Inessa was startled when she walked into the dining hall and saw Indenuel and Tolomon, though she shouldn’t have. It was no secret Sara wanted Adosina and Indenuel to court each other. She should have helped him sneak out the window. Thankfully all the children were eating with them, too, so it was quite chaotic after the prayer over the food had been said. The older children at least were well mannered enough that it wasn’t too wild.

Older children, Inessa mused. Nicolas and I are the same age. Eduardo is two or three years younger than me. It’s no wonder Martin ignores me during dinner time.

“Have you won the war yet, Indenuel?” Adrian asked, sitting next to him.

“Um, no. No, not yet. I’m still training for that.”

“Oh,” Adrian said, deflating a little.

“Come now, Adrian. It’s only been a few weeks,” Rosa said.

“He just misses Api,” Tomas said. “Once Kiam is beaten, Api comes home.”

“I miss him too,” Indenuel said, giving Adrian a smile.

Inessa was curious how Indenuel knew Nathaniel, then remembered they probably met when he went to surprise Martin.

“What about you, Tolomon!” Diego said as he took a huge bite of his lunch. “Have you had to protect Indenuel yet?”

“Diego,” Rosa whispered with a smile. “Manners, son. Swallow your food before you speak.” He frowned but kept chewing his food.

“I have, yes,” Tolomon said.

Diego’s eyes lit with excitement. “Really?”

Rosa gave him another look and he closed his mouth and worked extra hard to grind his food small enough to swallow.

“Tell us! Tell us!” Aaron said, bouncing up and down on his seat.

Inessa turned curiously toward Indenuel. He himself gave Tolomon a strange look.

“There he was, surrounded by the enemy, doing his best to block their offenses,” Tolomon said, his voice rising dramatically. Again, Indenuel cocked his head to one side. He showed so much emotion in his face. “I was distracted with other things, as I assumed he had the training enough to beat them back. But he found himself surrounded, unable to move. Getting hit on every side. He called for my aid, practically screamed it, and I came, the enemy parting to one side in awe as I pulled him to safety.”

“Whoa!” Diego said, the food in his mouth chewed small enough that he could swallow it all now. “I want to be a Graduate!”

“It is a life of dedication and service,” Rosa said. “You must be prepared to sacrifice a lot.”

“I want to! I’m going to do it!” Diego said.

“I say go for it,” Tolomon said. “If you have even half your father’s skill, you’d be an incredible Graduate.”

Diego beamed as the tutors came to collect the children to continue their learning. Inessa had been so tempted to sit in on one of the lessons, just to see, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not only was she illiterate, but children asked too many questions about her that made the adults uncomfortable, so she always stayed away from the children. It was better for her, anyway.

“Did that actually happen?” Ana asked once all the children were off to their studies.

“No,” Indenuel said as Tolomon said, “Yes.”

Indenuel glanced up from his plate, giving Tolomon a curious look. “When?”

“The second Sabbath you were here,” Tolomon said. “The unwed women of the King’s Court swarm without warning at times.”

Adosina snorted into her wine glass before she lowered it and placed a few fingers to her lips. “I’m sorry. How undignified of me.”

Indenuel looked as though he was struggling between embarrassment, anger, and wanting to burst out laughing.

“Oh, is that why Martin keeps making excuses for you?” Rosa asked.

“It’s, um, not necessarily. It just… works out that way,” Indenuel said.

Inessa smiled at her plate, doing everything she could not to look at the heat rising up Indenuel’s face.

“Addy could help you this week,” Sara said, the familiar gleam in her eye. “She’s friends with so many of those women. I’m sure they just want to get to know you better.”

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Indenuel made a noise, his cheeks officially turning red as he lifted the wine glass and looked the other way as he drank. He set it down, trying to smile. “I’m not very good at parties. I didn’t grow up attending many of them.”

“Oh, they can be quite overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Adosina said. “But I think Inessa has a few tips, don’t you?”

Inessa was chewing when she stopped, looking up at Adosina. The entire table had gone strangely quiet. No one, no one, had addressed Inessa at dinner. Adosina was trying to be friendly, this much she gathered from the play last night, but this was different. The unspoken rule was no one was to acknowledge Inessa in front of Sara. It was easier that way.

“Um, tips?” Inessa asked, trying to think of how she could quickly change the subject so the others could find a way to ignore her again. Already Sara had a pained smile on her face as she focused on her meal.

“Oh, I always see you weaving in and out of those social gatherings,” Adosina said.

“Yes. Yes,” she said, gathering more rice in her spoon. “Sometimes you need to take a step outside to breathe.” She turned toward Ana, giving her the look everyone does when they want her to change the subject as seamlessly as possible.

“Now, Addy, how is your friend’s business going? I heard it’s been a slow start,” Ana said.

Bless you, Ana, Inessa thought.

***

Martin stepped off the carriage, excited to be home. He held open a book, glancing through the pages before he noticed two familiar people by his bushes. Tolomon was standing with a hand on Indenuel’s back. The boy was leaning over, hands on his knees, his face contorted in pain. Martin closed his book. “Is everything alright?”

