RYAN TURNER

Last night, Ryan set aside his deep purple pants with a bright pink shirt so he wouldn’t have to think about matching his clothes in the morning while he was still half asleep. That was the only preparation he did for his day, at least for himself. For his daughter, Emma, he’d gotten used to doing more but not in the mornings.

He’d just finished dressing when Emma danced into his bedroom. If she wasn’t so full of energy, he’d think she was waiting at the door for him to show up and got impatient.

She spun around and said, “We match today, Daddy!”

He smiled; her dark brown hair hung loose and twirled around her like her skirt. She said she preferred to wear her hair down but he suspected that at six she hadn’t mastered doing a ponytail and got frustrated so she left it loose. He was never awake enough to do it before they left for the morning. Whenever Catlyn offered, Emma let her style her hair.

He looked over her bright purple dress with pale pink butterflies, and said, “Yes, we do.”

“I’m hungry, are you almost ready to go?”

“I need my shoes.” Ryan wiggled his toes.

Emma laughed. “Those socks don’t match, Daddy.”

“They are rainbow colored, they certainly do match, plus no one will see them with my shoes on.” He ushered her out of the room and slipped into a comfortable pair of dress shoes while Emma put on what she called her clicky shoes. They were sparkly pink and made tapping sounds as they walked down the long corridors to the dining hall.

With any luck, no one would be there and he’d be able to enjoy his coffee in peace. Well, as much peace as his chatty daughter would allow him. He smiled at her as she bounced ahead of him, stopping at every other door to wait for him to catch up.

Conversation drifted into the hall, shattering his hopes for a quiet breakfast.

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“Nolan and Catlyn are still here!” Emma squealed as she rushed inside.

He didn’t bother trying to hide his groan as he stepped in. Holding up his hand, he said, “No talking until after I’ve had my coffee.”

Ryan was aware of Emma’s laugh and their quiet chatter as Catlyn helped Emma put food on her plate. Nolan loomed in the background, patiently impatient for Ryan to give him his attention. He should probably have more respect for the king and queen of this land but he’d grown up with Catlyn and Nolan didn’t seem to be too worried about his lack of respect in semiprivate settings.

Ryan poured himself a coffee and Nolan waited until he had taken three sips before he spoke. “I got a message from Lionheart. They should be here in three days.”

Oh, joy, he thought as he sipped his coffee and resisted the urge to ask if Kieran was with him. For a moment, Ryan wondered if he was looking forward to or dreading seeing the man. A memory of the last time they spoke flashed in his mind and he almost winced.

Dreading, at least he was trying to convince himself of that.

“Is that it?” Ryan asked, partly to distract himself and partly because he wondered why Nolan felt the need to tell him. Maybe Kieran was with him and he was giving him fair warning?

Nolan walked over to him and handed him the message.

King Grayriver,

We found a woman in the desert who came through a portal from another world. She possesses magic and is seeking asylum. We’ve boarded a train in Krak and will be there in three days.

King Lionheart

“Possesses magic, very informative. It’s too formal, I’m sure he had his warlock write it. I’ll check on her magic when she gets here. Anything else?”

Part of him hoped Nolan would mention Kieran. In spite of the dread he was feeling about seeing the man again, he also longed to be close to him. He wanted to see him, to see for himself that Kieran was… what? Alive, alright? To see that nothing had changed?

Ryan almost sighed at his conflicted thoughts when Nolan spoke again.

“Not that I know of. I have to go.” Nolan turned to his wife and she stood.

Emma jumped up and hugged Nolan, then Catlyn. “I’ll see you later.”

Finally, Ryan served himself some fruits and toast while he finished his coffee and Emma pushed around her last bit of waffles.

The servants were coming in to clean up as they exited the room. He walked Emma to her class in the warlock’s quarter and then headed to his lab. He had one thing to check on. Hopefully, he finally discovered the cure for a nasty demon venom, and then he had a million other things to take care of before this woman with foreign magic showed up.