Staring down at the letter in his hands, Serill tried to gather the courage to knock on the door in front of him. He’d been standing outside the room for five minutes already, and awake for a lot longer since the king had decided to leave for the moon temple before the early-rising fisherman had even contemplated getting out of bed.
He knew the cunning bastard had planned everything so carefully, casually ‘remembering’ at the last minute that the letter had been delivered the other day. Pretending that Serill’s avoidance of him yesterday and the impending trip to see his other three children were the reasons he didn’t think of it sooner.
The threefavoritechildren was what the man didn’t have to say out loud. It was no secret that the man preferred Colyne and Aucia and their lightning magic, even Linyive with her lightning and healing affinities, over his weaker, healing-only child.
The king knew damn well what he was doing this morning, planning to be gone before anyone else was awake. Specifically Cason. And it was a good thing he was going to be far away from the fire wielder’s reach.
Serill wasn’t worried about waking Cason, the man famous for competing with the sun to rise first. No, he was more worried about whatever it was inside the letter in his hands. Worried about how the captain would react to the Anfroy seal when he’d already been in a shitty mood since learning about Calcheth.
Whatever little shred of lightness Brela had gotten Cason to display yesterday morning would be forever snuffed out with one glance at the letter, if that fire hadn’t already been extinguished.
Shuffling behind the door and the crackling fireplace only made the dread curl tighter in his gut. Serill lifted his fist to knock.
The door swung open and he was eye level with white-blonde hair and a pale, blue-gray gaze.
Brela’s smile was wicked as she leaned against the door frame. Hair disheveled—wearing nothing but a white shirt that barely reached mid-thigh and did not hide the curve of her breasts and waist—she propped a hand on her hip and let her eyes trace the prince.
“Told you it was Serill,” she called over her shoulder, her gaze not leaving him.
Serill dared to look in the room as Cason snarled at Brela from the bed.
The prince quietly thanked all the gods that his friend had tugged on pants before she’d thrown the door wide open. Clearly she had no shame in her lack of clothing, her endless, muscular legs on full display.
Serill wasn’t sure where to look, or,notlook.
For a split second, fear and concern flashed across her features as she noticed the letter in his hand and the hesitation on his face. And then, as if she could see the additional dread tensing the prince’s shoulders, she winked and it disappeared.
“Good morning, Prince Serill of Severina,” she purred, flashing her teeth as he blushed. “Care to join us? We were just getting started.”
His cheeks didn’t know whether to burn brighter in embarrassment or pale in shock. Cason thankfully came to the rescue, smacking her upside the head before dragging her back into the room by hem of her shirt as she squealed.
“You’re incorrigible,” he growled, but it wasn’t his typical drawl. No, those words were dripping with amusement.
Good gods, Cason wasflirting. In front of the prince. Without a shred of embarrassment.
Serill knew his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn’t figure out how to close it. This lightness in his friend… this is what he was about to crush.
Brela looked torn between laughing, smacking Cason back, or jumping him regardless of company. Serill wouldn’t put it past her to do all three.
She leaned up on her toes, pressing her chest against Cason’s bare skin so she could be eye level with him. “The Empress of Chaosalwayskeeps things interesting.”
Serill wasn’t sure whether the crackling flames were from the fireplace or Cason. He averted his gaze because he didn’t want to know what came next. He was vaguely aware of Brela shuffling around the room, not bothering to put on pants as she gathered her things, and Serill decided the marble floor was suddenly the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.
Cason must have forgotten that Serill was still standing there because as Brela made to slide past him, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her back into a kiss.
And it was not chaste. From either of them.
The prince cleared his throat after an awkward minute, and Brela might have hissed at him, but Cason let go and gave his friend an insincere, apologetic smile.
Asmile. Whether he was truly sorry or not, it was a real, relaxed smile. Happy, even. Serill’s heart tore in half for what he was about to deliver and effectively ruin.
Cason’s gaze snagged on the seal in the prince’s hands, but before the emotion could take over, Brela breezed past the captain and his eyes darted to her. “You forgot the bottom half of your outfit.”
“I forgot nothing,” she purred over her shoulder. Left hand gripping her boots, a book and notebook tucked under that arm, she tossed her pants and shirt over her shoulder and winked at the captain. “Enjoy the view.”
As a magic-warmed breeze chased after Brela, she flashed her eyes to Serill and mouthedyou’re welcomebefore strutting down the hallway.
Oh, gods, that wink. She’d been distracting Cason from the letter in Serill’s hands. Giving him something else to think about and lessen the blow of whatever news the prince carried from Anfroy.
