Scarlett cocked her head to one side as she listened to their chattering. Tommy’s reaction was pretty similar to James’s. He spoke as if she were already legally joined to Brayden. She wished she could be excited, but it was hard to be when Brayden regretted their first night together.
“Of course his sister is Brayden’s North Star.Lookat her,” said Patrick in a low voice.
“Yeah,” said Tommy, turning to look her up and down.
“She can hear you,” said Scarlett, stifling a laugh.
Beni ignored them. “So Brayden is like my brother now?”
Scarlett shrugged helplessly. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m figuring this out as I go.”
Patrick and Tommy stared at her, incredulous.
“Are you guys hungry?” she asked in an attempt to move the conversation along.
“Yeah,” came a chorus of agreement.
Scarlett smiled. Was their willingness to spend time with hercompletelydue to her new North Star status with Brayden, or only part of it?
Upstairs, she and the boys sat at one of several long dining tables, where a few military staff sat eating their lunches or sipping hot drinks. They were chatting happily over soup and sandwiches when Manon strode up to them and dropped two newspapers on the table next to Scarlett.
“Hello, all,” she said to the group.
The boys greeted her and then resumed their conversation about Soleil video games.
“We heard from Elestine and Laylani today.” Manon slid into the seat next to Scarlett.
Scarlett put down the Brie-and-fig sandwich she was halfway done with and faced her. “Already?”
“Well, I should say, we heard from them indirectly. Look at these news articles.” She stabbed the paper several times with her finger. “Elestine got an answer from the courts and went public with it.”
Scarlett skimmed the first article.
Ceruleans Gain Lady Scarlett Heroux
The Soleil Courts released a statement early this morning regarding an approved exception to the age of inheritance, filed by Lady Scarlett Heroux. Lady Elestine Spencer commented, “Lady Heroux is well andstaying with family friends, contrary to reports of her being bedridden. I look forward to welcoming her to Parliament now that her age exception has been approved and plan to mentor her closely. With her vote and her influence at work for the Cerulean Party, I’m confident we’ll soon resume talks on the border legislation.”
“Well, that’s positive, I suppose,” said Scarlett. She nudged her brother. “You should read this, Beni.”
“Okay.” He took the paper.
“Read this one next.” Manon pointed to another article.
The Abduction of Lord Jules Heroux’s Children
Lady Laylani Heroux filed a report this morning with the Soleil Bureau of Investigation regarding the abduction of Lady Scarlett Heroux and Beaufort Heroux. Lady Laylani Heroux, mother to Beaufort and stepmother to Scarlett, believes her children were abducted by Scarlett’s grandmother, a Clair de Lune woman by the name of Manon Bedivere. Lady Laylani Heroux commented, “While Scarlett was too infirm to stop her, Manon stole Scarlett and Beaufort from our home in the middle of the night. She’s always wanted to take Scarlett back to her home country—for what nefarious purposes, I can’t say. I’m devastated by the loss of them both and pray for their safety.”
Scarlett clenched her fists. “That’s all such bullshit. I’ll demand they print a retraction.”
“She’s such a liar,” her brother said as he peered over Scarlett’s shoulder.
“Indeed,” said Manon. “And yes, Scarlett, a retraction is a good idea, but first we need to make contact with the bureau toprevent an international incident. As soon as you’re ready, we need to go to Clair de Lune’s intelligence offices at Parliament. There’s a magic mirror there connected to the Soleil Bureau’s headquarters.”
“The Soleil Bureau is using mirrors?” asked Scarlett.
“You’re surprised?” Manon raised an eyebrow. “There’s a lot of magic used in Soleil. It’s just a secret.”
“I knowthat, but I had no idea thegovernmentpermitted magic.” The black market paying off the police was different from the government allowing the bureau to use magic in an official capacity.
