“Which I explained every day I went out in them.” She shrugged lightly before offering Heike her hand. The little boy gamely took it, beaming up at his mother. “We made the journey here with no issues.”
“We got to travel by submersible!” Heike said excitedly.
Rodian nodded, aware of the details of their travel south. He’d signed off on it, after all. “Let’s get inside, and I will show you around.”
“Do you not have duties with the royal court today?” Sakka asked.
Rodian shook his head. “You come first, little sister.”
She smiled at him, soft and pleased, despite the tiredness in her eyes. For all that the journey from Verdlovsk to Matriskav would have been quicker by sea than by land, it was still an undertaking during winter, especially with a child.
Rodian ushered them into the palace, where Lidiya waited for them with other servants. They all bowed or curtseyed at their arrival, fists over heart.
“Welcome, Your Royal Highness,” Lidiya said in greeting to Sakka.
For her part, Sakka took the title in stride, though Rodian still recalled the angry telephone call he’d endured when he rang her up to tell her Heike was now his successor. Her anger at him for putting her son in such a fraught position was the reason she hadn’t been present for his coronation. She’d blamed it onthe transition of their Minister duties to cousins to oversee, but Rodian knew the truth.
But they were family, and she had still come.
Rodian would be forever grateful to her for that.
“Let me show you to your wing,” Rodian said, pretending he didn’t see the way Lidiya’s eyelids twitched at that offer.
Heike was excited to tour the royal wing that was their home now, poking his way through every room Rodian walked them through. They had the floor above his to themselves, while the family rooms were located on the first level. The nursery for Heike was larger than the home Sakka and Lev had lived in, full of toys the little boy became immediately enamored with.
Rodian and Sakka shared the sofa in the corner meant for a governess or nurse. No one else was in the room with them, Lidiya having ushered the servants out. They watched Heike as he explored the large room and all the mechanical and wind-up toys, stuffed animals, and games meant for a child of six years.
“You did not take any herds with you when you came to the capital,” Sakka said quietly, watching her son play.
“They belong to the town,” Rodian said.
“They are our heritage, no matter what city-folk like to believe. I’ve requested a small number be transported here to Matriskav.”
Rodian shook his head. “Sakka.”
“Do not argue, Rodya. The lower classes will pay a heavy price in the coming years for the fallacy of the nobility. The use of reyndeers in your royal outings will be a reminder of where you came from and what your heart is like.”
“I never asked for this,” he said plaintively.
Sakka, ever pragmatic, did not let him wallow in pity. “It is your road now. I would see you walk it with your head held high.”
“The royal court is nothing like my Ministerial duties.”
“Have you been managing?”
“With help.”
“There is no shame in that. Lidiya seems adept enough.” He’d spoken to Sakka about his aide before, both on televox calls and via telegrams.
“She is. But she is not of the ivoryanin.”
“No, which was your concern. Have you found someone to assist you?” Rodian hesitated only a moment, but his sister knew him better than anyone, and her gaze sharpened with curiosity. “You have.”
“An ivoryan who people say is prone to gossip.”
“That is not necessarily a bad thing.”
“I made him my Steward of the Crown.”
