THE DINNER INVITATIONhad come as a surprise, and Palmer wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.It wasn’t every day one had dinner with the king, but then, the situation was a bit odd.Palmer wouldn’t say he considered Killian a friend, but they were friendly, and he was definitely close to Hedley.That might be because they were both human, but Hedley had wanted Palmer to be a part of their children’s health team, and things had snowballed from there.And now, here Palmer was, in the king’s private quarters, eating delicious food.Killian had two babies in his arms, and Hedley was watching them with a fond smile.Palmer couldn’t help but do the same.Those babies really were precious.He’d never seen a baby dragon before, and these two were incredibly beautiful and loved.
“So, how’s everything going?”Hedley asked, taking a sip of his wine.“And I mean really, not the answer you’d give the king or his consort.”
“Well, Iamgiving my answer to the king’s consort.”
“Don’t be a smartass.I just wanted to make sure that no one’s bothering you and that you have everything you need.”
Palmer leaned back in his seat.“Nothing’s bothering me, and I do have everything I need.Really, I have more than I used to have at the hospital.The infirmary is up-to-date, and working with dragon healers is fascinating.I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
“And you’re not running into any kind of trouble, right?”
“No one said anything when you were in the library?”Killian asked.
Palmer blinked.He hadn’t realized that the king was following the conversation so closely.“Why should someone have bothered me in the library?”
“I was hoping no one would, but I still wanted Rune to be there just in case.Our father didn’t really like anyone going through the medical books.”
Palmer thought about what Rune had told him.“Rune mentioned that.He wanted that knowledge to be kept to only a few people.”
“Exactly.I didn’t think anyone would bother you since my father’s dead and doesn’t really have any supporters anymore, but we do have some clan members who are as old-fashioned as he was.”
“If someone was bothered, I didn’t notice, but then, I was busy.”
Killian nodded.“Good.Please let me know if anyone does.I’ll nip it in the bud.And yes, I’m serious.You’re here because I want you to be, and I’m the king.What I say goes, and if someone has a problem with that, they need to come to me.”
“I’m sure someone has a problem with my presence here, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”Palmer hoped so, anyway.He couldn’t help but think of Pearl, though.He knew she didn’t like him because he was human and had access to the books and to the healers, and he couldn’t help but wonder if one day, she’d confront him.He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she did.Hopefully, he wouldn’t be alone when it happened.She scared him.
“I was surprised that you asked Rune of all people to help me with this,” Palmer said, still curious about the reason behind it.
Killian smiled.“I thought it would be for the best.I didn’t want you to be alone in the library with those books, just in case, and Rune’s been reaching out.He wants to fix things between us, and I want that to happen.I don’t know if I’ll ever be close to my siblings, but I want to be, and he’s one of those who are actually making the effort.”
“We didn’t really have the opportunity to talk, but he seems nice.”
“He is.Most of my siblings are.The way we were raised to work against each other isn’t great, but it’s in the past.Things are changing for the better, mostly.I like that.”
“So you trust him?”
Killian hummed as he fed one of the babies a piece of meat.“Well, he hasn’t done anything to convince me I shouldn’t.In fact, he’s been working hard and following all my orders as if he’s afraid that if he doesn’t, I’m going to kick him out.”
“I think he’s as eager as you are to fix things between the two of you,” Hedley pointed out.“And while he’s not the only one, he’s certainly the most eager.It’s cute.”
“I don’t know that I would call it that, but I appreciate it.”
Listening to these two talk about Rune made Palmer feel a little guilty about being wary of him.Rune hadn’t done anything to deserve it, and it had all come from the way Pearl treated Palmer and every other human in the clan.Palmer had let her behavior taint the way he’d behaved with Rune, but he shouldn’t have.If Killian and Hedley trusted Rune, then Palmer should, too.That went for all of Killian’s siblings and people in the clan.“I’ve met another one of your brothers,” he commented.“Twig.He came to the infirmary.”
“Oh?”
“He wasn’t feeling well.”That was all Palmer was going to say.
Thankfully, Killian didn’t push.He was frowning now, but he nodded.“I’m sure you took care of him.”
“I did.I’m not worried.”
“Good.Maybe I should pay him a visit, just to check on him.”
“I’m sure he’d like that.”Palmer didn’t know if Twig was as eager as Rune to fix things with his siblings, but a visit from his brother wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Even if that brother was the king.
