I looked to Zawne. “Is this how you grew up?”
“More or less,” he said, casually chewing on a strip of bacon. “My mother and father were the rulers of Geniverd. Jaken and I had a … cozy childhood.”
“Cozier than mine,” I said. I took a seat, and the chef left us to eat in private. There were two Protectors standing guard outside the kitchen door. Even though they were machines, they still made me uncomfortable.
“Listen,” Zawne said, getting serious as he leaned over the table and found my eyes. “I have an idea. It’s never been done before, but I think it could work. I grew up with my parents being constantly exhausted, and now I know why.”
“Shiol,” I said quietly.
“Exactly. So I was thinking that if we split up the council, call it the King’s Council and the Queen’s Council, we could get double the rest and double the free time. We would split the duties in half.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said. “The only thing is that we have to”—I looked around, then said at a whisper—“follow the recommendations from our friends.”
“We must,” Zawne said. “That’s not up for debate. But I’m sure they won’t mind. It’s a great idea.”
It was a great idea. I found myself surprised by his gusto. Zawne wore the mantle of king well.
“Which subjects would you like to handle?” he asked me.
“Health,” I said immediately. It was the first thing that came to mind, since Gaard, my home, was known for manufacturing medicines. I had to open my visin and check the other categories.
“Industries,” I said, flicking down the list. “I’ll take ecosystem, preservation, human resources.”
“Great,” Zawne said. “That leaves me with trade, defense, and finance.”
He made for the door, stopping to kiss me on my head. “Enjoy your breakfast, Queen Kaelyn. I’m going to get ready. We have a long day ahead of us.”
I ate my breakfast feeling like a happy schoolgirl. I had my macho man, my Aska warrior, my husband, and I had my confidant, my spirit boy with the charming smile who always kept me on my toes. I couldn’t tell if it was Roki I smelled or a spice from my toast. Either way, I was happy.
Selecting the councillors was easier than I had anticipated. Zawne and I sat at the head of a huge room with a domed ceiling while one by one the applicants introduced themselves. We had no trouble picking eight of them. They were all noble-born or Aska certified. Besides, it was Geniverd law to have at least one adviser from each continent on the council.
In the end, I chose an additional Surrvul councillor, a young woman by the name of Shiru. She was an heir and too young to become clan leader ahead of her many siblings. Shiru needed something to do for the next forty years, and I was happy to oblige. There was nothing worse than a clan heir with eighty years of life, all the power and cash in the world, and not a single thing to do with any of it.
Zawne chose the other extra, a stern man by the name of Aska Nikhel. He was Ava-Lodden, a rare breed in the capital. Zawne said they had met during his training.
The most enjoyable part of the whole ordeal was when we called the selected councillors into the main chamber, including Torio, who had been reinstated as Head of Courtiers, and delivered the big news.
Zawne stood up and said, “We have an announcement to make,” then paused for dramatic effect. He seemed to love doing that. “We will be splitting the council into two parts, the Queen’s Council and the King’s Council.”
Everyone gasped. Torio looked ready to faint, his jaw on the floor. “You’re sure about this, Your Most Supreme Majesties?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, standing up to take Zawne’s hand. It was better that we appeared as a single unit of authority. “We have talked it over and agreed. This is for the better.”
The councillors exchanged a flurry of confused glances. Then we split them into groups.
The Queen’s Council consisted of Nnati, Master Widrig, Lady Katrin, Aska Nikhel, and Aska Xi.
Zawne’s council consisted of Aska Stingl, Lady Shiru, Master Nokag, Aska Chu, and Aska Tatu. It was almost entirely made up of Askas.
After spending the entire morning and afternoon in the conference room, choosing our councillors, it was nice to attend the welcome party Torio had organized for them. Zawne and I showed up fashionably late, around six thirty. I didn’t want to linger too long. I was eager to go to bed and transport myself to Shiol, where I could find out what Roki had to say. I was smelling him everywhere. I figured he was close by.
Didn’t he have a job to do?
Zawne and I were seated at the head of the table, our councillors to either side of us. There were seven courses, endless bottles of wine, and lots of laughter. Lady Shiru loved to tell jokes, and everyone else seemed to appreciate her sense of humor. This made me feel confident about our decisions earlier in the day. We had to spend four days a week governing with these people for the next forty years. It was important that we all got along.
It was as Lady Shiru began to tell a joke about three Ava-Lodden and an unfortunate goat that Zawne whispered in my ear, “I want to go to Shiol tonight.”
My heart sank. He couldn’t be serious. Roki was waiting for me, and I wanted him to show me more of Shiol. There was no way I could miss our meeting! I had been thinking about him all day.
“Why?” I asked.
Zawne crossed his arms and pursed his lips. “I just want to,” he said, no explanation given. He was acting like a stubborn baby.
“You can’t.” I had to make something up quick. My heart was racing and I was sweating. “It’s
