He’d been wandering around—trying to find Talaya, in fact, to see if he was able to head back to his room—when he saw Arrika wave to him.

“Emeron!” she called. She smiled as he got closer but Erryll, who she must’ve hunted down earlier, didn’t seem as pleased. “This big event is good and all, but I wanted us to have a quiet dinner. Mother and Rayluin couldn’t come though I thought I’d still extend the offer to you.”

”You mean back to your estate?” Emeron asked. “Mom’s letting me go..?”

”She has to let you out of her sight sometime…” Erryll grumbled. He sighed and had the closest thing to a friendly voice he had around Emeron. “Besides, all this attention is tiring for anyone—no matter how bright and bubbly you are. You deserve the chance away from the public eye just as much as either of us.”

“Mother said that you could stay the night if you wanted to,” Arrika offered. “I know you’re probably tired. I think you’ve run around more than I did!”

Emeron let out a bit of nervous laughter. “What can I say, I like talking to people! As… long as they don’t start asking a bunch of questions…” He shook his head. “Anyway, I was thinking of going back to my room soon. Since Mom knows, though, I think it would be nice to eat with you.”

Arrika gave a wide smile. “Great! I think I’ve just got to say goodbye to a few more people and we’ll be ready to go.”

…

Arrika’s estate was extravagant, showcasing the wealth she’d inherited from Talaya’s family (she was the favorite of the four siblings) and what she’d amassed on her own. There wasn’t really much difference between it and the castle in that regard, but… Emeron always felt it seemed more out of a fairytale. Perhaps that was Arrika’s intention all along: something mysterious and mystical. He felt like it suited her, at least.

But for all the gilded decorations, reflective floors, and glittering hallways, dinner was simple. They sat outside—it was a little chilly, but he didn’t mind—and Arrika dismissed every single one of her servants for the evening.

“I don’t care if it’s a business partner or Caeso himself,” she remarked to the last remaining servant. She swatted him out of the way to place a disk on the phonograph herself. “If that telephone rings, tell them I’m not accepting any calls until tomorrow morning. No exceptions.”

The servant nodded and left.

Content, Arrika turned back to her brothers as the music started to play. As she took her seat, she said, “You know, there’s this radio drama I’ve been getting into lately. I think it’s rather cute.”

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“If you start talking about romance, I’m leaving,” Erryll half-joked.

She laughed. “No, it’s not a romance—it’s a spy thriller. Like those kinds of stories they’d tell of the War of Demons—how those human-like demons would sneak into our societies to create openings for their kin. Except, the infiltrators are the good guys.”

“I think I’ve heard of that one,” Emeron said. “It’s about two warring tribes, right? And the protagonist is acting as a double agent. But I.. don’t know what you think is cute about it..?”

“It’s the fact the writers thought any of the tactics used would actually work.” She took a sip of tea. “You can’t just torture someone to get information out of them. Anything that leaves a mark is just going to raise suspicion—not to mention, dead men take their secrets with them. It takes a little bit of charisma and just the right amount of blackmail—that’s how you get a person to talk.”

Erryll, as part of a joke, asked, “What, so you don’t regularly have to poison people?”

“But believe me, brother, the things I’ve seen and heard are stranger than most fiction,” Arrika replied. “I doubt either of you would believe the kinds of things I’ve learned. People really ought to guard their secrets a little closer—it’s only a matter of time before I know them all.”

Emeron couldn’t hold back a nervous chuckle, though. “I’m glad you’re my sister…”

“Oh, that’s never a threat to the two of you,” she said. “You two mean the world to me. If there’s something you need to know, I’ll help you. And if there’s something you want hidden… well, I’m probably the best person to go for that, too. It’s Rayluin that I might not be so generous to…”

Casually, Erryll prompted, “What did he do this time?”

Arrika tried waving it away, but they could both see that it bothered her. “Oh, nothing he hasn’t been doing for the past five years…” She shook her head. “It’s not that important. This should be a peaceful dinner and I don’t want to drag the mood down.”

“But is that what’s been bothering you?”

She seemed surprised, at first, before she managed a small smile. “Somehow, I never expect you to be that perceptive. The answer’s no, though. Rayluin isn’t the problem…”

“Is it something we can help with?” Emeron asked, even if he had a guess at the answer. Erryll nodded, too—perhaps one of the only things the older would say they agreed on.

“Not really,” Arrika answered. “It’s… just a bit of reminiscing, I suppose. During the event, I could’ve sworn I’d heard someone mention Merrelle…”

Erryll mumbled something that showed he had some kind of understanding.

Emeron, though, made the mistake of repeating, “Merrelle?”

“I… guess Mother never would have told you,” she said in a near-whisper. Louder, she continued, “You know that there’s five years between you and Erryll. But… it wasn’t supposed to be. Merrelle was the sibling between the two of you.”

“Was..?”

She nodded. “She died before her first birthday to temptation.” Her eyes stayed on the food in front of her and, honestly, he felt bad for bringing it up. “You know what? I can do more than just tell you about her—I can show you some things, too. But only after we finish eating. Let’s not worry about anything family related for the rest of dinner. I know you’re a little old for bedtime stories, but… consider it a look into a life that could’ve been.”