Empire's Legacy

Chapter 15: Cam and Anni

They reached the top of the hill and the big double doors at the front of the manor flew open. A barefoot young man in an open dressing gown and loose drawstring trousers bounded down the steps and stopped, his arms flung out.

"Anni!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea you were coming back so soon!"

"Hello, Cam," Amy said dryly. "We're not disturbing anything, are we?"

He flapped a hand. "No. She can wait."

Amy made a face. "I really hope you checked her ID this time, Cam."

He ignored her and circled around Grey. "And who is this?" he demanded. "Not for me, I imagine."

"Not in that way, Cam, so stop ogling." Amy bit her lip in amusement at Grey's obvious discomfort. "Cam, this is Morgan Greyson. I hired his ship and crew to help with a salvage job after I left Idylla, and we need some help." She met his eyes. "I'm calling in some favors."

Cam laughed and turned his blazing smile on Grey. "You'll have to excuse my big sister," he said. "She has a terrible sense of humor."

"Not joking, Cam," Amy said. "Gear up."

Cam's lips thinned. "Will you excuse us," he said to Grey, and then he gripped his sister by the arm and dragged her into the manor.

Cam shut the parlor door and threw himself down onto a pile of cushions, his expression reminiscent of a sulky child's. "You want to explain what right you have crashing back into my life so damn soon after the last time? Demanding favors?"

Amy perched on the arm of a chair by the window. "Oh, I don't know," she said, glancing up at the ceiling. "For starters, let's try the fact that this is actually my house. Or had you forgotten that? I think I have a right to come home when I like." She stretched out her legs and crossed them at the ankle. "And then there's the small matter of bailing your ass out of trouble since the time you were 15." Smiling pleasantly at her brother, she added, "I'd think you'd be more appreciative of your big sister."

"Anni, darling, it's not that I don't appreciate you," Cam said, sprawling backwards and absently swinging one leg back and forth. "You know I do."

"Mmph."

He turned his head towards her, half of his face hidden in a pillow. "No, really. That business with Katerina could have been...awkward."

Amy pushed herself to her feet and gazed down at her brother. "Could have been? Oh, Cam. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to smooth over relations with that family without bringing Dad into it?" She plunked herself down on the cushions beside him and brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. "No, of course you don't."

"Thanks, by the way, for keeping Dad out of it," Cam said, looking up at her. "You know how he gets."

"Hah." Amy stroked her brother's hair for a moment and then said, "You know, Cam, life would be a hell of a lot easier if you'd just think a bit before leaping. There'd be less mess for me to get you out of."

"But where's the fun in that?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Besides, girls like me. It's not my fault if I didn't know she wasn't who she said. I'm not an expert at recognizing falsified ID tags."

"Liar," Amy said fondly. "You've been using them since you were 15."

"Yeah, and you didn't tell Dad about that either."

She was silent for a moment. "Yeah, well, you never told Dad I was the one in the closet that day."

Cam rolled onto his back, a frown on his face. "Is that why you're always cleaning up after me? Because you thought I'd tell Dad?"