by Aron Lewes
“Do you really believe in her Chosen nonsense?” Wilhelm whispered. He hoped Vala would follow his example and lower her voice as well. Most of the time, his sister was way too loud for his liking.
“Why not? If the little girl can bring the dead back to life, it's not so strange to think she might know her man when she meets 'im.”
“You know how I feel about marriage, though.” Wilhelm's eyes were on his plate, where he mindlessly poked a piece of broccoli with his fork. He hated the vegetable, but Vala loved it. Because she was much more boisterous than Wilhelm, the Silenced sometimes followed her orders while disregarding his. Her favorite foods were usually the ones they prepared.
“You could always change your mind,” Vala said.
“Could you imagine me as a married man, though?” he asked. “I'd be a terrible husband.”
“I think you'd be just fine at it.”
Wilhelm's head shook as Vala disagreed with him. His sister's support for Kylin made him weary. He doubted he would change her mind, but he argued anyway, “If I married her now, it would be too sudden and too extreme. Marriage is more than I want to consider.”
“Fair enough.”
A curious smirk appeared on Vala's lips, which prompted him to ask, “What's so funny?”
“I was smiling at the reply in my head, but I couldn't bring myself to say it.” Leaning toward Wilhelm's ear, she added, “If you don't want to get married, that's fine. Keep sharing your bed with your hand. I'm sure it's a fine companion for your little prick.”
“Vulgar,” Wilhelm chided her. “You're vulgar and inaccurate. And I have plenty of female companions, by the way. That's one reason why I'm in no rush to saddle myself with one woman.”
“Kylin's a good girl, though. I bet you don't find a lot of those.”
“I bet she'd be pleased to know she has such a supporter in you,” Wilhelm said.
“I just know a good match when I see one.” Vala shoved her last hunk of meat into her mouth and continued as she chewed, “You aren't likely to find a girl as nice as her, and she's already accepted your wicked line of work. I bet there aren't a lot of nice girls who'd be willing to overlook that.”
“Has she accepted it, though? I'm not so sure.” His doubtful reply was followed by a sigh.
Everyone finished supper around the same time, but Rai was the first to pop out of his chair. He asked, “Can I take Giorgio for a walk around the ship?”
Wilhelm gave him a nod. “Of course... but keep an eye on him. When he was a puppy, he jumped overboard. I'm not sure he ever learned his lesson.”
As Rai walked away, whooping with excitement, Wilhelm's gaze wandered back to Kylin. She was pretty, and he did like her, but the idea of a lifelong commitment made him shudder. “If only marriage wasn't a requirement...” he whispered to himself.
“So...” Kylin cleared her throat, ridding her voice of the hesitation that made it waver. “I'm sure I've said this before, but I want to thank you both for taking us in. Rai might need a moment to adjust to our new home, but I don't want you to think we're ungrateful.”
“You don't seem ungrateful, and the boy seems fine to me,” Vala said. “Besides, we enjoy having you around... at least, I do. It was gettin' monotonous, seeing this one's face each day.” She jabbed a thumb at Wilhelm. “Even a handsome man's face gets boring after awhile... especially if he's your brother.”
“I doubt I could get bored of Wilhelm's face,” said Kylin, her cheeks raging red. “And... now that I've said something totally embarrassing, I should probably excuse myself. Thank you for supper.”
Kylin dropped into a tiny bow and hurried from the room as fast as she could.
“That girl really adores you,” Vala said. “I have a feeling she would follow you to the ends of the earth and beyond.”
Wilhelm slicked back his hair and growled at the ceiling. “Can we not talk about Kylin for once? You said you wanted to discuss our next job. Let's talk about that.”
“Right.” Vala unfolded a newspaper and slapped it on the table in front of Wilhelm. “We haven't been back to Thebes for awhile. I wonder... how much have you been keeping up with current events?”
“Barely,” her brother replied. “I know the king died, but I'm not much for politics, so I haven't paid much attention to the aftermath.”
“I'll try to sum it up as best as I can.” Vala drew a deep breath, filling herself with air. It was going to be a long story. “After the death of King James, there was a dispute between Prince Larien, the king's heir, and Prince Edmore, his brother. Edmore claims that Larien is the king's bastard and has no legitimate claim to the throne.”
Wilhelm tried to follow, but he needed clarification. “Edmore is Larien's... uncle?”
“Exactly,” Vala said. “And they both want the throne. The old king was a bit senile toward the end. Larien was his Regent for the last two years or so, and I don't think that's changed since his old man met the reaper. However, the Council refuses to crown a king until the dispute between nephew and uncle has been resolved.”
“And... why should any of this matter to us?” Wilhelm asked.
Vala's lips were taken over by a mad grin. “Because our next job is big. It's huge. It's easily the biggest we've ever had, and probably the biggest we'll ever get.” Vala lowered her voice, even though there was no one around to overhear her. “Edmore wants us to take out his nephew.”
“So... we would be forced to take a side.”
“Aye? But who cares! I'm happy to pick the side that's paying,” Vala said. “If we pulled this off, we'd be making a lot of money.”
“That part sounds appealing.” Wilhelm leaned forward, his eyebrow raised, his face inquisitive. “Alright then. Just tell me what we need to do.”
Also by Aron Lewes
Cinderella & Dragons
After Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty Is Just Not That Into You
The Wicked Witch's Prince
First Contact
Little Alien on the Prairie
Little Alien Enslaved
My Lady Robin Hood
Lady of Locksley
A Sheriff's Redemption
The Lion Returns
Spirit School
School for Spirits: A Dead Girl and a Samurai
School for Spirits: Final Test
School for Spirits: Rebel Archangel
School For Spirits: Angel of Death
School For Spirits: Archangel Undercover
School for Spirits: Almost an Archangel
School for Spirits: Earth Angel (Coming Soon)
The Black Knight Chronicles
The Darkest Knight
The Laziest Mage
The Bloodiest Daughter
The Darker Ages
The Darker Ages
The Darker Ages 2: Rebirth
The Darker Ages 3: Retribution
The Fox and the Assassin
Vixen's Chosen
Vixen's Magic
Vixen's Challenge
Standalone
Cinderella & Dragons
The Darker Ages: The Complete Series
Aurora Abroad
The Black Knight Chronicles: The Complete Series
Machine Girl
The Ghost of Redemption (A School for Spirits Story) (Coming Soon)