Daughter. Iâve buried family. Friends. If itâs going to end, itâs going to end with blood. Iâd have thought an Onnani would understand that better than most.â
It was a well-aimed shaft. The look that came over Vel was at once proud and serene. âMy ancestors sacrificed a great deal, itâs true. Many innocents had to die for their children and grandchildren to be free.â
âJust so,â Wraith said. âAnd it might have been my ancestors who had yours under the boot, but make no mistakeâAndithyri and Onnan understand each other now. Weâve learned from you, and the greatest lesson is this: Strike where you can, when you can, even if itâs a glancing blow, and eventually the enemy will bleed out.â His gaze shifted back to Alix. âFor what itâs worth, I donât ask this lightly. If that bloodyparasite had the balls to set foot outside the palace, itâd be simple enough. But he wonât, which means weâve got to go in there after him. That wonât be easy. Iâve got a few men of skill, like Asvin here, but he canât do it alone. So Iâm asking one last time: Are you in?â
Alix paused. Traced a final circle on the table. âWeâre in.â
âGood,â Wraith said. âWe leave at dawn.â
S EVEN
âI donât know,â Liam said. âPiglet, maybe?â
âPiglet.â The cook repeated the word as if heâd never heard it in his life. Then a delicate spasm of pain crossed his face. âDoes His Highness perhaps refer to
suckling pig
?â
âThatâs it, exactly. We had it at the wedding. It was great.â
âVery good, Your Highness.â The cook made a note on his ledger. âSuckling pig it is.â
âHmm,â said Albern Highmount, âI think not.â
Liamâs back teeth came together, hard. âYou disagree, Chancellor. What a surprise.â
It wasnât. It wasnât anything
like
a surprise, because Highmount had done nothing but disagree with every single sodding thing Liam said from the moment heâd been put in charge. âCan I ask why you have an issue with suckling pig?â
Childhood memories, perhaps? Not enough room at the teat?
âI simply do not think it suitable for the occasion.â
Even the cook looked perplexed. âIt is a fine dish, my lord, worthy of the most distinguished of guests.â
âI quite agree, Master Horna. One of my personal favourites, in fact. But I am afraid it would not be an appropriate dish to serve the Onnani ambassador, given its origins.â
âOrigins?â The cookâs brow rumpled even further. âWhy, it originates from right here in Erroman!â
âPrecisely. It is, in fact, an Erromanian dish, dating from the days of the empire, and particularly associated with the imperial class.â
Liam laughed incredulously. âYouâre worried the Onnani ambassador will be offended that we served baby pig because the white-hairs used to enjoy baby pig way back when?â
âWay back when the baby pig was being dished onto their plates by Onnani
slaves
. Yes, Your Highness, that is precisely what I am worried about.â
Liam growled and rubbed his eyes. Bad enough he had to muddle his way through a diplomatic dinner, they couldnât even plan the sodding menu without worrying about the political implications.
How in the name of the Virtues does Erik do this all day?
Barely a week of trying to fill his brotherâs boots, and already he was going mad. âWhatever you think,â he said, as though Highmount needed his permission.
The chancellor spent another few moments discussing the dinner before dismissing the cook. Liam didnât bother listening; he was getting the impression his presence was purely symbolic anyway. Was it like this for Erik, he wondered, or did Highmount actually give a damn what the
real
king
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