“Good morning, Raef,” I said. “And you deserve it. On-time as usual. You're a good employee. I'll be in the back if you need me.”
“All right,” Raef said and went to open the curtains.
And so my day went on as normal.
Until lunch.
I had a plate of half-eaten food on my left, a mug of tea on my right, and a design of a new invention before me. Sketching as I chewed, I tried to focus on the mechanism that would empower the far-speaking device. Currently, there were mirrors that could send images and sound to other mirrors connected by magic. With such enchanted mirrors, a person could see and speak to another person who was on the other side of Serai. But those mirrors were costly. Only the very rich could afford them. My design wouldn't transmit any images, only sound, but it would be much cheaper to make. If it was cheaper to make, it would be affordable enough that anyone could have one. And if I could figure out a way to connect the devices only when in use, leaving the option of connecting them to any such device, it would mean that so long as a person possessed one, they could speak to anyone with a matching device, no matter where they were in the world.
It would be revolutionary.
But I couldn't figure out how to work the connections.
Raef opened the workroom door. “Hey, uh, Boss?”
“Yes?” I didn't look up.
“You have a visitor.”
I sighed, set down my pencil, and rubbed at my head. “All right.” Then I looked up.
Standing behind Raef was the Dragon King of Sken.
“Could I have a word?” the King asked.
Raef widened his eyes at me.
I shooed Raef away as I stood up. “Yes, of course. Come in.” I motioned at a seat. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Yes, thank you.” He took the stool I indicated and moved it beside my chair, then set his top hat down on the table.
I went to the little kitchen station in the corner. There was a hot pedestal and a cold cabinet as well as mugs, utensils, and dishes. Everything my employees and I might need to make meals and beverages without going up to the kitchen in my apartment. After pouring a mug of tea from the kettle on the hot pedestal, I brought it over to him and sat down.
King Rianvar took a sip and set the mug down. “It's hot.”
“Of course.”
He frowned at the table that served as our mini kitchen. “That's not a stove.”
“It's one of my inventions. I call it a hot pedestal. It emits warmth on one side only. The heat can be kept steady and low to keep tea hot or turned high enough to cook.”
King Rianvar shook his head and smiled. “You are incredible.”
I cocked my head at him. “You didn't seem to appreciate that last night.”
“Galin, I'm a king.”
“Yes, I know. You shouldn't be held to the same standards as the rest of us. That's true enough, I suppose. But I'm not just here to sell my inventions, I'm also trying to reinvent myself. I have to value myself if I'm to—”
“You mistake me,” he interrupted. “Your response was completely reasonable. What I'm trying to explain is why I had to send someone to fetch you instead of coming myself.” He grimaced. “I'm trying to apologize.”
“Oh. Well, go on then.”
The Dragon King chuckled. “I was in a meeting with my advisers and it was going longer than I expected. I didn't want to miss our date, so I sent someone to fetch you. It was not meant to be disrespectful, but I can see how you'd think that.”
“Ah.” I nodded. “Some explanation along with the carriage would have been nice.”
“I will remember that in case something similar happens in the future.” He smoothed back his hair, his hand sweeping along his skull to fall away at the end of his hair, just below his right ear. “The meeting didn't end well. I was already upset and hoping our date would ease me. That's when I was informed that you had refused to come.”
