He’s probably getting food for me as we speak, but thank you for the offer. So, what do you need?”
“I was looking for Luykas, actually, sire.” Emerian moved to stand at attention for his king, who made a small smile.
“You don’t need to be so formal, Emerian. I make people I dislike do that. I don’t dislike you.” Alchan chuckled, eyeing him as though doing an inspection. “But you’re looking like a proper warrior when you do that. You’ve come a long way.”
“Thank you, sire,” Emerian said, the praise touching his soul.
“As for Luykas…” Alchan looked around the room. “He was just here. He might have disappeared with Rain. Stay, and we’ll ask my consort when he gets back. Sit down and have a glass of wine.”
The war room had stacked simple chairs on one end. He grabbed two, one for Alchan and one for himself. Before he sat down, he grabbed a couple more, knowing there could soon be others. Alchan was already seated by the time Emerian got done.
They sat in silence as Alchan just stared at him. Emerian grew more uncomfortable every moment.
“Is there something wrong with me?” he finally dared to ask.
“Every time Mave talks to me and you’re mentioned, she points out your plain face and her desire to see you get the first of your tatua,” he said casually. “I was thinking about that.”
“Does she?” Emerian swallowed. “Am I ready?”
“No,” Alchan said softly. “What do you need Luykas for?”
“I was hoping to talk to him about my training and possibly getting to go on a campaign this year.”
Alchan’s smile grew. “If he clears you for a mission later this year, I’ll make sure you see combat. Maybe that’s…” His eyes grew distant as he trailed off, nodding to himself. “Maybe that’s what you need. A chance to be a warrior and hear your Andinna blood sing in the glory of battle.”
Emerian didn’t say anything in return, keeping his mouth shut as Luykas and Rain walked in, holding plates.
“We grabbed food from the dining hall,” Rain said softly, his eyes only for the king. “Eat something, please. I can’t stay. I need to make sure our new housemate is feeding herself.”
“It’s her first full day here,” Alchan said in a whisper. “Don’t railroad her if she’s not eating. We’ll see her at dinner if she’s not feeling like eating lunch.”
Rain nodded and walked out of the room again before Luykas even found a seat, never once looking Emerian’s way. It was Luykas who noticed Emerian, sitting beside him.
“You can share with me if you haven’t eaten,” the other mutt said with a chuckle. “What are you doing here?”
“He wants to see if he’s ready for combat and came looking for you,” Alchan answered for him. “Do that. If he’s ready, I’ll see which campaign could use him.”
“Let me think on it,” Luykas countered. “If he’s ready, I think I know a few Andinna who aren’t going to appreciate you picking him without their input.”
The brothers stared at each other until Alchan nodded.
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Emerian, do well.”
“I’ll do my best, sire.” Emerian tried not to smile.
Seanev walked in, and Alchan stood. The glares between the two of them spelled trouble.
Emerian followed him out, both nearly knocking over their stools. Before they made it out the doors, one of the males growled. When they got outside, the shouting match had started.
“What in the Skies?” Emerian said, looking back as he walked away with the other mutt.
“Those two have always found stupid reasons to get into heated arguments, even when they liked each other and were friends,” Luykas explained. “Yesterday was bad with his arrival, so Seanev kept his mouth shut, but now? Yeah, they’re probably just going to argue over bullshit until they both exhaust themselves. Seanev might have found out Alchan isn’t dealing with the priesthoods, passing it on to Varon or something.”
“You don’t seem worried,” Emerian said, looking back again. Even as they moved away, the shouting was loud enough to hear.
“Them arguing is better than them not arguing. It means they’re rebuilding their familiarity. Seanev was always a hothead with opinions. He loved and respected his father, but he also wasn’t afraid to argue with him. He’ll lose, but he knows if he argues well enough, he’ll place a seed of an idea in someone’s mind that could change something later on.” Luykas shrugged at the end. “So, you want to see if you’re