Half an hour later, the four of us are relaxing in my bath. Alana is lounging in what is her usual place between my legs, looking one quiet minute from sleep. Kierra and Talia are on the opposite side of the bath, the ex-dorm mother leaning on Kierra’s shoulder, an arm wrapped around the elf’s toned stomach.

Yulia wasn’t invited. I’m sure that would have been a…tantalizing situation but I still have a sense of the inappropriate. Besides, I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. The snow bunny is a beautiful woman and I’m sure everyone knows that I’m weak to a pretty face, but it won’t happen. It can’t, for more reasons than Alana disapproving of her sister.

I suspect that Yulia is…different from us. In a fundamental way. I don’t think that difference is something sinister, as Alana keeps trying to convince me, but we think differently. Want different things and go about getting them in different ways. She wouldn’t be a good match for my house, I’m sure of it.

So. Yulia gets a smaller tub put in her room while we soak and discuss important matters. “Okay….Talia.” Haha, it feels weird to be so casual with her. A good weird though. “Lay it on us.”

“Hm.” She sits up, arranging herself so she mirrors Alana, lying against Kierra’s chest. Her eyes are closed. It’s strange how she doesn’t keep them open all the time. I would think she would be tired of the darkness after all this time trapped in it. “Would you like me to speak about the visitors chronologically or by relative importance?”

“Chronologically.” Knowing who came first and who came last is important information in itself.

“Very well. The first to visit were Kierra’s helpers.”

“Helpers? Do you mean the foundation acolytes?” During my initiate year, Kierra served as a foundation teacher. While the Hall is known for its casters and their pursuit of magic, it also trains some of the best martial fighters in the kingdom. The study of physical prowess is known as foundation training in the Hall.

As a fighter with a pure physical affinity, Kierra is the natural choice for an instructor. She taught both initiates and acolytes. The acolytes that she took a liking to were given the opportunity to assist with her other classes.

“I spoke with them before we left,” Kierra says. “Asked them to keep an eye on the house.”

“That is what they offered. Their leader, a young man by the name of Brahim, knocked on the door. He said that he and his team would be patrolling the area and keeping their ears open throughout the Hall. They also offered to run errands and stay in the house. I believe they were worried about a woman staying on her own in such turbulent times.”

I scoff. They were worried about Talia, a near master level mental caster? “How did you answer their concerns?”

“I assured them that I was confident in protecting myself and that Earl was capable of handling any errands.”

“And how did my cubs respond?” Kierra asks, putting her chin on Talia’s head.

“Brahim promised to keep any patrolling to the road and asked if it would be acceptable if they were allowed to check on me every few days.” She turns sideways to look at Kierra. “Since he was yours, I agreed. They were respectful guests and did as promised, keeping their distance from the property and bringing back whispers from the other acolytes. It has all been noted down.”

Kierra rubs their faces together like a nuzzling pet. “I have chosen good hounds.”

“We’ll look at those notes later. Next?”

“Aurelius visited.”

My lips immediately curl in distaste. The instructor and master air caster has been an annoyance from the moment we arrived at the Grand Hall. Like any other beautiful woman, Kierra attracts admirers like a flower attracts bees. I can admit now that I was a lot less secure in my marriage in the past and found the rampant admiration grating but it was also fleeting. When said admirers realized that Kierra had no interest in them, they gave up their pursuits.

The one exception is Aurelius. The bald bastard has made his infatuation with Kierra clear from the day we met and refuses to give up on her. Nothing can dissuade the fanatic. Not me subtly and then blatantly threatening him. Not Kierra, who normally turns a blind eye to her admirers’ antics, hoping the frustration they cause will motivate me, getting angry with him. Not even a subtle warning from Dunwayne after making a baseless accusation against me was enough to shake the man’s determination.

These days, I feel far less threatened by him and hardly think of the man but whenever his name is brought up, my mood drops.

“What did he want?”

“He attempted to recruit me.”

“What?”

“He wanted me to feed him, and the Hall, information on this household. The hunters want to open negotiations regarding the March and the events of the Wild Night. The Hall will remain neutral, as it always has, but has a vested interest in the outcome of the talks. Particularly Aurelius. He claims that he wants to ensure a peaceful resolution with no more damage to the city.”

“And he thinks we don’t?” I gripe.

“He expressed concern before asking me to keep him informed about your thoughts and movements, hoping to appeal to a responsibility to the kingdom forged by training as an interrogator and my old allegiance to the Hall.”

“How’d he take being turned down?”

“Gracefully. He tried to convince me for a time but when my position remained adamant, he excused himself.”

How unlike him. Maybe he’s just repugnantly stubborn when it comes to my wife. I’m not sure if that raises or lowers my opinion of him.

“The last person of note to visit was my patron, Lord Remmings.”

I sit up, accidentally jostling Alana who grumbles in displeasure. “The head interrogator Remmings? Your father Remmings?”

“He is not my father.”

I wave off her technicality. Sure, he didn’t give birth to her, but he took her in, raised her, taught her, and wants her to be his successor. “What did he want?” I ask the question but it’s obvious what the answer is.

“For me to return to the capital and resume my future as his successor.” She immediately confirms my suspicions. “He is not taking my refusal well and has visited many more times to change my mind. Each time, he asks more questions about you.”

“I’m assuming he doesn’t like me much.”

“No.”

A quick, decisive answer with no room for different interpretation or platitudes to soften the truth. I was hoping to make a good impression on the man but there’s no telling what he’s heard about me. My reputation must be monstrous. That combined with the fact that I’ve taken his successor, his precious daughter, as a mistress…sigh.

Maybe there’s a hope. As an interrogator, he knows better than most that rumors can’t be trusted and that people are more than they seem.

“I’m surprised no hunters came here,” Alana drawls, looking immensely comfortable. “Either to gather information or attack the house.”

“The question is, is it a good or a bad sign?” I ask. Do they not want to give the wrong impression coming to my home while knowing I’m away? Are they getting their information from other sources? Are they too terrified to dare risk offending me? Do they not want to draw attention while they build up their forces?

“We will see,” Talia offers. “Word of your return will spread to every corner of the city by morning. They should send a representative in the morning. If they invite you to a discussion, on neutral ground, then they need to make peace. If they talk in circles, then they are buying time while the asses your position for weakness.”

“I suppose we’ll have to wait till tomorrow.” For now, it’s been a long week and the bath water is still warm. There will be time to deal with trouble tomorrow.