“Sleeping,” Vanya said, fingers twitching with the remembered feel of his daughter’s hair beneath them. “Under guard.”
He’d not gotten much done since her return, having spent the remainder of the day with her by his side as the servants fussed over her comfort. Raiah had been bathed and fed, her hair combed out by himself and neatly tied back in thick plaits that snugged close to her skull. She’d chattered at him all the while after her tears dried, telling him about her time away, though he knew there were gaps in her telling that she refused to talk about.
She was four, and she’d been hunted byrionetkas, made a target by more than just the Houses, he was coming to suspect. Danger came with her position as his heir, but Vanya knew the game the Houses played. He knew the pitfalls of their politics. He didn’t know the ones that Joelle had dug herself on a porous border.
He’d wanted to spare his daughter, as any parent did, the horrors of the life that came with being part of a House, much less one that held the Imperial throne. He’d wanted to keep her innocent for just a little longer, for he knew how quickly pain could creep into one’s life. He’d lost his own brother at the tender age of eight and survived numerous assassination attempts before burying his own parents.
Vanya had done his best to use his knowledge of past survival to keep Raiah alive. He’d banked on Joelle’s desire to use her great-granddaughter to further her own plans, but that left every other House seeking to murder his daughter in pursuit of the Imperial throne. With the threat ofrionetkasand the death-defying machine, to say nothing of what was occurring in the northern countries, the world wasn’t safe.
He felt like a failure because of it, but Raiah was too young to understand why his heart ached.
“She held up well enough while we were on the road. I tried to shield her as much as I could from what was happening, though it was difficult at times,” Soren said.
“You kept her alive. I could ask for nothing less.”
Taisiya eyed Soren from where she sat across the gold-gilt table from him, a tiny, delicate glass in her hand half-full with a thick dessert wine the color of pink berries. Both had been seated on either side of Vanya’s spot at the head of the table. “Your words today certainly upended how things were going. I spent the rest of the gathering pressing our advantage. For all that the Houses think you little more than a courtesan, the wardens’ governor is an entirely different problem I don’t believe Joelle was prepared for.”
Soren blinked at her but otherwise let no reaction settle in his body. “I spoke the truth.”
Taisiya smiled, all teeth, before she sipped at her drink. She favored the sweet wine through every dinner course, something Vanya had learned since her arrival. “Yes. And it was my job to make sure it was heard. We’ve many more gatherings to attend this week, Vanya. Several major Houses have requested our presence at their estates. Some have even indicated the House of Kimathi will not be present for those gatherings.”
That was surprisingly hopeful. Vanya settled onto the cushioned chair at the head of the table. He was still dressed in his robe from earlier, as was Taisiya. Soren, he noted, had at least discarded all his weapons save his two pistols. “Did they now?”
Taisiya nodded before pinning Soren with a steely look. “You will join me at the next gathering, warden.”
Soren, hand half-outstretched for his wineglass, froze. “That’s not my place.”
“Neither is this, yet here you are.” She held a hand up at Vanya as he opened his mouth, gaze sliding his way. “You know as well as I that the Houses are right to question the warden’s status, even if they will not question the wardens’ governor. It is bad politics not to use him.”
“I won’t be your pawn,” Soren said in a low voice, finally grabbing his wineglass.
Taisiya’s gaze became pitying, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening. “My dear, we are all pawns in House games. If you did not wish to play, you should have stayed out of Vanya’s bed.”
“Valide,” Vanya said sharply. “Enough.”
“He will join me,” she said, ignoring his order to not press the issue. “If you had a wife or a husband, they would do the duty he will now take up.”
“Soren is not of our House.”
“But he is of your household, and he holds your favor. What information he brings is a truth the other Houses are interested in. I will not have the Conclave end with Joelle the victor, and he will aid us in that endeavor.” She set her wineglass down and lifted the pearlescent bell beside her plate, ringing it to summon the servants. “Let us eat.”
Vanya snapped his teeth together and shook his head. Arguing with her would only give him a headache, and he had no desire to ruin the happy mood he’d been in since Soren and Raiah had arrived home. To that end, he set about enjoying the intimate five-course celebratory meal that had been prepared. Rather than be served from platters on the table, the meal arrived on individual plates wheeled in on a cart and paired with a different drink for each course.
Taisiya kept the conversation flowing, her raspy voice well soothed by the alcohol she drank. She kept the topics lighthearted in deference to the servants around them, asking after Soren’s life as a warden rather than his time spent away with Raiah.
Vanya had already received the border report from Soren, the details of their time on the back roads while crisscrossing borders leaving him near sick to his stomach. But that had been earlier, and he had no issue enjoying the meal. Neither did Soren, who knew by now to pace himself for the elaborate meals the royal chef was known to prepare. Not finishing everything on a plate wasn’t a sign of dissatisfaction in Solarian culture, and it made it easier to get through all five courses.
By the time the dessert plates of spun pastry soaked in honey and sugar and layered with sweet cheese and nuts were finished and taken away, Vanya was comfortably full. Taisiya leaned back in her chair with a soft sigh. “I would bring your chef to the coast when I leave.”
“I pay her handsomely to stay,” Vanya said.
Taisiya flashed him a quick smile before pushing her chair back and getting to her feet. “I’ll take my leave.”
Vanya inclined his head to her. “Sleep well,valide.”
She’d only had a few hours in the afternoon to spend with Raiah after returning from the Conclave. It had been the first time she’d met his daughter, having not been in Calhames for years. Taisiya had missed the celebrations of Raiah’s birth and his own coronation, seeking solace on the coast. He’d not held it against her, and her being here now was invaluable support.
Taisiya left, and the servants slipped inside after her to clear the table. Vanya caught Soren’s eye. “Walk with me?”
