Hunter giggled.
“But if you can show them some understanding, it may help them to get past that embarrassment and apologize as they should. Not everyone knows this secret—that imagining what someone else is feeling can give you the power to influence their actions.”
All of the boys stared at me in wonder. Start talking about power to a faerie and they listen.
“You boys may have to lead your people someday, and a leader must set an example. You don't want your people bickering over mistakes but they will, and you might be the one who has to sort them out. You need to be sympathetic to understand people, and you need to understand people to truly help them and be a good king.”
“Okay, Aunty V. I'll try,” Hunter said.
Yes, he calls me Aunty and Arach King. Take from that what you will.
“Good boy.” I ran a hand over his hair affectionately.
“I'm sorry I wasn't more understanding about your mistake, Ri,” Hunter added.
“It's okay,” Rian said brightly. “You're right, I should have been more careful. I was just excited.”
“Now that's settled, let's go downstairs and have breakfast.” Arach gave Brevyn a nudge toward the door.
Brevyn had changed his clothes while I'd given my little mommy lecture to the other boys, then had gone to wait beside his father. All of the males in the room made grunts of assent to Arach's suggestion, even Dexter, then headed out the door and toward the central stairs at a fast pace. I rolled my eyes and followed more sedately but my stomach ruined the effect by rumbling. Arach lifted an eyebrow at me over his shoulder while the boys giggled.
The boys ran off, the nurials with them, before I could chide them—taking the stairs too fast for my comfort, even after I yelled at them to slow down. Their pace was completely unnecessary since the stairs had a folding magic that shortened the journey. You didn't notice while you were on them but you always reached the floor you were headed to faster than you should have. Arach and I stepped into the first-floor corridor mere moments after our boys had reached it, despite their run. That being said, as soon as they were in the corridor, their running became more effective and took them far ahead of us.
The children and nurials were already at the high table with King Roarke and Queen Anna when Arach and I stepped into the dining hall. The other tables, set in lines along the sides of the room, were full of Fire Faeries. Goblins talked while they ate, spraying food out of their full mouths, while their bigger, Red Cap cousins focused intently on chewing. In contrast, Leanan-Sidhe dined with exquisite manners, every movement graceful. Tiny Pixies lounged against pitchers of water and vases of flowers as they picnicked on the tops of the tables, and Phookas in their canine forms stole hunks of meat to tear apart on the floor. The Fire Cats were having a good time, as always, and the Imps had joined them, their heads barely clearing the tables. There were even a few Hidden-Ones picking at their breakfast with pincers or shoveling it into their mouths with flippers.
Ah, my wondrous people; I loved them so damn much.
Many bowed or nodded to us as we passed but several didn't notice and that was just fine. We weren't royals who needed to be fawned over at every opportunity. Half the time, Arach got annoyed by it. He did, however, make use of his status to shuck off the repair of Hunter's bow. He stopped at one of the tables to ask a Fire Sidhe—who had finished his breakfast—to handle it. The man accepted the task immediately and left the hall to restring the weapon.
Weapon. Sheesh. On Earth, parents give their children fake weapons to play with—things that shoot foam pellets or water. In Faerie, we give our kids the real stuff and send them off with a pat on the head to maim each other. I suppose the fact that our children are immortal has something to do with that. Although, there probably are a few human parents who have given their children real bows and arrows to play with. I'm guessing that happens more in heavily wooded areas than suburban streets.
“Hey, Queen V. How's it hangin', King Arach?” Roarke greeted us as Arach and I took our seats.
“Good morning, King Arach and Queen Vervain,” Anna added more politely.
“Good morning,” I said to them both.
Arach nodded and sort of grunted at our friends as he reached for the coffee. Yeah, that was my fault—getting the Dragon King hooked on caffeine. But it did improve his mood in the morning. Arach sipped, sighed, then set about filling his plate with food. I wasn't as hungry, part of me was still thinking about Viper no matter how hard I tried to distract myself. So, I only nibbled at the food. Dexter sat beside me and laid his head in my lap as if he knew I needed the comfort. Deidre slipped under the table to lie across my feet. The boys were further down the table by Anna, where she was generously keeping an eye on them. I have to admit that's one of the reasons I love having Roarke and Anna eat with us at the high table—that and the company, of course.
“You ever think about taking Hunter to visit us at Pride Palace?” I asked Roarke.
Roarke cocked his head at me. “Sure, that would be fun. I haven't seen the lions in awhile. How are they doing?”
“Well, Kirill is currently accepting them as his followers.” I thought about that, then amended, “Not exactly currently, but you know what I mean.”
“He's doing what?” Arach looked up from his food.
“Kirill's a god now,” I reminded my husband. “A god ofdeath. His connection to the Intare combined with his magic, has allowed him to provide an afterlife for his brothers. He even got Anubis to release the Intare souls he already had in Duat. We brought them home today.”
“That's awesome, V!” Roarke exclaimed. “You must be so excited to have them back.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” I said with less enthusiasm than the statement required.
Roarke cocked his head again.
“Iamexcited,” I said to his look. “I'm thrilled to have them back and to know that the Intare can return to Pride Palace if they die. Kirill will be a second source for their magic too, taking some of the burden off me.”
“Then why don't you seem happy?” Arach asked
