Page 8 of Immortal Bonds

All that meant he had missed out on meeting Romilly and Archer. The next morning he woke up early and headed down to breakfast in order to meet them, and hopefully he’d get to know them truly as they were now.

When he entered the dining room, he frowned because there was no one there. He looked to the side where one of the helpers stood.

"You know where everyone is? I seem to have lost my family," he joked.

The man gave him a wide-eyed look, his mouth opening like he was going to respond, but then Silas came up behind him and gripped his shoulder. "Hey, Thalric. Breakfast is a tricky situation sometimes. I'm sure you wanted to meet Romilly and Archer."

Thalric nodded, sinking into the familiar warm embrace of his friend and brother-in-law. "I was hoping to meet them. I know I passed out last night."

Thalric waved his free hand. "Oh, don't worry about it. Mira said you looked exhausted, and it was a long journey. You deserved the rest."

At that moment, Thalric's stomach made a ferocious noise. Both men looked down at it before they shared a look.

"You clearly also need some breakfast."

"Yes, that's why I'm in the dining room," he said, with enough sarcasm for Silas to laugh.

The young man who had not managed to speak to him continued to stare wide-eyed at the pair.

"Come with me. We'll go see Belinda in the kitchen. I'm sure she has something she can whip up for you."

"And what about you?" Thalric threw back.

"I wake up long before now, and I've already had breakfast and coffee and gone for a run."

Thalric frowned. "All of that before now? That's too early."

"No, it's not. You're just used to sleeping in later. You are who people expect of you, and you get away with it.”

“But you're not the king anymore. Romilly is. So why are you still getting up?"

Silas pushed the door open to the kitchen area, motioning for Thalric to go before him. He spoke as he followed. "Because I did it for centuries. You don't break habits easily, or at least I don't. So early mornings it is. Besides, Mira gets up early too, so it works out."

The tone in which he said that made Thalric wrinkle his nose. "Dude, that's my sister. We've been over this."

"And she's my wife," Silas replied easily. "You can infer whatever you want from what I say. But I'll have you know that we have four children together. I had to, you know, to get that to happen."

Thalric put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes, singing out, "La, la, la," as if it would take away what he'd just heard. He was mostly just messing with Silas. He was quite aware of the fact that his sister was not a virginal maiden tucked away in a tower, like he probably would have enjoyed her to be, until he died many, many centuries from now.

At the same time, he understood that he would not have such wonderful nephews otherwise. He was still trying to figure out what in the world to call Soren because of their pronouns. They'd said nephew was fine, but the dimming in their eyes proved otherwise.

Thalric shook his head to push away the thought for now. He'd have to do some research and figure it out.

"To what do I owe this visit, Your Majesty?"

A woman with curves for days stood in the kitchen with an apron on and her hair up in a messy bun. She had a spoon and was stirring something in a large pot. Thalric was drawn to the scent. It was intoxicating, whatever it was. He moved to get closer, but Silas put a hand out. "Don't mess with her while she's mixing."

"Hello, Belinda. This is my brother-in-law, Thalric. I don't think you two have met since you came on after his last visit."

She stopped stirring and wiped her hands on her apron, then extended one over the counter. "Nice to meet you. You're kin to Mira, right?"

"Yes, I am," Thalric replied easily, immediately noting the woman was human.

When he turned to his brother-in-law, Silas was smiling wide. "Belinda is very trusted. She has kept our secret for a long time, at least in human years. And she is intent on continuing to keep it. Plus, the way she cooks is a dream. I’m never hungry, and I'm always left wishing my stomach was bigger, so I could put more down."

"Is that so?" Thalric asked, his stomach tightening yet again.

Thankfully, this time it hadn't made a sound. Belinda eyed him as though she'd heard it, though. She moved away from the enticing concoction and went to a cabinet. When she opened it, it revealed a host of appliances, and when she opened one door, there was a steaming plate. He couldn't help but stare at it. It was covered in meats and cheeses and bread, with a pile of eggs so tall he worried they would tumble over.