Page 110 of Tell No Tales
Klaus slid back to the floor and Vadim stepped away, wiping his mouth.
"I thought you were going to inspect his room," Stan said. "You're lucky Tim wanted to feed the boy before he let him return."
"He's a man of twenty-five and our emperor," Vadim countered. "Don't treat him like a child."
Klaus barely contained his laughter. It had been two full days since Vadim had been on the receiving end of that conversation. At least he'd taken it to heart.
"You're right." Stan's voice was soft, as it often was when Vadim's got sharp. Klaus wished he knew more of their story. They'd grown up together, but Vadim didn't like to share about his past.
"Where are the sails?" Vadim asked.
"You'll see," Stan said.
Vadim laced their fingers together and tugged Klaus toward a new wall partition. The walled off section was the size of the galley's storeroom above, with one doorway on the opposite side from the ladder.
"This way, Tim won't disturb Emperor Hugo when he's restocking the pantry."
Klaus squeezed Vadim's hand at the memory of Tim banging his pots and pans around because he didn't want them discussing anything Martiz might overhear. "Tim's kettle bells could wake the dead," Klaus said.
"Kettle bells?" Stan frowned, but then he grinned. "Kettle bells. I'll remember that one. Aye, Tim's loud, but the metal doors keep most of his noise contained in the galley. Down here, Hugo's more likely to hear foot stomps and the like."
The first thing Klaus noticed about the hold was the ungodly amount of light. "Did you hire an enchanter in Hearthstone?" Vadim pointed to the array of four light globes overhead, one at each corner of the makeshift room cordoned off by sail walls.
"Niall made them. They use fire and water, so they're brighter than the usual water globes, and he's tied them off, so they'll stay lit until they dissolve. He makes a new one each day, but so far, none of them have burned out."
Stan stepped closer, placing a hand on Vadim's shoulder and whispering in his ear. "Are you sure he'll be warm enough down here? Poor kid doesn't have enough meat on his bones. Tim's likely to keep him at the table for five courses."
"He's not a kid," Vadim said. "He's a fire weaver. He burns hot. It will take a while to get him back to fighting condition. I'll have Frost work with him on weaving. Will you and Tovey teach him how to fight?"
"With a sword?" Stan looked incredulous.
"Hesse could best me two out of three with a sword," Vadim said. "You can lecture him about the importance of peaceful negotiations while you spar. It will be fun."
Stan laughed at that and patted Vadim's shoulder before returning to the opening in the partition wall and their emperor. "There he is. We were talking about training you to sword fight."
"Oh?" Hugo grinned. "Life aboard this ship is already a million times more interesting than life in the palace. I'd love to learn."
"Good." Vadim nodded. "That's settled. What about your room? Do you like it?"
Klaus hadn't really looked at the room beyond all the light. Instead of walls, sails had been hung from the partition wall to the side of the ship. The space was larger than the three cabins combined. A sail bed was strung between the wall and the column support, and a large divan sat against the side of the ship. Klaus wished they had room for a divan in their crate. The piece of furniture could aid in several positions, but Klaus wasn't willing to give up his only bed for them.
"It's bigger than I expected," Hugo said. "The ship is more than I expected when we landed on deck."
"Aye." Stan beamed with pride as he studied the well-maintained columns and boards. "She's narrow, but she's fast."
"Thank you for preparing it for me," Hugo said, his doe-eyed gaze trained on Stan.
Klaus was surprised to see the big man blush and stare down at his hands. "It was nothing, Your Majesty. Like I said, Klaus might have a book or two you could borrow if you're bored."
Klaus tried to look friendly as he nodded. He'd read several adventure novels over the past two weeks, though nothing was as exciting as the adventure they'd just had.
"I also have some correspondence for you to read, in my trunk," Vadim said. Through their bond, Klaus saw a stack of letters from Delilah, including the one that might have gotten her killed, and Hesse's journal that Vadim had been reading every night before bed.
"Tomorrow," Vadim said. "Tonight, you need your rest."
Hugo nodded. "Thank you for healing me."
"I'm surprised you're awake, considering." Vadim explored the sail enclosure and hummed in approval at the sail bed and pallet of cushions in the corner.
