31. Chapter 31 #2
“Interesting,” the intruder stated. His voice was smooth but a hint of danger coated the word.
“Such a pity that there are no walls or guards protecting such a lovely estate. Worse when the very men holding swords are easily distracted. Anyone can just stroll up and do this, even agents from Dokvalon.” The hair on the back of my neck rose.
I didn’t have to see his face to know that behind his mocking tone there was a menacing smile.
“What do you want, shithead?” Paige stepped around Ora, her fingertips glowing green. Flowers and shrubbery twisted and bent toward the intruder’s direction like snakes slithering through the grass.
The man held up a solitary finger of flame and tsked at the lady, the fire in his hand blasting another wave of heat in our direction, singeing parts of the vines in the grass.
“You stop what you’re doing and I’ll make sure this man doesn’t get hurt too badly.
” He angled the dagger toward Fyom’s neck deep enough to threaten but not enough to draw blood… yet.
Paige stopped Wielding the Earth around us and dropped her hands to her sides. Peiro took one step forward, sword still pointing toward the intruder. “You release him, boy, and no harm will come to you.” The venom in his words promised more than swords.
The intruder turned his head to Peiro, taking him in next. “You think you’ll be faster than me? A man with a knife next to this dumb oaf? You don’t have it in you.” At that proclamation, Peiro simply dropped his arm and said nothing. His eyes narrowed as he tilted his head ever so slightly.
“And you…” The intruder turned toward Paige as he gripped Fyom harder. “Would you really cast your Wielding on a servant of your land?”
“A servant of mine is not a coward.” Paige lifted her head in defiance. “Release this man and no harm will be done to you…by me. But I cannot promise what they will do.” She nodded toward Sury and Peiro.
Peiro only shook his head. “I’m not going to hurt this man.”
We looked at him incredulously. Confusion was evident on my face as Peiro began to smile. Surely the madness inside of him wouldn’t let Fyom, of all people, ever be in danger.
“But—” Paige began, but was interrupted by the intruder.
“Do you really think you could live with yourself knowing that you hurt your favorite nephew?” the man said with a laugh at the end.
Peiro joined in his laughter. Paige huffed and mumbled something along the lines of son of a bitch as Fyom’s tense shoulders shook under the intruder’s hands as he began to laugh.
The man quickly recalled his Firus as he resheathed his blade and pulled back his hood, revealing a beautiful set of lilac-colored eyes.
He was strikingly handsome and his large smile took up most of his face.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Paige bellowed across the space.
“You? This delinquent had a damn knife to my throat!” Fyom shouted back. In an instant the large man was on his feet and turning toward the intruder, whose face instantly faltered a fraction. He was just about Fyom’s height, possibly an inch shorter.
“Let’s look at this as a lesson of opportunity to know your surroundings.” The man’s smile bloomed again as he opened his hands wide, almost welcoming.
“You better be glad I love you,” Fyom replied as he swept the intruder into his arms, giving him a tight embrace.
Peiro laughed and crossed the space in easy steps, clasping the man’s shoulder tightly. “Uriah. You’re going to get yourself stabbed one of these days.”
“Too late. It already happened when I was in Brexton.”
“And when were you in Mercyth?” Fyom crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. The look was that of a parent who knew their child was still into mischief, even as an adult.
“Best you didn’t know. Don’t want the wrong people knocking on the doors of this lovely estate.” The man grinned widely at his aunt with a faux look of innocence. Paige responded with a sigh and shake of her head.
Uriah? It registered that the man had said nephew to Paige. I took a moment to observe the man who continued to smile broadly as he swooped his petite aunt into his arms and twirled her around as if she weighed nothing.
There was no mistaking the man’s features or who he shared them with.
He appeared to be in his third decade of life and bore the same brow, cheekbones, and nose shape as his father—identical in both form and length.
The only differences I noticed were that his skin was a few shades lighter than Fyom’s darker tones and his hair was closely cropped.
And the eyes—this man’s eyes didn’t dip downward at the outer corners like his father’s, but tilted upward instead, and his smile was just different enough not to match identically.
“Uriah, you bastard!” Fyom laughed and patted him hard on the back, almost purposely, it seemed.
“I’m sorry, Father. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I saw Peiro here fighting a guest and you were all so engaged with it that I decided to have a bit of fun.”
“A bit of fun?” Paige exclaimed loudly. “Playing cards is a bit of fun. Drinking your adversary under the table is a bit of fun! Holding a knife to someone’s throat seems like the least bit of fun I can imagine.”
“Well, Pip, it seems like you need to broaden your sense of the word.” Uriah laughed with a wiggle of his eyebrows. His eyes then widened as he studied Peiro. “Damn, I haven’t seen you in years, yet you look like you haven’t aged a day. What’s your secret?”
“Tonics that cost too much for your pockets, and good hair genetics,” Peiro swiftly responded. My mind traveled to the time Peiro had shared his life story with me, including his coming across Fyom’s family—but his true identity remained between him and Fyom.
“Hmm.” Uriah gave him a questioning look before he threw his arms over Fyom’s and Peiro’s shoulders, assessing the rest of us with a large smile. “And who are our guests?”
Fyom turned, outstretching a hand. “Standing before you with the sword you should be careful of is Lord Sury Anmathios of the Northern Territory.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Sury.” Uriah’s eyes went wild with laughter. “And what about these fine ladies? Do they travel with Lord Sury’s party? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such beautiful specimens here in Loamil.” Uriah turned to me and winked.
I felt my cheeks blush just a fraction and could have sworn I heard Peiro growl as he stood there with his arms tightly crossed over his chest.
Ora stepped forward, sweeping her hand toward me. “This specimen behind me is Princess Ophelia Endromeon.”
Uriah’s face paled. “Oh…”
“And that, my boy,” Fyom interrupted, “is our queen. Aurora Endromeon of Gria.”