“Do not hug me,” Feng said.
“Don’t worry,” I told him, shuffling Justin and me around until I could see Feng over Justin’s shoulder, even as he squawked at me to let him go. “I only hug people I care about.”
“Sam,” Ryan said, “maybe don’t insult the guy who probably carries at least thirty different knives.”
“I’m not insulting him,” I said. “I’m just being honest.”
“Maybe we should get to why we’re really here?” Letnia said, pushing herself off the wall. Her cheeks hollowed, and the tip of her fat cigar sparked. A moment later, a thick plume of blue smoke poured from her nose.
“Right,” Mama said. “Let us discuss what you have brought down upon my house this time, Sam of Wilds.”
Well, shit.
Chapter 4: The Blood in the Veins of Verania
I PULLED away from Justin, who helped me by taking a step back and shoving me away. He straightened out his furred coat, the thin armor underneath clanking against his chest. He had a look of extraordinary distaste on his face, like he couldn’t believe I had done such a thing. He was a very good actor.
I turned toward Mama, who was already waiting, hand extended in my direction. I took it in mine, placing a kiss against her fingers.
“That’s better,” she said lightly. “Obviously you haven’t seen the Prince in some time, so I will forgive you just this once for entering my office and not addressing me first. Next time I will not be so generous, precious.”
I grinned against her hand. “Nor would I expect you to be. Today has certainly found you to be magnanimous. I fully expected threats of spankings.”
She sniffed delicately as she pulled her hand away. “Well, yes. It’s certainly been a trying time, I must say.” She turned to Moishe. “Are Gary, Kevin, and Tiggy being taken care of?”
Moishe bowed low. “They were in good hands before you summoned me here, my lady.”
“Good. See to it that they are fed with the finest meats. Except for Kevin, that is. Though I expect he is probably a little tired of produce at the moment. Bring him the tofu we had made shaped like a sheep. I dare say we don’t know when again we may be able to present it to him.”
Moishe bowed again before turning on his heels and heading toward the door. He glanced at me, an inscrutable expression on his face, before he closed the door behind him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Justin. “You should be at the castle, especially if Darks are on their way.”
He scowled at me. “I’m here because I’m supposed to be. I will not stand by while those bastards attempt to infiltrate my kingdom.”
“He threatened us with incarceration unless we brought him with us,” Randall said dryly. “And for some reason, the King agreed. Something about idle hands and all that.”
“Your parents say hello,” Morgan added. “As does the King, all of whom wanted me to remind you that you should be eating healthy and changing your underwear daily. Strangely enough, that last bit came from the King. They’re all safe, by the way.”
“Yeah, thanks, I do all of that,” I said, distracted, still staring at Justin. “How did you get here with them? They’re magic. Randall can apparently do some super-secret teleporting thing that he uses just to fuck with me, and Morgan can probably do the same, because there’s still magic stuff they won’t tell me about, as they’re assholes.” I turned and glared at each of them in turn, letting them see just how displeased I was. They didn’t seem affected in the slightest.
And since Justin still hadn’t quite learned how to stop being a fucking jerk yet, he just smiled smugly and said, “Don’t know if I can tell you that. Top secret. Hush-hush. Certain eyes only. You’re an apprentice, after all, and I’m a prince. Of course I am allowed things that you are not. It’s the way things are, and far be it from me to not lord it over you every chance I get.”
“You’re lucky we’re almost best friends,” I told him seriously, “because that might be grounds for me not liking you a lot.”
“The thought alone is like you’re emotionally deconstructing my heart.”
“And you came here because you love me.”
“That’s not even a thing that exists.”
“Don’t front. Dude, I see right through that hard exterior to your moist center.”
He glared at me. “Are you seriously hitting on me? Again?”
“What? No!”
“Wait,” Ryan growled. “What do you mean again?”