“He ate too much,” Tolomon said. “Your wife is a difficult woman to say no to.”

Martin’s mouth split open in a smile. “Ah, I see. So, I guess you won’t be staying for dinner?”

“No,” was the only sound Indenuel made as their carriage pulled up.

“I should have warned you. You did go around lunchtime,” Martin said.

“Two. I’ve had two lunches today. And three entire fruit pastries. How? How do you say no to her?” Indenuel asked, hardly breathing.

“First, and most important, you need to gain a lot of weight,” Martin said. “Then she will stop feeding you so much.”

Indenuel groaned as Tolomon helped him straighten. He hobbled off to the carriage, looking horrible with his bodyguard supporting him where he could. Martin smiled as he nodded to their driver before walking toward his home.

“Welcome home, Martin,” Derio said, opening the door.

“Thank you. Is the house in order?”

“Sara always keeps the house in order.”

“That she does.” Martin removed his hat and gave it to Derio.

“Api!” Adosina wrapped her arms around him and Martin hugged her back.

“Addy, so good to see you! Indenuel said he’d come by for a visit,” Martin said.

“Yes, he brought me the most beautiful flowers. He wanted to apologize, but honestly, I have already forgiven him,” Adosina said.

“It is a good man who knows how to apologize. And an excellent quality for a husband,” Martin said.

“It’s vital in a good friend, too,” Adosina said. “And I do believe he won’t be back for another week. Not with how much Ami tortures him.”

Martin laughed as Sara walked over, shaking her head. “The boy is too thin.”

“That may be true, but Tolomon looked as though he was about to carry Indenuel out of here. You don’t need to feed him that much, Sara,” Martin said.

“He’s hardly gained any muscle. He works too hard with the King’s Militia,” Sara said. She smiled, gripping his hand before heading toward the kitchens. “I must make sure dinner is on schedule.”

Martin smiled as Adosina gave him a final hug before trotting off to her room. He paused in the entryway, enveloping himself in the smells of home when he realized he wasn’t alone. Inessa was there, at the beginning of the hallway, looking out the window as Indenuel’s carriage turned down the lane. There was something about her face, something Martin was too terrified to put into words. He didn’t know how long Indenuel stayed, but it was long enough.

Inessa dropped the curtain when the carriage was far enough away. She turned, startled when she saw Martin watching her. She dropped into a curtsey. “Forgive me, Martin. I wanted to make sure Indenuel was on his way.”

She straightened, putting on a roll of submissiveness, not looking him in the eye, holding perfectly still. Martin’s eyes narrowed as he looked out the window again, but the carriage had long since gone. “Well, seems he did.”

She nodded, never looking at him. “Indeed. Welcome home.” She walked away, her quiet footsteps echoing in the mostly empty entryway. Derio came back.

“Your study is ready. Is there anything else you require?” Derio asked.

“Yes,” Martin said, watching Inessa disappear down the hall to her own room. “I would like to be present next time Indenuel comes to my home.”

“It will be done, Martin,” Derio said.

***

Indenuel groaned as the carriage hit a bump in the road. He had given up pretenses and was on his back, trying to keep the food down. He could almost hear Tolomon smirking.

“Weren’t the city’s roads paved better than this?”

“You’ve never complained about them until today.”

“Because I’ve never had to vomit so bad like before today,” Indenuel said. “Forget the Kiam. Sara will be the death of me, I just know it.”

“Oh, come now. Those meatballs were incredible,” Tolomon said.

“They all tasted the same after the fifth one.” Tolomon let out a loud laugh as the cart rattled away. Indenuel had his arm over his eyes, trying desperately not to let every simple weave of the road throw him deeper into nausea. “You know, despite our arguments, I’m glad you were there,” Indenuel said.

“Someone’s got to get you into the carriage,” Tolomon said.

Indenuel wanted to laugh, but he was afraid to let anything jiggle his stomach. “Would it be alright if I went to visit the Oraminians again on the sixth day? I need them to get used to me so I can start giving them food.”

Tolomon didn’t answer. Indenuel heard a sound he’d heard often on the training grounds, but not in the close quarters of a carriage. Tolomon pulled out his sword and shield.

Indenuel lowered his hand. His bodyguard had completely changed. He was sitting up, his eyes staring out the carriage. Something had caught his eye. It had grown still. He tried to sit up, but Tolomon motioned him to stay down. There were moments he saw the bodyguard side of Tolomon, the battle-ready individual with a sword in hand, but it had always been false alarms. The battle-ready individual, however, was still here, still with his sword out, his fingers tightening over the shield, staring at some foe Indenuel couldn’t see. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

In one swift motion Tolomon used his shield to cover the window. Multiple arrows pinged off it. He grabbed Indenuel and threw him on the ground. He ignored his overly full stomach as panic seized him.

Tolomon lowered the shield enough to see through the slit. “Kiam.”