Max said, “I dinna think ye heard it over yer bellyachin’.”
I chuckled and passed around some beers.
I started to move the box, but Torin opened it. “Look Max, tis delicious and I want ye tae hae it. From the moment I tasted it, I thought, I canna wait tae share this with Max. And as ye ken, if ye are offered food ye ought tae eat?—”
Max finished, “—ye never ken when yer next meal will be... Aye, I suppose I ought tae.”
Torin picked up the slice and passed it to Max, pantomiming how to hold it and eat. Max chewed and swallowed. “Och aye, tis delicious, ye said Visigoths made it?”
“Aye, a fearsome lot, they pattern their clothes after demons, ye ken, but they make it, and then they bring it tae yer house.”
Max said, “Tis safe tae eat it?”
“Aye. Somehow.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
Max finished a piece and started on the second before Torin asked the first question. “So ye went tae yer kingdom? What did ye find?”
“A great deal.” He chewed and put the remaining piece back in the box. He wiped his fingers on a napkin. Then he directed the next question to me, “Alexandria, I met our uncles, dost ye remember our uncles?”
I shook my head.
He said, “Uncle Ryan and Charlie are there, they are the brothers tae our mother. Aunt Claray is there and Uncle Aenghus, brother and sister tae our father. We hae so many cousins, I met most of them.”
I blinked. The names weren’t familiar.
He continued, “They’ve been fighting Rannald for almost a decade.”
I blinked some more.
Torin’s brow drew down. “Why dinna they come for ye?”
“They dinna hae a vessel, the one I had was the first they had seen in years.”
Torin exhaled.
I said, “We have another one too, I found it in my hope chest in the attic.”
Max nodded and ran his hand through his hair again. “This is good, having two will help.” He looked upset.
I put my hand on his arm. “What happened?”
With the medals on his chest and the epaulets on his broad shoulders — his clothes matched his bearing. He actually looked like a prince, but he also looked like the weight of it was weighing him down. “I daena ken how tae explain it, the uncles took me tae an encampment. They proudly showed me their military, introduced me tae the soldiers, showed off their weapons and artillery, tanks and drones, they hae been fighting Rannald?—”
Torin said, “Ye said for a decade? Och nae, that is a long war.”
“Aye, twas difficult tae see it.” He chewed his lip. “They look defeated, though they wouldna admit it.” He drank from his beer. “They were enthusiastic tae see me, told me how much I looked like Da, and kept clapping me on m’back and talking about their plans… twas difficult. They hae been worried about us, but they couldna get tae us, so they lived their own lives, ye ken? They invited me tae dinner at the safe house. Twas verra grand, a feast. I met most of the family, heard about everyone who passed in the war, and got told over and over how sad everyone was because our parents are gone.”
I said, “That sounds really hard to show up in the middle of all that. Life goes on, I suppose, but... it’s not fair.”
He nodded. “Aye, years hae passed of them raisin’ families, and war will draw brothers taegether. They hae strong bonds... och nae, I am glad ye understand, Alexandria, none of it was meant tae be cruel. It wasna directed at me at all, but I was sitting at their hearth, hearin’ them tell stories about the battles they’ve waged — twas verra hard tae hear. I recognized them a little, they were familiar, but I barely know them. They hae been together fightin’ while I was alone raised in Castle Glume, with nae one.”
Torin said, “Ye had me.”
“Aye, true. And ye are my brother, one of the best of men, but ye arna a whole clan, I lost my family.”
I squeezed his hand. “That really sucks. I don’t know what that would be like to hear people you barely know talking about your life while you hadn’t been there living it.”
