Mermaid Tear (The Fated #2)

33 | Inheritance

Two Weeks Ago

After politely urging Kain to change, Lyre insisted that they had to leave immediately if Kain was going to avoid being late. Seeing no reason to protest, except perhaps the desire to see if the others were okay, Kain let himself be led away from their rooms.

The route Lyre chose took them through ostentatiously decorated halls was one that, somehow, Kain recognized.

"Isn't this the way to His Majesty's office?" he questioned.

Lyre puffed up with pride. "Of course. The entire west wing is his majesty's personal quarters. You recognized it because of the beauty, right? Only the best artists in Eol have been allowed to make pieces for these halls."

Kain resisted the urge to grimace. Beauty wasn't exactly the word he would have applied to it all.

"It's certainly memorable," he hedged.

That was all it took for Lyre to launch into an explanation of each "masterpiece" they passed. The servant knew everything about the palace, it would seem, and was far too eager to let Kain in on what he could manage to shove into their short walk.

The only intriguing news Kain was able to pull out of the mess was the distinct lack of art involving the previous king. Asha, Kain had expected to be absent, but why Akaikos? Difficult memories? Or was there some other reason?

"Here we are," Lyre announced, dragging Kain from his thoughts.

They'd come to a stop outside a guarded door. If the knights cared for their presence, they gave no sign as Lyre urged Kain inside. He relaxed the faintest degree as he studied the room and realized it was unoccupied--well, mostly.

"Melitta," he greeted. "Callias."

They were seated at a long, gold trimmed bocate dining table that dominated the majority of the room. At his greeting, Callias stood and offered an appropriate greeting bow, while Melitta stayed seated. His face heated as he realized the reason behind their presence--Alekos had wanted to invite Kain's "partner" and her escort to their dinner.

"Kain," she replied, a bright smile lighting up her expression. "I was wondering when you would arrive. His Majesty's aid said the king was busy and would be late, but we'd heard nothing about you."

On the bright side, their presence made it easier for Kain to decide where to sit. Melitta was positioned midway down the left side, which meant Kain could take the seat to her right. A position of authority at a dining table, but still below the head. Traditionally the hostess or the guest of honor would be seated at the opposing end to the head, but given Alekos lacked a queen, and Melitta had seated herself in the center, not the end, it gave Kain the ability to sit next to Alekos without lessening his own position.

He resisted the urge to message his temple as he sat and Callias straightened from his bow. Gods, why did politics have to be so complicated? It was just a table.

Aware there were eyes and ears everywhere in the king's quarters, Kain resisted the urge to spill everything he had learned to Melitta. Instead, he allowed a warm, curious smile to his face, the sort one might wear when greeting their partner--it was easy with Melitta, thankfully--and focused on the other questions he had about the day.

"Isidor, Natia and I took today as a chance to explore Sol," he explained. "We would have invited you, but I heard you were called to tea by the queen mother?"

"Ah," Melitta paused, eyes subtly flicking to the door and back to him, before she continued. "Yes, she was curious about His Majesty's guests."

Was she warning him not to ask more? Kain hesitated, and was saved from searching for a change of topic by the door opening. Knowing there was no one else it could be, Kain stood even as he turned to face it. The soft scrape of the others' chairs told him they assumed the same, which proved smart as his eyes found the king.