Hamilton was still asleep when Vin woke, and Vin did nothing to change that state of things. He slipped out of the Oshiro suite, returning to his own rooms, where Kaveh paced at the door. The lion reared up, landing his paws heavily on Vin’s shoulders as he sniffed at Vin’s face. Making it very clear he did not approve of Vin being gone all night.

Vin braced against the weight of big cat he was now holding up. He buried his hands in Kaveh’s mane and leaned his head in. “Big baby,” he muttered, sending a burst of affection through the nima.

Kaveh growled and dropped down to all fours. Vin gave him another good scratch before retreating into the bathroom, where he stood as long as he could under a pounding flow of hot water, trying very hard not to think.

When he finally emerged, he felt emptied out and hollow, but himself once more. Grief and rage were still with him, but they’d retreated enough he could think. He couldn’t face the whole of it yet. He couldn’t wrap his mind around Lord Suri, but he knew the next thing he needed—wanted—to do.

He dressed no differently than he had yesterday or the day before. He didn’t even look at the boxes in the back of his closet or the overstuffed garment bags. Different clothes would mean change. They would mean acceptance. Vin was ready for neither.

Kaveh padded over and sniffed at him again, prowling in a circle as he did so. Like he was searching for something. Vin could guess what. “Apologies, my friend.” The scent of Hamilton had been washed away. As to whether it would be returning…

Vin wasn’t ready to think about that either.

The ambassadorial offices were on the far side of the Griffon enclave, which in normal times was exactly as Vin liked it. Today, however, it meant Vin had to cross through a great deal of Griffon territory to reach his destination. He kept his gifts locked tight—he didn’t need any more flavors of grief, and he especially didn’t need anything else he might pick up from them—but he could still see people, see their faces. The fragile hope on some, the disgust on others. Vin couldn’t carry any of it right now.

He strode into Idir’s offices and straight back. The receptionist stood and started to say something, to stop him, but Kaveh growled and bristled at him, and the man pulled back and fell silent. Vin turned the handle on Idir’s door and slammed it open with enough force to rattle the frame.

Idir was at his desk, writing what appeared to be correspondance. He looked up slowly, with clear disdain. He did not stand, and he did not bow. It was pure rudeness, but Vin wasn’t here to engage in power games. “Where is my brother?”

“Prince Devitri is going through his proving.” Contempt in Idir’s tone.

“Yes. I want to know where he is. I need to speak with him.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. He will remain isolated until his proving is complete, as is traditional.” The petty smile that leaked through his demeanor told Vin everything.

Fighting the near overwhelming urge to set Kaveh on the ambassador, Vin asked the question he suspected he knew the answer to. “Has anyone informed him of...what happened?” He still couldn’t say the words out loud.

“To do so would interere.”

In his face, in the tone of his voice, it was clear Idir was enjoying this petty display of power. The extra burst of anger that evoked pushed the truth out. “Our parents are dead!”

“Yes.” Idir leaned on the word, lengthening it into a hiss. “They are. The Lords Suri. Which is why it’s particularly important that Prince Devitri finish his proving to determine if he is fit to take the throne.”

Vin took a step forward, leaned in over the desk, forcing Idir to look up at him. “You will put me in contact with my brother,” he ground out.

To which Idir simply replied, “No.”

Kaveh’s growl was a warming. Vin needed to get control of himself or one of them would do something they couldn’t take back. Much as Vin wanted to lash out, to force that smug look off Idir’s face with a violence Idir would have nightmares about for the rest of his life…

No.

No.

Vin snapped for Kaveh to follow and turned his back on Idir.

Once he’d managed a sufficient distance from the ambassadorial offices, he stopped. All the energy that had driven him drained away, and he slumped against a wall, one arm around Kaveh for support.

Seven years ago, Vin had walked away from his family, from his clan, from his very name. In the time since then, he’d been—well, not happy, exactly, but he no longer felt trapped in a role he didn’t want and driven to be a person he didn’t like. The isolation had been necessary, he’d thought.

Only now he realized how badly he was trapped. Lord Suri, Roderich had called him, and it was true. Except power was a fiction that only mattered if other people believed it. Who could Vin go to? What member of his clan would bow to the prince who had run away?

It wasn’t fair. His parents were dead. That, alone, was too much. He shouldn’t have to think about all the rest of this too.

A pity that life wasn’t fair.

Still, it was a long time before he found the energy to stand and move on.