“That went well,” Alana says as we enter her bedroom.

“Did it?” I ask. I was expecting sparks to fly but after Kierra’s rather outrageous intro, dinner became rather dull. I paid attention, as everything said was quite relevant to our impending war effort, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle. They didn’t stray from topics of battle for one moment.

I thought my family was cold but we had moments where we bonded. Usually while discussing summoning or cursing the Masons. There is no warmth in this house. None. It’s rather stifling.

Except for maybe Kalise. That barbarian has no tact and livened up the room every time she opened her mouth. When she was allowed to speak. The duke controlled her with nothing more than a few utterings of her name. His wives…like the dinner table, I felt little warmth there. Not even for the shy woman who sat beside the duke, Aliza James, the wife he married for pleasure. Obligation and duty waft from the man so strongly, I swear I can smell it.

“It went very well.” Alana beams as kicks off the soft shoes the family wears indoors and drops onto her bed. “Father called on me to speak first. He acknowledged that my accomplishments were superior to Zach’s.” She laughs evilly. “I bet he wasn’t happy. Probably why he brought up the hunters, to try and lessen my contribution. Should have known better.”

“So, we weren’t in danger of being thrown out of the fort?” I ask, taking a seat on the edge of the bed as I follow her in kicking off my footwear.

“Of course not. You heard my father. This is Victory’s war. Outsiders are invited. They don’t get to make the rules. They don’t get to make demands, not unless they have a mountain’s worth to contribute. Zach only embarrassed himself by whining. Maybe even diminished his standing by appearing to be pressured by them.”

I missed all those undercurrents. Zach’s bad intentions were obvious but the rest of it was impossible to discern under their stern masks. But I guess this means we’ve made a good start?

The door opens and Kierra steps in, humming to herself. “Where’d you wander off to?” I ask. She slipped off after dinner without a word.

“A discussion with the sell-sword from the south,” she mutters coming toward me. She pushes between my legs and lays her hands on my shoulders, kissing the top of my head. “I have secured an invitation to Kalise’s room to share a bottle of Herbanacle, though it comes with the warning that should it not reach her expectations, I will be leaving through the window.”

My stomach clenches as she chuckles. “Kii, my love, you wouldn’t be seriously trying to sleep with the duke’s wife, would you?”

“Please don’t,” Alana adds, sitting up on her elbows.

“Two rejections. A shame for her.” One of her hands plays with the ends of my hair. “I will keep my hands to myself, hm? We will drink and exchange war stories. Perhaps brag about our families. And if she is so drunk and happy that she brags about her clever son who makes very interesting maps, with visual aids, then that will simply be the natural course of things.”

I grin at her. “That’s my devious wife.” She accepts my soft kiss with another little hum.

“Why do you want them?” Alana asks. “Not that I don’t think it’d be a great idea to get a peek at them if you can, but if they only show the mountains, they’re useless for the campaign.”

“Perhaps.” Kierra places her chin on my head as she looks at Alana. “While I am confident, this frozen land has gone unconquered for centuries. There must be a reason why. There is confidence and there is arrogance. Should the land beyond the mountains prove too treacherous, a second hunting ground would be valuable.”

Our goal isn’t to necessarily conquer the north. It’s to acquire acclaim. While making significant contributions to the campaign may be the best way of doing so, eliminating dangerous monsters is a good second.

“And should the threat be grossly exaggerated, a second hunt will ease my disappointment.”

“What was that about not being arrogant?” I tease, poking her in the stomach. The feeling of her tight muscles clenching reflexively draws my fingers back and I enjoy the simple pleasure of caressing her smooth skin.

“Easy, dedia. You will make it difficult to control myself.”

I reluctantly drop my hand as she steps out of my reach, moving around the bed. Her hands reach for Alana, who turns her head bashfully as the elf kisses her cheek. “No need to wait for me. Remember the walls are thin.”

The flustered future saint pushes her away and the elf practically skips from the room. I climb further onto the bed and pull Alana down to lay with me. “The two of you are getting along well.”

