But Gerard did not care that he was the cause of the stares and whispers. Not this time. It was amazing what a difference a few weeks could make.
“Look at that! Gerard is actually smiling!” Luther laughed.
Gerard turned towards Luther, who, along with Senta and Konrad, watched him. His siblings sat with him in the sitting room, part of the section provided for the royal family of Draconia. They, like himself, sat on brightly coloured cushions.
Their father had requested a family meeting. But the king had yet to arrive.
“Oh, look! Gerard is back with us now.” Luther laughed. “Were you thinking about a certain pretty lightning prince, perhaps?”
Senta shoved Luther. “Leave him be.” She looked to Gerard. “We’re all just pleased to see you smiling properly again, Gerard.”
Had I stopped smiling properly?
“And Prince Elias definitely looked like you’d thoroughly pleased him at the ball the other night.” Luther wiggled his eyebrows. “At least you won’t have trouble consummating the marriage.”
This time Senta laughed.
“Prince Elias isn’t the brightest,” Konrad said. “But he seems nice enough. I am happy that you are happy, Gerard.”
Gerard cleared his throat. “Well, actually, he is not as foolish as he first appears.”
Konrad raised a brow. “Really?”
Senta gave Gerard a look. Her eyes sparkled, and she pressed her lips together. Clearly, she thought Elias a fool too.
“At first, I did not think him very smart. But then?—”
“But then you started fucking him and suddenly his intelligence improved?” Luther asked.
Gerard flushed as his siblings laughed.
He wanted to push. He wanted to say that there was much more to Elias. But honestly, he still had trouble understanding the different sides he’d seen of the man.
There was a watchfulness in Elias’s eyes and a quickness to his mind. He was far more than just a pretty face. Gerard wanted to try to convince his siblings of that. Butclearly, they wouldn’t believe him. They’d just think him cock struck.
“I like Elias!” Senta proclaimed. “I think he is wonderful for you.” She patted him on the knee.
“Me too.” Luther gave a sharp nod.
The two looked at Konrad. He stared back at them, then turned to Gerard. “Well, at least we know he can’t be the one working against the peace treaty. He doesn’t seem intelligent enough.”
Gerard bit his tongue. He wanted to argue that Elias was indeed intelligent enough. But he didn’t think that would go down well. He didn’t want to make it sound like he was suggesting that Elias was one of the plotters.
Their stepmother and father entered the room. The siblings straightened, and the laughter stopped.
King Alaric’s gaze flicked around the room. “Good. You’re all here.”
“You did summon us,” Konrad pointed out.
Their stepmother sat down on one of the cushions. The king looked around, clearly not wanting to lower himself onto a fabric cushion on the floor. He turned to the corridor. “Bring me a chair,” he commanded.
A servant promptly brought one in. “And close the door.” The king sat as the servant left. Their father turned towards them. “Has anyone noticed anything suspicious?” the king asked, not wasting any time.
Senta and Gerard shared a look. They regularly met with their father to discuss this sort of thing. But it seemed their father wanted to bring the others in on this conversation too.
Gerard cleared his throat. “As you know, we have spies amongst the servants of most of the different kingdoms. The reports continue that a lot of people are paranoid andwatchful, wondering who was working with Warden Flint.”
“Do you have any more information on Warden Flint’s daughter? On Warden Jade?” the king asked.
