Turning to Dilys, Ryll held out his hands, palms up in entreaty. “It’s nothing like he’s making it out to be, Dilys. Our paths crossed by accident. She said she’s been reading up on Calbernans so she could teach the village children about us before our arrival. She teaches at the queen’s new public school in town. Anyway, she said she’d come across mention of glowingulumiand wondered what the significance was. And I told her if she was curious about it,she should talk to you.” He said the last through gritted teeth, glaring at Ari as he did.
Ari, the unrepentant mischief maker, just grinned and said, “And yet you were the one she chose to ask, not Dilys.” He laughed and danced away from the fist Ryll swung in his direction. “I’m just saying!”
Usually, Dilys would have found Ari’s antics amusing and shrugged the jabs off with a laugh and a smile. Teasing between males was common during the early stages of Calbernan courtships, as was good-natured one-upmanship as they vied for a woman’s attention—especially if the woman had not yet made her preference known. Things didn’t get serious until a Calbernan’sulumiglowed blue, meaningliakapua—the mating ritual—had begun in earnest. Once that happened, not even Ari would have dared to tease Dilys the way he was doing. Because to a Calbernan male inliakapua,even lighthearted teasing could be interpreted as a challenge, and all too often, challenges at such a time sparked brutal battles for dominance. Considering that Calbernan males were armed with razor-sharp battle fangs and claws, such battles usually ended in serious injury or death.
But Dilys’sulumihad not glowed blue. He was not inliakapua.
Which is why it made no sense that Dilys was currently fighting the urge to go for Ryll’s throat.
“That’s enough, Ari,” Dilys said a few moments later, after beating back the savage impulse to cause Ryll bodily harm. “You’ve had your fun, so leave poor Ryll alone. And to answer your question, no, I’m not in the least bit bothered thatMyerialannaSummer feels more comfortable with Ryll than she does with me, or that she chose him to ask about ourulumi.You know why I’m here. You know what I’m looking for in a wife. And you know she is not it. Put it this way,” he summed up, determined to put an end Ari’s teasing, “Princess Summer is a soothing cup of milked tea, but I’m thirsty for a strong Summerlean fire brandy. For hospitality’s sake, I will court her as I do her sisters for these first two weeks, but after that, if Ryll wants her, he should feel free to pursue her.”
They turned the corner and nearly collided with two of the Seasons: Spring, majestic in cool iced blue, and Summer, looking delectably feminine in deep, soft rose.
Momentary concern flitted across Dilys’s conscience. The two princesses had to have overheard him. His only saving grace was that he and his cousins had been speaking in Sea Tongue, the language of Calberna, rather than the common tongue, Eru. Hopefully, the princesses of Summerlea had not understood him.
Spring smiled with regal grace, nothing in her expression indicating that she’d comprehended Dilys’s dismissal of her sister as “milked tea” or the too-casual way he’d offered her up to his cousin for courtship. “Sealord Merimydion. Sealord Calmyria. Sealord Ocea. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Sealords.” Summer offered shy smiles to Ari and Ryll, and a more forced one to Dilys. Her gaze never rose higher than his chin and quickly skittered away. Her cheeks turned a dusky rose. And despite his determination not to pursue her, that charming blush roused every protective and covetous male instinct he possessed.
His battle claws threatened to spring forth again, so he forced his gaze back to Spring. Tall, cool, beautiful Spring, who even after a long night of celebration and precious few hours’ sleep held herself like a queen. He could easily see her sitting on their daughter’s Queen’s Council, offering advice, guiding their daughter with wisdom and strength.
“You three are up early,” Spring continued. “That is quite rare for folk unused to a Wintercraig celebration. We didn’t expect to see all of you up and about until at least noon.”
“Calbernans require very little sleep,” Ryll informed her.
Ari’s stomach rumbled. “What we do require, however, is rather a lot of food.” He accompanied the words with such a pleadingly hopeful look that shy Summer actually laughed.
The sound was light and musical, like the wind chimes that blew in the ocean breeze outside Dilys’s bedroom back home. Dilys’s scalp tingled, and the ropes of his hair coiled tight at the sound of Summer Coruscate’s laugh.
“We were just going down to breakfast ourselves,” she told Ari with a smile. “We will be happy to show you the way.”
Ryll and Ari immediately took up her invitation, moving into position beside her so swiftly she laughed again, looped her arms through their proffered ones, and started down the stairs. Aware of Spring’s cool, watchful gaze upon him, Dilys smoothed away the crease between his brows, summoned his most charming smile, and held out an arm in offer of escort to the woman who very well might be the future mother of his children.
The five of them made their way downstairs to a banquet hall not far from the garden terrace used for the feast and dancing last night. The banquet hall was large and ornate and had already been set up with three long tables laden with food, including chilled, marinated meats and vegetables, smoked salmon, and a variety of hot foods served in silver chafing dishes. Dozens of dining tables had been placed all around the room to allow Konumarr’s visitors to dine and converse in smaller groups.
“Please, help yourself to the buffet.” Spring gestured to the tables overflowing with food, while Summer went to speak with one of the servants attending the breakfast guests.
“My apologies, Sealord,” Spring said, calling his attention back to her. “Summer, Autumn, and I won’t be joining you this morning. We thought you would still be abed, so we have a previous breakfast engagement.”
“You will be missed,MyerialannaSpring,” he replied sincerely. “I thoroughly enjoyed your company at last night’s festivities. I hope we shall see more of one another later today?”
“I’m sure that we shall. Ah, here is water for you.” The servant Summer had spoken to earlier approached the table, carrying a tray of filled glasses. “Lightly salted, as you prefer your first morning beverage.”
Dilys smiled. “You have studied our ways.”
“My sisters and I all have. We thought it only prudent.”
The servant placed the first glass before Ari, who took an experimental sip, nodded his approval, and tossed back the entire glass. Ryll followed suit.
“Enjoy your breakfast, Sealords,” Spring murmured with a smile as Dilys curled his hand around the small water glass and gulped it down.
His eyes went wide. His salted water wasn’t water.
Dilys choked and sputtered, eyes watering, as the potent glass of pure, crystal-clear, Summerlean fire brandy he’d just unwittingly gulped down scorched the lining of his throat.
“Oh, dear,” Spring said with an exceedingly credible expression of surprise. Then she ruined it with a smile, and a too sweet, “Was that not to your liking, Sealord Merimydion? One moment. Let me get you something soothing.” She waved over another servant and whispered in his ear. A moment later, the servant returned with a tea service. Spring filled the cup half-way with tea, then poured a generous portion of milk, and handed the milked tea to Dilys. In perfectly accented Sea Tongue, she said, “There, you are. Milked tea. Drink that down. It’s sure to make you feel better. And now, if you’ll forgive me. I’m already running late. Please, Sealords, do enjoy your breakfast. Our salmon is, in fact, quite excellent. But for you three, I recommend the dogfish. Or perhaps some roasted boar’s ass would suit you better.” She offered a last, syrupy smile, and sailed away, disappearing after her sister Summer through a door on the far side of the room.
Dilys, with one last cough to clear his scorched throat and windpipe, leaned back in his chair and roared with appreciative laughter.
