“I don’t know. He’s not sane. We kept everyone away until Aberfrer managed to portal him here. Imagine if word got out of his true condition. Already distant kin are whispering, making their own plans.” She wrung her hands, eyes downcast.
An all-out war for succession might start if the nobility discovered Broen’s long-lost half-brother. Hispowerful sorcererlong-lost half-brother. Wycke planned to delay letting the information out into the realm as long as possible. One hundred problems were enough to handle at one time, thank you very much.
Maybe by magic or empathy, Wycke felt Saris’s heart breaking. He forced a tight smile. “Buy us time with the courtiers.” If Broen recovered, the king’s relationship with Saris might finally take a positive turn. Broen needed a strong queen. Saris needed the respect from Broen she’d always had but never acknowledged.
“How? They can be… most persistent.” Saris lifted her chin, gazing at Wycke with fear-dilated eyes. “They barely accept me as his queen consort. What can I do to make them believe anything I say?”
Sir Broderick said that Saris had far more support than she knew.
“Make an appearance, tell them the king is ill, but only isolates himself to prevent spreading the flu,” Piers supplied, approaching to place his hand on Wycke’s shoulder. Touching. Piers couldn’t seem to go long without physical contact with Wycke, though they’d not had the opportunity for more.
Strange how Wycke’s fears seemed to calm in the wake of the simple gesture.
Frown lines formed at the corners of Saris’s mouth. “What is the flu?”
“A sickness in the human realm,” Wycke answered. “Highly contagious, but not often fatal, not to someone of Broen’s constitution.” Or so Wycke read in a magazine once.
“I have another idea.” Jess rubbed a beringed hand over her abdomen.
Saris scrunched her brow, exaggerating Jess’s motions with puzzlement in her eyes.
“You don’t even have to lie, but if you caress your stomach enough, the rumor mill will do the rest.” Trust Jess to provide drama.
“What is a rumor mill?” Saris turned from Jess to Wycke.
“Imagine a day after Lady Everly and Lady Langland dining at the palace when Lady Applegate appears without her mate.” Those two women spread gossip like the wind spread autumn leaves.
“Oh! I agree. They definitely will escalate any little gesture into a grand announcement.” Saris sighed. “But how will I get them near enough to make assumptions?”
“Host a dinner to introduce the courtiers to your visiting cousin Jess,” Wycke suggested.
Saris and Jess both scowled, Jess holding out her arms, putting her tattoos on display.
“Hey, with her hair color, she could pass as a mermaid.” Okay, so bad idea.
Piers spoke up. “If you don’t want them speculating about the king, give them something else to think about.”
“What do you have in mind?” Wycke’s hackles rose. Piers’ smirk said he might not like the answer.
“Tell them Wycke is seeking a mate.”
“I what?” Wycke would never. Especially as he’d already found one quite by accident. Dear gods, no! Ambitious mothers parading their sons and daughters beneath his nose. Maidens luring Wycke into compromising situations. Maybe his magic choosing a mate for him wasn’t a bad idea after all.
“What an excellent idea!” A moment later, Saris’s excitement dimmed. “But won’t they expect Wycke at the dinner?”
“No. Say he’s visiting your brother in Myrgren. If you really want to shake them up, tell them Radre has some candidates picked out.” Piers grinned, enjoying the ruse far too much for comfort, in Wycke’s opinion.
The magical realm’s very ownReal Court Wives of Dhugach.
Yeah. Introduce some competition. Piers might just start a free-for-all, with Wycke as the prize.
He’d rather face a dragon.
Saris narrowed her eyes, addressing Piers. “You’re entirely too good at court intrigue. Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”
“Pul-eeze,” Jess said, waving her hand. “A royal court has nothing on a club full of drunk partiers.”
“If you say so.” Saris lowered her voice. “Piers, after all this is over, will you take me to your club? I want to see this place Jess speaks of. It gives me something to think about other than that we could soon lose Radre and Broen.” She choked back a sob. “I have been so unkind to Broen. He’s been nothing but good to me. I thought he kept me imprisoned, but having seen the court without his firm hand, I believe he only tried to protect me.”
