She didn’t need to intervene because the natural order of their own laws would stop them.
“Why would they send the crown prince as their ambassador?” Gordon asked his face scrunched in genuine puzzlement. “That doesnae make sense.”
The question set a surge of hope through him. They wouldnae do that. At least, it would’ve been unwise of the Udyneans. Harm was unlikely to come to an ambassador within Tirglas, but anything could’ve happened whilst they were at sea. There had to be an older sibling. Darshan had admitted to having around a dozen—
Sisters. Just a twin and a gaggle of half-sisters. All younger than him. Never had his lover mentioned any brothers, not even a younger one. Why did you nae tell me? Had Darshan assumed Hamish already knew? That he wasn’t so ignorant?
Was that the reason behind Darshan’s reluctance to speak of children? Because his lover knew that, eventually, he would have to answer the duty of siring an heir? He thought back to Darshan’s words when Hamish had mentioned the idea of children. Obstacles. Hamish had presumed his lover referred to the usual barriers that kept two men from having children or assassins. But no.
Nora stared at him for a while, her brows knitting together in the middle. Without speaking a word to him, she swung her full attention to their brother. “It does seem rather sudden, though.”
Hamish snorted. That’s rich coming from you. Whilst his brother’s courtship of his wife had been slow and long, Nora’s had been anything but. Calder’s ship hadn’t even been at the port for a week before he had proposed, an act which had been promptly shut down by their mother—because of her insistence on a union contest rather than the shortness of time they had known each other.
Whereas Darshan had been here for a month. And what had Hamish learnt of the man? Certainly not that he was first in line to inherit a whole empire.
Gordon shrugged, the lack of concern rolling down his body as his shoulders fell. “So Dar’s the type who falls deep and fast. I seem to recall someone else who did just that.”
Nora’s mouth twisted as she glared at their brother. “Calder wasnae an imperial prince. Or a spellster. How do we ken ‘Mish is nae under some sort of magical influence?”
Inhaling sharply, Hamish struggled to voice his opinion of such a question. All that came to his lips were a few garbled splutters.
“I already hit Darshan with that question,” Gordon replied. “He said it wasnae possible for him.”
“You asked him?” Hamish finally blurted.
“And you believed him?” Nora asked of their brother before Hamish could get an answer to his own question. He was certainly going to need one by the end of this.
“Why would he lie? If Hamish was ensorcelled, then what would Darshan have to fear from telling me that?”
“I cannae believe you actually asked him if he had put a spell on me,” Hamish snapped. He shoved himself into his brother’s face, ensuring that Gordon couldn’t easily dismiss him. What else had his siblings been stirring behind his back? “I’m nae a child, I dinnae need you watching over me every move.”
“If I hadnae intervened, Darshan wouldnae have entered the competition and you wouldnae have the chance you do right now.” Gordon sighed. “Which is none. You cannae marry him. Or more to the point, he cannae marry you. If he wins you’re just leaving to become a glorified bedwarmer. That is nae what I had in mind when I suggested he compete for your hand.”
“It’s nae the worst outcome,” Hamish snarled back. “Maybe it’s different in Udynea. Maybe men can marry men without having to worry about siring an heir.” With so many sisters, surely one of them had a son who could take the throne after Darshan. Or maybe—he hoped—Nora was wrong.
“Maybe,” Gordon echoed, doubt etching itself into his face. He clapped a hand onto Hamish’s shoulder, drawing them close enough to throw both arms around him. “But you deserve better, ‘Mish. You should nae have to settle for second best.”
“I ken,” he whispered, patting his brother on the back. But if that was the only thing on offer, even if things went wrong once they reached Minamist and he somehow lost Darshan despite everything they had done, anything would be better than staying here and living a lie.
~~~
Darshan picked at the remains of what had once been a full loaf of bread, using the crumbs to idly mop up the gravy on his plate whilst his gaze roamed the main hall. Packed as it was with people chatting along their tables and the merry music that neatly drowned out much of their words, it was oddly comforting.
Soon, most of the tables would be pulled aside for dancing, and he intended to depart before then, but right now he lingered in pleasant company.
He had acquired a small table in a quiet corner of the room and had been quite alone until Hamish, then Gordon joined him. They chatted aimlessly enough with Darshan forced to pretend he didn’t know frivolous detail from fact. It was a facade he was well acquainted with in using the Crystal Court’s tendency to underestimate those they deemed weaker.
Darshan swallowed another lump of beef. “I was unable to see much from my vantage point,” he said, ensuring his voice carried that little bit extra for the flapping ears he had spied congregating around the nearby fireplace. “What exactly were they throwing at the competitors?”
“Animal bladders,” Gordon replied around a mouthful of pork crackling he had plucked from Darshan’s plate. “Filled with dye.”
Whilst Darshan already had an up-close and personal experience with the contests, he nevertheless feigned a suitably aghast expression. “Well, that would explain some of the more colourful faces.” Although their attire covered much, a handful had the misfortune of being hit right in the
