Shey Thrudesh-Vo
TWENTY
“Your Highness, you really should rest,” Luca advised, even as he laid another report beside Shey’s right hand. As if realizing what he’d done, the man winced and moved to grab a stack of papers.
Shey shot him a wry look as he picked it up. “I will soon.”
“That’s a summary of the initial casualties and damage to the city.”
Shey grunted and ran his eyes over the numbers.
Since returning to the palace with an unconscious god and an equally unconscious dragon a day ago, Shey had been locked in endless meetings with advisors, generals, and other government officials.
The queen was overseeing the relief efforts within the city for its citizens.
Shey’s job was to oversee naval efforts against the Order and provide support to Fiona on the northern front.
Part of him ached to be in the middle of the fray like his sister, but that part was much smaller than he’d expected. He had admirals and captains far more experienced in sea battles. What more could he do that they hadn’t thought of?
And while he was an excellent fighter, Fiona appeared to be doing a fine job from every dispatch he saw. She didn’t need him there, muddying up the chain of command.
Plus, there might be another reason for him to remain in the palace.
“Have you heard anything from Tyche? Or our other guests?” Shey cursed himself for not including Haru and Adrian in his first inquiry. He was worried about all his friends. Not just Tyche.
Luca stood beside Shey’s desk with both hands holding his ever-present tablet in front of him.
He rocked on the balls of his feet. “There was a note from the royal physician. He has confirmed that he believes Mr. Westergren has a concussion and should report to the hospital for a scan of his head. However, Mr. Westergren has declined to leave his companion’s side. ”
Shey smirked at that as he finished flipping through the report in his hand. The only way they were getting Adrian to leave the palace for any kind of testing was to have Haru at his side the entire time, and even then, it was questionable.
“The physician told me to remind you that he still knows nothing about dragons, but everything appears fine on Omari Haru. He is awake, eating, and chatting. I believe he and Mr. Westergren paid a visit to Her Majesty today.”
Shey grunted and nodded. He had a feeling that Haru wished to apologize to his mother about the destruction and chaos he’d caused, even if it wasn’t his fault.
Shey had already explained to her that it had all happened because of the explosion and the resulting kidnapping of Adrian.
He shuddered at the memory of telling his mother that a royal guard from Erya had been kidnapped and a royal envoy from the Isle of Stone had been attacked.
He’d thought she’d been about to have a heart attack.
Queen Noemi would have been quick to reassure Haru that he was not to blame for anything.
Luca cleared his throat, and Shey glanced up to see lines digging into his brow. “Mr. Tyche woke late today and declined to see the physician. A maid also messaged me to say that he declined all food today.”
Shey sat back in his chair, frowning. “Did he take the coffee, at least?”
“No, Your Highness.”
This was serious. It boggled his mind to think that Tyche wasn’t eating when he knew the food would be good, but for him to reject coffee?
No, this was serious. He’d wanted to give Tyche some space after the confrontation with Kaes.
He also knew the God of Luck was blaming himself about Haru.
But this felt more dire than he’d previously thought.
“Thank you, Luca. I think we’re done for now. Try to get some rest. I’ll check on our guests prior to retiring.”
Luca bowed and started to leave as a short, lithe figure dressed all in black tactical gear marched in. Shey jumped to his feet and froze, his brain locked up as he struggled to recognize the woman striding toward him.
“Your Highness!” Luca gasped, and Shey’s brain kicked in.
Fiona?
His sister had turned twenty-one a few months earlier, but she appeared older to him.
Older than she should have. He wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t seen her in almost six months or if it was because this wasn’t the young woman he’d left behind in Sirelis.
That person had been all soft dresses, long flowing chestnut-brown hair, eye rolls, and sardonic smiles.
This person was battle ready, her hair pulled into a tight, long braid and smudges of dirt on her tanned cheeks. No frilly dresses or delicate makeup.
“Fee!” Shey hurried around his desk, arms out to embrace her.
What he got was a punch to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him.
“Excuse me, Your Highnesses.”
Luca was lucky. He could run for the door and escape the princess’s wrath.
“What the fuck?” he groaned, noisily sucking air into his lungs.
“That’s for disappearing and leaving us worried sick about you.”
“Fee—” Shey straightened, and his sister threw herself at him, wrapping him up in a tight hug.