Her eyes flick over my face, likely trying to determine if I’m upset. I reassure her with a smile that she returns. “It’s rather difficult not to. At first I thought, well…watching you two together…”

“She’s very different with you.”

“Yeah. It’s a little difficult to remain indifferent when someone…like her shows interest.”

“You can just say that strong and

beautiful women are your weakness.”

“Or you could not say that,” she grumbles.

I chuckle and pull her closer. Contrary to the first night we shared a bed together, she immediately settles in, pushing her face into my chest. I swear, this girl becomes more and more perverted every day. I love it.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” I grumble. “We haven’t taken a bath or changed.”

“S’fine,” she mutters. “You never smell bad anyway.”

“Aren’t you uncomfortable in that?”

In answer, she strips to her unmentionables, throwing her clothes away haphazardly. “There,” she grumbles, wrapping her arms around me. “It’s been a long day. Go to sleep, Lou.”

It's hard to argue with her clinging to me and looking so comfortable. With a shrug, I kick off my pants and settle in.

-

My eyes snap open as the door creaks open, the sound as loud as a screeching rooster to my sensitive ears. While awake, I block out most unimportant noises, but when I’m asleep and vulnerable, I become more alert. A side-effect from Kierra’s training. I’m a light sleeper after too many nights of fingers in my nose that escalated to knives stabbed into my pillow where my head used to be. Very annoying and slightly terrifying events but my ‘rewards’ that followed made my heart race for very different reasons.

I initially expect the visitor is Kierra but my next breath brings an unfamiliar scent and the footsteps are wrong. They are light but still audible. Like someone doing a poor job of sneaking. If Kierra wanted to go unnoticed, I wouldn’t hear a thing. It all leads to one thing.

A very brave intruder is sneaking into Alana’s room.

A film comes down, revealing the form of the likely assassin…and I immediately revise my assumption of the intruder’s purpose. There is no way this is a killer. Putting aside the infeasibility of a hired killer sneaking into the home of Duke James, this woman doesn’t seem like she could harm a fly.

I immediately recognize the dark hair and bright blue eyes, as pretty faces stick in my memory far better than the names of annoying aspiring heroes. The young woman’s full pink lips are turned up in a mischievous smile as she does her best to creep across the room, her eyes full of laughter. Saints, please let there be some hope of reconciliation between these sisters. Because there is no way I can hate someone this cute.

“It’s a bit of unseemly to sneak into someone’s room at this time of night, Lady James.”

She jumps, a hand shooting up to smother her startled yelp. Alana stirs but doesn’t wake.

“My apologies,” she whispers. Her eyes are wide as she stares at me, likely due to the effect of my film. The one that gives me nightvision makes my own eyes luminous. It must make quite a sight, seeing two glowing violet orbs in a sea of darkness. “I didn’t, uh, expect, um…” She smothers a few giggles. “Pardon. This is…unexpected.”

“Uh huh.” Really, really hope these two can get along. “Maybe you should light a candle? No point trying to sneak since you’ve already been discovered.”

“Oh, yes! No!” She clears her throat. “Are you sure? I could come back in the morning. Walking in on…I didn’t mean to intrude…are you sure?”

“Yes, Yulianna, I’m quite sure.” Having a hard time staying polite with her. “Do you mind if I call you that?”

“Not at all, ah…”

“Lourianne Tome but introductions would be much easier if we could see each other.”

“Right, yes. A candle.”

Seeing her turn her head in confusion, I sigh and slip from the bed. Moving from Alana’s arms draws out a few murmurs of discontent from the slumbering future knight on the edge of waking, drawing a few more giggles from her sister. I move over to the dresser beside the bed where two candles sit, lighting them with a quick spell as I remove my film. A soft glow envelops the room as I turn to the sneaky sister. She smiles as our eyes meet.

“You seem to know me already but allow me to introduce myself.” One hand is placed on her heart as she gracefully drops into a curtesy. “I am Yulianna Eleanor James, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Victory.” She raises her head and flashes a charming smile. “Something tells me it will be a true pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Tome.”