Red Heir - Lisa Henry Page 0,60
spitty hankies in the world if they came with a hug from Mum. He didn’t think he’d ever be old enough or grown enough not to need his mum. And Quinn... well, Quinn had been even younger than he was now when his mother had been stolen from him.
By the time Scott straightened up from his spectacular flourish, Mum had already decamped with Quinn, and Ada and Dave had followed. Loth stepped around Scott and headed after them. He found them in the kitchen.
The kitchen was actually Dad’s domain. Mum spent most of her time at the brewery next door, but Dad worked mostly from home. The big table in the kitchen was covered in swathes of fabric, spools of thread, and pincushions that bristled like hedgehogs. The fire was still burning in the fireplace, despite the late hour. Mum had already got Quinn sitting on the stool closest to its warmth and was attempting to tug his tousled hair into place. Quinn stared up at her, his cheeks flushed and his eyes wide. Loth didn’t blame him. Mum was a force of nature when there was mother henning to be done.
“Stay here and get warm, son, and I’ll find you something to eat,” she said with a kiss to the clean spot on his cheek, and Loth pushed down an irrational surge of jealousy. He wasn't sure if it was because Quinn was getting his mum’s attention, or because Mum was kissing Quinn and Loth wanted to be the only person whose mouth was on him. Which was... yeah, that was weird, and exactly the reason that Loth didn’t do feelings. They were way too messy and confusing.
Except apparently, he had one now, didn’t he? A lone feeling, errant and unexpected and unasked for.
Fuck.
He pushed the thought away for later. For now, he had to sell himself as the prince, if only to stop Scott asking awkward questions. Or any questions. Or opening his mouth at all, really. It would probably be easier to just get Dave to knock him out again. However, Loth wasn’t sure that even Scott’s thick skull could take much more of that treatment, and his parents, as easygoing and understanding as they were, might not forgive him if they had to bury a body.
He cleared his throat. “It’s very good of you to take us in like this,” he said, as if he didn’t know his parents were dyed in the wool anti-Doomers who hated the ruler with a passion, if only because of the exorbitant taxes on hops and silk. “I’ll be sure to remember this once I retake the throne.”
His father couldn’t hold back a snort, but he covered it with a cough.
Mum put her hands on her hips and said, “Nobody will be retaking anything tonight. We’ll get you fed, find somewhere for you all to sleep, and talk about it in the morning.”
Loth knew that supposed prince or no, there’d be no arguing with her.
Dad cleared the swatches and sewing equipment from the table and shuffled the chairs around to make room for them all, making sure to seat Loth at the head with an exaggerated bow.
“My Liege,” he said, and Loth could hear the smirk in his voice. His father was so going to milk this, he realised, and wondered why he was surprised. After all, he’d gotten all his worst traits from his parents. At least Loth didn’t have to fake his royally pissed off expression.
Mum dragged Quinn off the stool and sat him at the table, as though he was a little lost lamb who needed shepherding even across the big, scary kitchen.
“Now then,” she said as she rattled around in the pantry, “we’ve got bread and cheese and cold meat. Who’s hungry?”
“Excuse me, Mrs Mum,” Dave said. “Calarian is a vegetablarian.”
Mum wasn’t the least put off. She’d always liked a challenge.
It didn’t take long at all until everyone was digging into the best spread Loth had seen since leaving Callier weeks ago. Pie, curled around a jug of beer, trilled happily as Loth fed him a spoonful of honey.
“So, then,” Dad said. “You’ve got yourself a prince and a dragon and a ragtag group of adventurers. No offence, Scott, but I’ll bet that looked a lot better on paper.”
“Pie burned our paper in the Swamp of Death,” Dave said. “But it was an accident.”
“You were in the Swamp of Death?” Mum’s eyes blazed on Loth for a moment, and then she remembered herself and turned to