as a transport.” He grimaced at the strange feeling of the lens. Blinking, he turned toward his mother. “How’s that?”
“Great. I can’t even tell they’re contacts.”
“Yeah, but my eyes aren’t red under them… yet.” He put the other one in. “So is there anything I need to know about working at the palace?”
“Just remember that you’re not to meet the gaze of any royal family member. And you can’t strike them. It’s an automatic death sentence.”
He forced himself not to rub at his eyes. “Why do you think I’d hit one?”
“Honestly? Jullien can be an arrogant ass. I’ve been tempted to sock him a few times. He’s very condescending toward his staff. I’ve heard from highly reliable sources that his valet spits in his food before he takes it to the tahrs. And you don’t want to know what some of the others do. So never touch anything brought to him.”
Talyn was aghast at that audacity. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, but I’m told Jullien wisely leaves his guards alone. Since they protect him, they tend to be immune from his charming personality. They mostly complain about how much noise he makes while having sex. But everyone else is fair game for his abuse.”
“Great.”
She nodded. “You will also have to sign nondisclosures and take an oath of loyalty.”
“I’ve already done that.”
“These are different from your initial service intakes. They’re not about national security as much as they are about royal secrets.”
“Such as?”
“The two biggest ones you’ll find out your first day there is that Tizirah Tylie is a lesbian and Tizirah Cairistiona is bat-crap crazy.”
He gaped at her as he made his way back to bed. “What?”
Nodding, she sighed heavily. “That being said, I adore Cairistiona. Unlike her mother and Jullien, she has a good heart. She just can’t accept the fact that her son’s dead. You’ll see her wandering the halls, from time to time, looking for Nykyrian. Invariably, she makes her way to Jullien’s wing that the boys shared when they were young. And she’ll probably ask you a few thousand times if you’ve seen her Nykyrian, or know where he is. Just tell her that it’ll be all right and help her back to her rooms. Whatever you do, don’t go into his nursery or bedroom for anything. No one’s allowed to touch his personal items. She’ll have you executed if you do.”
Wow, that was extreme.
“What happened to him?”
“He died in a school fire when he was a boy. She was the prime commander of the armada at the time it happened. In a heartbeat, she lost her mind and has never recovered.”
“That sucks.”
His mother tucked the covers around him. “It does, indeed. But I understand her pain. I would be the same if something ever happened to you. In fact, I think I’d make her look sane in comparison.”
He heard Felicia returning.
Felicia pulled up short as she came into the room and saw them together. “Am I interrupting?”
“Nope.” He yawned.
“Is your head better?” Felicia asked as she moved to check him for a fever.
“His head?”
“He had a headache when he went to bed last night.”
“It’s what I was telling you about, Mum. I’m better now, though.”
His mother nodded. “Good.”
He turned his attention to Felicia as she placed her backpack on the floor. “How was your test?”
“I think I did okay on it.”
His mom picked up the shopping bag before Felicia saw it and held it out of sight. “Well, I’m going to put my things away. I’ll see you two in a bit.”
Looking upset and concerned, Felicia turned back to him. “Can I ask you a huge, giant favor? I swear that I’ll never ask you again.”
Not quite certain why she was so skittish and afraid, he nodded. “Sure. What?”
“I know how much you hate company and being with strangers, but…” She clenched her eyes shut as if really dreading his reaction.
“But?”
She twisted her hands together in the cutest, most adorable way. Little did she know, when she looked at him like that, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her happy. “Is there any way I could talk you into having dinner with my brother and his two sons?”
Talyn cringed at the mere thought of it. To say he hated company was tantamount to saying the core temperature of a star was slightly warm. “Can I ask why?”
She sat down beside him on the bed. “It’s my nephew’s birthday and they’re huge fans of yours. I screwed up and told my brother that I knew you.