“Mygentleman,” Iadded.
Chapter Ten
Isat peacefullyoutside on my balcony and sipped my tea as the gentlemen sat down to have breakfast with me. All of the men smelled of sandalwood scented soap and delighted my senses. They began to fill their plates, and Michan looked at the empty seat to my left;Klyn’s.
“My Queen, should we wait to eat until Sir Klyn arrives?” Michanasked.
“Go ahead and begin eating. Klyn might be entertaining in his quarters,” I put itmildly.
The boys dug into their food and began small talk of some of the things they planned on doing today. Some of them had things to do in the stable, while the others either had grounds work to assist with or carriagework.
I was starting to get a little concerned about Klyn, though. He rarely missed our breakfasts. I would make certain that I would tease him profusely about missing breakfast,though.
“Gentlemen, you are dismissed,” I called out over their chatter when it appeared that all of them hadfinished.
Moments after they left, Klyn appeared. He touched my shoulder gently as he walked behind me to sit down at his reserved place. I watched him rub at his eyes and forehead before he reached for theteapot.
“I apologize for my tardiness,” Klyn said while he selected some of the remainingbread.
“Long night?” Iteased.
It was no secret that Klyn attracted women. There had not been a staff member at the castle that I had not caught staring dreamily at him. Even my dominant friend, Kamara, found herself mixed into the growing number of women who were obsessed withKlyn.
“No, I did not have any company last night,” Klynconfessed.
I frowned and looked at him as I sipped my tea. Klyn simply did not miss our breakfasts except on a very rare occasion. Something was goingon.
“Are you going to tell me that you overslept?” I paused and set my charger down. “Because you know that I know you have more energy that the average person,” Isnapped.
“I have been exhausted, Octavia,” Klyn said in a serioustone.
Klyn’s tone concerned me. I am so used to seeing him full of life and energy. I had been nineteen when I had last seen him as a mortalhuman.
“Maybe you are coming down with something,” I offered in a gentler tone. I looked out over the balcony at Drishane below and the surrounding woods. “The leaves are starting to turn. With that comes changing weather,” Iexplained.
“Perhaps,” Klyn agreed and sipped his tea. “The thing is that I have not been ill from anything brought on by the cold since before I turned. If this was happening to me within a few years of being turned, I would tend to believe the cold weather as apossibility.”
Klyn leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes again. When he pulled his hand away, I paid more attention. Dark, puffy blotches sat beneath hiseyes.
“This is something different, Octavia,” he suggested. “I was supposed to work with Michan and Sean on the carriage today, but I do not have the damn energy,” hesighed.
“Maybe you should go see Kaspar,” I suggested. “It might be useful. He might know what is making you sotired.”
“I would have to travel deep into the woods to seehim.”
I watched Klyn as he ate. I could tell he was considering it. The warlock, Kaspar, often had potions or concoctions that cured common ailments. In fact, many people in Drishane turned to him when remedies from the apothecary failed to work or did not work asexpected.
“I suppose I could go,” Klynconsidered.
“I think that would be a wise move. Clearly, you are not feeling well, and something is causing your energy to deplete. Do you think you should seek the care at theapothecary?”
Klyn finished his bread and turned his head to look over the balcony at Drishane. For a moment, I wondered if everything, including his mind, wastired.
“I will go see Kaspar after I eat. I have been meaning to catch up with him. If I leave right after I eat, I will be backsoon.”
I was going to try not to dwell on whatever was going on with him until he went to see Kaspar. It concerned me to see him so out of character. I opted for a little humor to see if he started to show signs of his usualself.
“Catching up with Kaspar, eh? You would not happen to hope to extract information from him about a certain new gentleman, now wouldyou?”
