A Dove's Tale

Chapter 129

We were the first to arrive at the round table room. A single vase of red roses occupied the center of the otherwise empty table, the clear glass reflecting the sunlight streaming through the windows. It was a bright, cheerful setting, but the atmosphere felt heavy. Chevalier passed the seat his brothers always left open for him at mealtimes and pulled out the two chairs closest to the window. I took one, and he took the seat to my left. Clavis sat on my right; Nokto sat on Chevalier's left; and Luke sat on Nokto's left. This wasn't the usual seating arrangement. It was probably part of whatever statement Chevalier wanted to make.

"You took my spot," Clavis whispered in my ear.

It was only a few minutes before the Obsidianite trade delegation arrived. They wore fake smiles and offered courteous introductions, as I expected. That was the norm among the nobility, no matter how formal or informal the occasion. That didn't bother me. The way their faces paled when they saw Chevalier and me did.

"I hope you don't mind my being here," I said, smiling in what I hoped came across as a friendly, disarming manner. "This is my first opportunity to sit in on a business meeting, and I'd just like to observe, if that's okay. I promise I won't be any trouble."

"Of course you won't," Clavis interjected. "When have you ever been any trouble?"

It wasn't often his golden eyes hardened into sheets of gold metal. Paired with his smile, he seemed more like a beast baring its fangs than a fun-loving prince looking forward to an interesting discussion with foreign diplomats. It was all I could do not to squirm in my seat. This was already intensely uncomfortable.

The now-wary handful of diplomats filled in the remaining spaces at the table, leaving the seat directly opposite Chevalier open. I was just beginning to wonder when Gilbert would arrive when a distinctive tap echoed through the open door from the hallway. Another tap followed shortly after, and then another, marking his approach with the rhythmic pattern of his ornate black and gold cane hitting the floor. It made my skin crawl. The last time I'd heard that sound was the night he arrived at the annual goodwill gala, the first time I met him, when all I knew of him was his reputation and the warning Chevalier gave me, and the effect on the diplomats from his own country now was very similar to the effect on the servants lined up in the entrance hall then. Thinly disguised fear.

I didn't like this statement. At all.

He appeared in the doorway with his usual charming smile and pleasant expression, waves of bone-chilling terror radiating from him as he walked to the seat across from Chevalier. His blood-red eye met mine briefly before shifting to Chevalier as he sat down.

"Shall we begin?" he asked, as if this was nothing more than a sociable tea party.

The unease in my stomach grew as the meeting progressed. He was deliberately intimidating his countrymen, and we all knew it. Nokto and Clavis really had to work to draw them into conversation. From what I could gather, this was originally a meeting to discuss the major exports Obsidian offered and negotiate prices for import of needed resources from Rhodolite, but there wasn't much negotiation, and I don't think there would have been even without Gilbert, Chevalier, and their intended statement. Clavis and Luke didn't need to be present, either. There was nothing frivolous about Nokto's approach to business. He had all the figures and facts on hand; he knew what he wanted; and he knew exactly what to say and do to achieve his goal.

It was just like his handling of women at parties, actually.

I didn't know the first thing about business, so it all sounded like a good deal to me, although I was sure it wasn't. It was hard to tell, though. The Obsidianites weren't arguing, and neither was Gilbert.