They're brothers. Wylend has been hunting them for a while now. Very powerful, too. Only the Hardlows could afford all of them together, I think.
I thought about asking for names, but held back. Maybe it was better if I didn't know. It didn't matter—I ended up cooking breakfast for everyone as soon as the meeting was over. Arvil was going to investigate Milus' disappearance, but I could tell he didn't have much hope of finding anything. I was hoping Milus was far away; I found him to be the least offensive of all of Arvil's wizards. It made me sad, too—I'd liked and trusted Delvin at one time—when he'd been working with Bel.
"This is very good," one of the warlocks told me. I'd made coddled eggs for him and the others—with sauce and a few other specialties.
"I'm glad you like it," I nodded respectfully to him.
"My name is Astralan," he held out his hand. I took it politely. He already knew who I was. Stellan, Astralan's brother, introduced himself next, followed by Celestan and Galaxsan. Somebody's parents had been star-struck, it seemed.
The table in the dining room looked like a hurricane had hit it when Arvil, his wizards, the Hardlows and all four warlocks finished their meal and left to tend to business. Teeg shrugged at me—he had to go with Arvil. That left me with the kitchen staff, Ry and Tory.
I helped the staff carry dishes into the kitchen, but they washed and cleaned everything for me. Tory, Ry and I went to The San Gerxon to order supplies and have some of them delivered to the palace. I was going to supervise the menu served to the Hardlows personally, if I didn't cook it myself.
What do you think happened to Haral? Ry asked mentally while I went over food orders.
Ry, when I saw him, his head had nearly been severed from the body and there were long, deep cuts across his chest and torso. There was also—I hesitated for a moment, trying to choose the proper words—a cut around his groin. Blood was everywhere. It was hard to determine the extent of the injuries, there was so much blood. I didn't want to tell Ry that it looked as if the genitals had been removed and destroyed—males seemed sensitive about that and I was embarrassed to say it.
I just wanted to know so I could inform Dad and Wylend. We also need to understand what we're dealing with here—in case whoever did this comes after any of us.
Bro, that's such a comforting thought, Tory broke into our mental conversation.
You can make the cameras go fuzzy if you want—with your talent? I asked Ry but included Tory in the conversation.
It's one of the easiest things to do—interfere with electronic signals. That's one of the first things Dad taught me. And then he told me he'd mute my power for years to come if I ever did it within Mom's palace. Ry ducked his head to hide the grin.
So, you did it elsewhere, didn't you?
Oh, man, Tory's laugh came through his mindspeech.
How's Aurelius? I changed the subject.
Aurelius is fine. Why don't you send him mindspeech? I think he's about to go crazy without you, and I think the Vice-Director still may have Auri's fingerprints on his throat. Ry was laughing mentally this time.
I took Ry's advice. I was still going through the kitchen comp-vid, ordering food and supplies. Aurelius? I sent.
Reah? Thank goodness. When Torevik sent the message saying that someone had attempted to attack you, I nearly took the house apart. Aurelius' voice was warm inside my mind.
Love, I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner—I didn't know whether you were busy or not.
Reah, my beautiful love, I am never too busy for you. Even if I am in combat, I will get back to you as swiftly as possible.
Auri, I wish I were with you. Right now. I did—I hadn't ever been so worried in my life. Even when Edan was beating me, at least I knew it would stop for a while after he hit me. This was constant and completely over my head. Aurelius always seemed so confident. I wished for a little of that, right then.
Reah, you sound lost, love. Is there no way we can see one another?
Auri, I'm afraid. I don't know what I'm doing and Lendill wants me to stay here. Now, Arvil San Gerxon has named me one of his heirs and I'm a target for his enemies or those who want to take what he has. What am I supposed to do? I was wiping tears off my face even as I entered amounts of stock items into my comp-vid. Tory almost got up but Ry grabbed his arm and dragged him back to his seat.
Reah, don't cry, love. We'll see one another soon. Aurelius broke off the mindspeech.
"Reah?" Kiasz's voice broke into my concentration. I think everyone in the kitchen knew I was crying by that time. I hadn't meant for that to happen—I should have waited until later to contact Aurelius.
Avilepha, hold your head up. We'll take care of this later. Tory's mindspeech had me wiping my eyes again. "She's all right," Yindu was shooing the others away. "Go on, you'd do worse if somebody tried to poison you." Well, that had gotten around fast. I brushed dampness from my cheeks and went back to work.
"I heard you worked in Desh's kitchen, but I never thought I'd get their yaris fish outside any of their restaurants. This is even better than I remember." Wilffox Hardlow certainly liked what he'd been served for dinner. Teeg hadn't said a word when he came in with Arvil and the Hardlows—I had no idea what they'd been doing or what poor Teeg might have done or witnessed. The warlocks were enjoying their meal, too. Arvil was smiling from his place at the head of the table—his heir was making everybody happy tonight, except herself.
I still felt depressed after my conversation with Aurelius. Tory had done his best to reassure me with mindspeech, but Ry was keeping watch on him—there would be no more touching, I think. It was too dangerous. I made a point not to look at Ry and Tory as they stood guard in the kitchen; I knew there was a gossip mill now and didn't want to feed it. Tory and Ry were served in the kitchen; I got my dinner at the table with the others while my staff served wine, plates of food and desserts.
"Sweetheart, no more crying in the kitchens, all right?" Teeg pulled me against him after we made it to our bedroom and closed the door. Honestly, I wanted to cry again, but I held the tears back. If Teeg knew, then Arvil and the others knew. He'd think I was weak.
"Will he try to get rid of me?" I asked, looking up at Teeg. I meant Arvil, and Teeg knew it. He led me to the side of the bed and settled me on the edge.
"Reah, I know you're young. So young." His hands cupped my face. "I know that not long ago, you didn't worry this much about getting killed. Don't let that homicidal ra**st hurt you like this." He leaned in to kiss me. How could I tell him it wasn't just Haral that upset me? All of it was weighing on me and closing in, like a windowless room. "Baby," he murmured, "I promise you, I'm not without resources. I'll protect you as well as I can."