A Blaze in the Dark (A New Dawn #1)

Chapter 27 - Sebastian (Part 1)

I shall travel lightly. I require nothing but room for my one-person carriage and a roof above my donkey's head. You won't be allowing another beggar into your precious country.

As he popped right behind his aunt and uncle, Uncle Tom looked over his shoulder and Sebastian glared right back. Yes, he had come after all, and it wasn't a big deal. He just wanted to know what the surprise was, but before he could ask, Aunt Crystal claimed all of Uncle Tom's attention by whispering something in his free ear.

Lana elbowed him, her grin evident even with her diamond-covered mask on. "You were too curious, weren't you?"

"So what if I was? I'm here so you can all stop whining."

"Lose the attitude, cousin," she tsked. "Regal arrogance is a fine art that you are far from mastering. To quote Alex, you're just being a Muttonhead, and a very bratty one if you ask me."

"I didn't ask but I'm fine with that." He resisted the temptation to turn around and face Alex. The words would sting far more if they came out of her mouth.

Besides, bratty was better than getting dubbed a crybaby. Since late last evening, a soreness had settled in his chest and further up his throat that threatened with waves of uncontrollable tears.

A feast they called it–the Feast of the Dead–yet there was nothing to celebrate. Not when happy memories were fleeting and the bad ones grew stronger in his dreams. Last night he stood by helplessly again as familiar faces sunk deeper into the burning sands of the Scorching Plains until only Abby's bloodshot eyes were left to scream at him.

He still hadn't talked to Nick about her death. The moments they spent together, just the two of them, were scarce and never long enough to mention the unmentionable.

His gut twinged with a sudden urge to pee. Not again. He had already gone twice since coming back from Master Paul's training. When Lady Viviane had been complaining that he was stalling time on purpose, he had emptied his bladder into a bowl to show her that he really had to go.

Really, that shrieking could have been entirely avoided if she had believed him from the start.

"Uncle Tom?" He waited for the man to turn his head. "How long is the ceremony gonna last?"

"An hour, maximum. I'm on strict orders of my daughter to keep my speech short so she has more time to roam the fair. You're not gonna have to wait long to find out what the surprise is, Sebby."

Sebastian huffed. That had been Father's name for him, too intimate to be used by anyone else. "That surprise better be good, Uncle Tommy. To make up for the fair."

"It will be, Sebby. You and your grumpypants will love it."

"We'll see."

"You don't have to, of course. If you prefer returning to your sill to sulk, I'm not gonna stop you."

In the temple, Priest Aurelius in his black-and-white robe greeted them. His long salt and pepper hair bounced up and down as he bowed for all of them, giving the women a kiss on the hand as well.

Sebastian shuddered, his tongue touching his mask. Had he been a woman, he would have never been heir to the throne, but he didn't mind being a man if it meant avoiding uncomfortable kisses from strange mouths.

"The temple is ready if you are." The long sleeves of his robe swayed beneath the priest's bony arms as he gestured at the three high back chairs that stood on each side of the free-standing deep green marble altar. "Gentleman to the right, Ladies to the left, as dictated by the laws of our Gods."