her brothers only grumbled in response, she cracked her knuckles for emphasis. “Understood?” she growled.
“Yeah, yeah,” Addolgar quickly told her. “Understood.”
“Good.” She smiled and walked over to the royal, who stood a few feet away, watching her.
“See?” she asked. “I’ve got it all under control.”
“You head-butted your brother,” Bram noted.
“Aye.”
“Your brother.”
“Sometimes it’s the only way to get through to them. And it’s kind of fun,” she admitted. “Me and Addolgar do it to each other all the time. Since we were hatchlings. Used to drive our Mum insane.”
“I can imagine.”
“Don’t worry about us.” Ghleanna motioned him away with her hands. “I’ve got control of this lot and I can see that you’re desperate to go and do something important with your books.”
“I should stay. I’ve been told enough I’m a horrible host. Great peacemaker—horrible host.”
“You don’t need to be a host with me or my kin. We can take care of ourselves.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“I’d tell you if I did. Go on.”
“All right. But just a few minutes. I just need to write a few letters. I won’t be long. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Sure. No problem.” Ghleanna watched the royal rush off to his study. “Won’t be seeing him for hours.”
“So can we put our feet up on his things now?” Hew asked from behind her.
“No, you lazy git! And don’t test my patience. Head like granite, I have,” Ghleanna reminded him, pointing at her forehead. “Just like our dear Da.”
Bram signed the last letter he needed to finish and leaned back in his chair, stretching his fingers to loosen them up. That’s when he saw Ghleanna sitting in the chair across from him.
“Hello. Is dinner ready?”
One corner of her mouth quirked up on one side, but she didn’t answer.
“What?”
“Four hours.”
“Four hours what? Four hours until dinner?”
“Four hours until the suns come up.”
“What?” Bram pushed his chair back and strode to the window. He looked outside and winced, realizing when he’d first sat down it had still been light out. Now it was pitch black. Even the moon was gone.
“I got up for some water and realized you were still in here. How are you going to travel all day without any sleep?”
“I’ll be fine,” he promised.
“We’ve eaten. My brothers argued over who’d get to bathe in that big tub first.” She grinned. “I won that.”
“Another head-butt?”
“There’s no shame in the head-butt. If it works it works. They all went to bed hours ago. Charles said you shouldn’t be much longer . . . I think Charles lied to me.”
“It’s not his fault. He always reminds me of the time and I just get . . . lost.”
“That’s all right. I find it endearing.”
“You do? Most females have found it rude and intolerable.”
“Stuck up, prissy asses, if you ask me.”
Bram laughed. “I’ve never heard ‘stuck up prissy asses’ before.”
“Because I just came up with it. Look, it’s not like you’re at the pub, feeling up the bargirls. You’re doing important work.”
“You think what I do is important?”
“Definitely. Because when your precious truces and alliances are broken, war breaks out.” Her grin was wide, showing all her teeth. “And then my important work begins.” She stood and walked over to him. “We need you peacemakers. Without you, there’d be no reason for war, now would there?”
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