An abandoned boy, a grieving prince, and a reclusive sorcerer find themselves caught in a web of peril and mystery...
Domi, a young thief abandoned on the street at birth, just wants to save his dying foster mother. But first, he must survive the m...
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Valens was fairly certain his alumna was up to something. Probably up to no good. He tried to ignore it—what the brat did in his own time didn't interest Valens at all—but now the boy's neighbors in the dormitory insisted on sending complaints. Or rather Ros, the aedificans of several of those obnoxious alumnas, kept passing along his charges' grievances. When Valens ignored the complaints, the whiner shifted his attention to Arbita instead.
He could not believe the man's gall. He hadn't wed the woman yet, and people enlisted her to meddle in his affairs.
"It's nothing alarming," the lifeholder said. The two of them sat beside Valens's rain pool going over preparations for the wedding neither of them wanted while Domi practiced his breathing inside. "Just weird. No one has managed to take an exact head count of how many Pullati he has living with him, but it's a lot. And the kids keep bringing garbage to him every evening. Food scraps and half-rotten vegetables. Someone saw one picking through the trash."
Valens shook his head. "He doesn't understand he's not a Pullatus any longer. I haven't forbidden him from having contact with his family and friends, just told him to do it on his own time." He did not mention his recent deal with Merula. It still rankled that he gave in to a Pyrrhaeus. "Germinating started last week. You know how chilly it gets. My guess is he's offered his fellow sewer rats a warm place to stay."
"And you don't care?" Judging from the scorn on her face, she thought she knew the answer.
Valens shrugged. "As long as they don't burn the dormitory down and cost me money paying for repairs, why should I?"
He should ensure Domi had enough blankets for everyone. If no one was cold, the idiot kids would have no reason to play with fire and damage anything.
Arbita grimaced at him. "Seriously, Valens? Half of them are in all likelihood sick and the others starved. Even with food scraps, he can't possibly feed all those kids. Are you going to ignore that many children in need?"
"Not my problem. I didn't even want a Trueborn alumna. I'm not taking responsibility for a whole nest of little Pyrrhaei rats."
Blankets were one thing. A preventative measure. But food? That would cost as much as feeding a whole household of servants. There were reasons he didn't employ cooks or maids. The expense was fine, he supposed, but he wanted naught to do with the nuisance of managing a staff.
"You're so horrible in the way you speak of them."
He shrugged. "Ask Domi, and he'll tell you I'm horrible in every way conceivable. I'll survive. If you're so concerned, you deal with it."
"Me? He's your alumna."
"We're about to wed. What's mine will soon become yours. Much as we both hate to admit it."
How much did feeding a bunch of miniature Pullati cost? The last thing he wanted was his alumna getting distracted trying to earn coin for such a thing. He sighed. He would need to look into it.
