Page 29 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
She couldn’t understand the rest, but Thomas had turned pink. Arick set a hand on his shoulder.
The cooky padded over to Thomas and pawed at him. When Thomas didn’t pet him, he let out a short bark.
The voices below stilled. Arick and Thomas exchanged a look.
The booming voice called out again. “Arick! Thomas!” followed by what sounded like a command.
Thomas hopped up and peered over the edge. With a forced smile, he waved at those below and greeted them.
Arick motioned for her to stay there. The two men walked to a door at the end of the balcony and disappeared down a spiral version of the uneven floor. The cooky went with them, hopping down.
Sorcha huddled down in the corner, and waited for the pain to come.
Theking’sfavoritesittingroom opened off the council chambers. He led Arick and Thomas through without even looking at them. The massive fireplace held a crackling fire, despite the summer sun outside the slit windows.
King Craig took off his cape and tossed it over a hook. His favorite chair groaned under his weight as he settled in and picked up his pipe.
“Eavesdropping, boys? You’re both welcome to attend council meetings any time you like.” He leveled a stern look at Arick and Thomas as they stood before him.
Arick held himself rigidly at attention. Being caught eavesdropping filled him with shame. As children, he, Daniel, and Thomas had often hidden up there to hear what the adults had refused to tell them.
But they were no longer children, and sneaking around was inexcusable.
“They wouldn’t have said all that stuff if they’d known we were listening,” Thomas mumbled.
“The council has a right to express concerns about the future of the kingdom. That’s their role.” The king focused on filling his pipe from a leather pouch of fragrant tobacco.
Thomas muttered something, not wanting to outrightly refute his father’s claims.
“Arick? What are your thoughts?” The king pointed with his unlit pipe.
His thoughts? He wasn’t sure his uncle was ready to hear them. “Sir?”
“You can speak freely here. I won’t throw you in the prisons for being honest, lad.”
“Yes, sir.” He took a steadying breath. “The things they were saying about Thomas were…unkind.”
“And?”
“And you didn’t defend him, sir! He’s your son, the prince. You could have told them to stop.”
“Being king is not always about hearing only what you want to hear. Sometimes you have to listen to what others say.”
“But what they said was untrue, sir.”
The king sighed, pushing himself to his feet. “Thomas, do you want to rule?”
Thomas pulled himself upright. “I can be a good king, Da. I’ve learned from you since I was little. I want to help the people and do what’s right.”
“I know you do, my boy. But that tender heart of yours may just get you into trouble. Being king means making difficult decisions sometimes, and I fear that would cause you undue stress in trying to determine what was right for your people.”
“But isn’t that why you have the council? To help you make the decisions?”
“Yes, it is. But did we not just discuss listening to them even when we don’t agree?”
Thomas nodded, his head down. “Yes, sir.”
The king clasped his shoulder a minute before turning to Arick. “You spoke to the harbormaster and the captains who were on the water last evening?”