“This is for coming home safe,” she mumbled into his shoulder.
He forgot the pain in his stomach as a sudden tightness gripped his throat. Shey hugged her, burying his face in her hair. She smelled of gunpowder and dirt, but there was a hint of her floral shampoo still clinging to the strands.
After a long moment, they released each other and stepped apart. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a sofa that sat to one side of his office. He needed to go check on Tyche, but he hadn’t seen his sister in months. Tyche would understand if he stole a few minutes.
“Sit! I need to hear everything,” she demanded.
Shey chuckled. “Even if I had the time to talk for three days straight, that still wouldn’t be enough time to tell you everything.”
Fiona tipped her head and groaned. “I know. I know. But you’ve got to give me something.
I stopped by and checked in with Mother.
She said we have a dragon and a god staying in the castle.
Give me something, or I’m going to march straight to their rooms and start asking questions.
” She paused, seemed to think, and then shrugged. “I might still do it anyway.”
Shey held up both hands, trying to stop her. “Sure, but first you. Sniper? Why didn’t I know anything about this?”
Fiona graced him with one of her classic eye rolls and flopped against the couch, her slender arms folded over her stomach. “Oh yes, because a princess is only good for diplomatic training and organizing state dinners?”
“No! Of course not! It’s just…you never mentioned any kind of military training.”
She made a noise, and her shoulders relaxed, making her appear less prickly. “I didn’t want to, because it’s hard when your brother is literally the best at everything. You set records on all the training courses and started commanding your own squads at seventeen. What if I wasn’t as good as you?”
“Who said you needed to be?”
“I did.” She shrugged. “Besides, I knew I’d never be able to wield a sword like you, and Mom would never let me get into a situation where hand-to-hand combat was required.
However…snipers work from a distance, which sounded safer to Mom.
It allowed me to be involved and helped to organize our forces while you’ve been away. ”
The idea of his sister being in any kind of combat made him sick to his stomach, but he was sure she felt the same way about him. And he was so damn proud of her and all she’d accomplished.
“I’ve seen the reports from the generals. They’ve been glowing. You’ve given them valuable advice and intelligence from the field.”
She snorted and looked away. A faint pinkness tinged the tips of her ears. “Whatever. They’re trying to stay on Mom’s good side.”
“If they wanted on her good side, they’d report that you’re horrible and need to be called back to the palace. You know she doesn’t want you anywhere near the fighting.”
A wicked grin curled on her lips, and she peeked at him from under her eyelashes. “They would, wouldn’t they?”
“Absolutely.”
She wiggled on the sofa for a second before her eyes widened and she sat up, leaning toward him.
“Enough about me. We’ve kicked their ass, and the Order has retreated and is reorganizing its forces.
It appears they’re digging in but have no plans to launch another offensive.
I heard the navy has chased them south, so without reinforcements, it seems like these assholes are stuck until peace is negotiated. ”
Shey grunted. “We’ve reached at least a temporary stalemate, which I’ll take. It’ll give us a chance to focus on our people.”
“But what about the dragon? And the god? No, tell me about the dragons first. What was the Isle of Stone like? Did you love it? Will they agree to be our allies? Do you think they’d let me visit?”
She peppered him with so many questions that by the end he was laughing as she grabbed his arm and shook him.
“The Isle of Stone was amazing. I didn’t want to leave. The dragons that I met are friendly and peaceful. We’re on good terms with them, and I think you have a very good chance of being able to visit one day. If we weren’t in the middle of a mess, I’m sure Haru would offer to take you today.”
“Take me like fly me? On his back?”
“Yes.”
Fiona squealed and jumped to her feet. “Fuck the Order. Let’s go kick their ass. I want to meet the dragons.”
Shey snorted and caught her wrist as she turned to march out of his office. He wouldn’t put it past his sister to take on the entire New Rosanthe army if they were standing in the way of her meeting dragons. He pulled her until she landed on the sofa cushion next to him.
“You’ve done enough ass-kicking for now. I’m assuming you’re going to be in the palace for a while?”
She moaned, her head on his shoulder. “Yes, meetings. At least for two or three days. We must figure out the next steps. Shoring up defenses. Diplomacy. Saber-rattling. You know the routine.”