[SS]: We’re back for more. Korac’s looking a little stressed. He must not like what’s coming next.

Not long after, we moved to Nox’s Castle. Well… two-thirds of us.

Xelan stayed behind in Umbra’s Spire.

[SS]: “Why?”

Korac shrugs gracefully, staring into the distance.

You’ll have to ask him. I can’t be prevailed upon to explain his actions. Nox even fashioned a lab for his younger brother. You know that anteroom off the kitchens?

[SS]: “The one that spanned three stories with open arches to the outside balconies?”

Finally, Korac smiles. It’s boyish and charming.

That’s the one. It was Xelan’s lab originally. The equipment was so extensive and the technology so advanced; I thought Nox discovered my secret continent. Now I suppose it was from Remorse. A gift from them both, in a way.

I don’t think Xelan ever saw it.

[SS]: Wingmaster, please remember. You don’t owe us anything. You’re entitled to your privacy, but I won’t redact these moments. They’re important to Korac’s Verse. To Nox’s. These events and these regrets shaped who they were. Are. If you ever feel compelled to share your side, I’ll be happy to write it for you. I think I’ll hug you extra the next time I see you. Because I know you had good reasons, and I want to be fair.

Back to the story.

I converted my more than adequate chambers into a luxury palace. Nox was beyond generous with my promotion bonus. I could afford a temple, but I wanted to reside close to my King. Perhaps I hoped someday Xelan would surrender to reason.

And that I’d have wings the next time we sent surfing on lava.

With that smile on my lips, I went to welcome the tailors in the hall, only to find Colita addressing them.

In an alcove, they cowered more than bowed to her. “Mistress, we are here to attend General Korac.”

Elden, help me, Colita actually stamped her slippered foot. The impact left cracks in the newly honed rock. “I want a new dress. Now.”

One brave seamstress met the viper’s eyes. In a voice that implied plenty of disgrace, the maid reminded Colita of her place. “Excuse me, Mistress, but your room is on another floor. And—”

The slap rang through the hall, followed by the chittering of falling teeth across the stone tiles.

Blue blood gushed from the maid’s mouth before she covered it with a muffled wail.

Colita knelt and put her face level to theirs. They all averted their eyes as she grit her teeth with a finger pointed at Nox’s door. “That is my room. It is on the floor with the royals and their officials. I am official. Now tend to me or—”

“Or what, your royal blood donor?” I stepped into the hall, half-dressed, ready to break a few teeth myself. “You are a servant in this castle, Colita. Are you entrusted with an important purpose? Of course. Keeping our King nourished is an honored distinction.”

Several emotions passed across her face over the course of my speech. Venomous anger, pouting, and preening in that order. At the last, she stood tall with her shoulders straight and her chin high enough I saw up her nose. Which made this next bit worth it.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“A whore in the King’s castle is still below the station of the General’s tradespeople.” I held up my hand in warning. “Be careful of your next words. I witnessed enough abuse to earn you a public punishment. Ten lashes. The Phoenix Dragon tongue stings with its bone barbs. I find it hard to believe your snake skin could withstand it.”

Colita deflated with a haughty glare at me. Eventually, she clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. Speaking in a tone far more familiar than she ought to between us, she assured me, “General Korac. I know you and I were treated far worse. For Elden’s sake, I was a nurse under Umbra’s employ. I would hurt them no one more than their nacre would heal, and if you beat me senseless for it, how can I service our King? He asked me only hours ago to meet him here.”

She collected herself faster than I expected, despite her temper.

Smudging the servant’s blood off her pants, Colita idly offered, “And while I assure you my ‘snake skin’ is thicker than you think, there is no need for name calling between us.”

I narrowed my gaze at her before waving the servants into my chambers. Imagine. Beating fellow Icari to satisfy your pettiness? She disgusted me, and I resolved to tell Nox of my reservations the very next time I saw him. With the tailors out of harm’s way, I put myself in Colita’s personal space. “Her nacre cannot regenerate teeth. So pick them up off the floor and pay her for each tooth.”

I knew Nox granted her a halfway decent allowance. How could I begrudge him for it? It was right in his mind, but this bitch was delirious if she thought I was about to let her go unpunished. I hoped the servants listened at the door.

“Of course, General.” Colita said my title like Triss and Amolot would say “contaminant.” Bending over, she offered me a view of her assets—I think to tame me—while collecting the bone matter from the stone tiles.

I wanted to make her get down on her hands and knees to do it. To crawl and grovel, but that might prove harder to explain to Nox.

Five minutes of pathetic delusion later, I held five teeth in my hand. Disgusted, I shook my head. “This is grotesque. For what you provide our King, you ought to behave in a manner that honors your station. But you disgrace yourself.”

Colita looked away. “There is no grace in an existence such as this.”

That took me aback. “How can you say that? You serve King Nox more directly than any in our court.”

When Colita returned her gaze, the blue hardened into glass. “When I was nurse to Savis, I was forbidden to union with another. To make myself available to our grieving King. And that…” She shuddered in a way I often did after servicing a prisoner. Scald yourself, wash in acid—You will never get clean.

I found myself surprised to see tears welling in Colita’s eyes. Angry bitter ones as she continued, “Now I serve as food for his son. No other man or woman can or will touch me. And King Nox…” She hugged herself and looked away again.

Oh. So they hadn’t… I’d often wondered. Looking her over, I frowned as to why. Colita was beautiful in all the required ways. Maybe a little flat, but someone’s hands would enjoy roaming over her flawless skin. Just apparently not mine or Nox’s.

For one moment, I allowed myself to feel for her. A slave, in some ways, always to serve the King of Cinder, but never able to pursue romantic endeavors of her own choosing. No Icarus would dare touch a woman so close to King Nox. No one, not even this viper, was impervious to loneliness.

Sadly, with teeth clattering in my hand, I lost the will to care. “Colita, carry on as you must to survive but know that includes exhibiting a decorum fit for your role. Conduct yourself as if always in the King’s presence. If you find this too difficult or too grating on your sensibilities to manage, then simply step down and establish a new life. Learn a new trade. Work in charity. But do not embarrass this kingdom.”

I didn’t wait for her response. I went to my fitting, gently handing the seamstress back her teeth. A few hours later, they left as King Nox entered my chambers.

Tell us what happened next, amos. I know you have his Verse memorized.

[SS]: I blush before answering. “Nox tried to convince you to talk to Xelan about moving into the Castle, but you knew it wouldn’t work because you tried. Then you told him you didn’t really care for Colita. You compared her to Amolot.”

What did Nox do?

[SS]: I scoff. “You like what happened next, didn’t you?”

I am a sadist. I loved the part where he basically told her everything I said, but with the authority of a King. Who knows? If she’d practiced more restraint with her wicked streak, Colita might be alive now, working with the Shadow.

Yet I’m uncertain because of how Nox said, “Something ugly animated her.” In her presence, that felt like the truth.

To end on a high note, I want to address a line from Nox’s Verse once we moved into his Castle.

What we do for family…

I never imagined Nox capable of such sentiments, and I feel that was a detriment to our triumvirate. If only I knew… If Xelan knew… maybe we could’ve broached this gulfing divide between us. But that was long ago. And this is now.

It meant so much to me to read that, and I can only hope to pay it forward.