Page 44 of Warrior's Reign
“Haeemah be praised. I was informed his bonded bore him a fourth son.” His cousin would need the income from a good harvest.
“She did. You should go see the babe. I’ll inquire as to when she is accepting visitors.”
And he would ask Tai’ri’s mate to arrange a suitable gift for mother and child, as she would know what a female would need.
“Our son still lives, Aani,” his father said, entering the room. “I’ve heard rumors of his presence in the palace, but I haven’t seen his face in weeks.” He settled on Aanyah’s side, swiping a biscuit before she prepared his plate. He cared less than she for protocol. She gave him a warning glance, however, and he submitted to her ritual.
“What brings you home at this time of day?” his father asked after complimenting the tea. “You’re on duty, I recall.”
Dozian Rhyksai knew his son’s assignment schedule better than his own. Vykhan refrained from pointing this out. “I was granted a few hours’ respite.”
“How do you find your work with theBdakhunin the current clime?” Aanyah asked. She looked over the remaining biscuits, then made a selection. They all appeared similar to Vykhan.
“The challenge has increased, as you said it would.”
Her smile was indulgent. “Didn’t we tell you so? When you were young, you complained about being assigned child-minding duties.” Aanyah and Dozian exchanged a glance, Dozian chuckling briefly.
“Yes. You said to have patience, noBdakhunremains confined in the nursery past her second decade.”
“The work she is doing is dangerous,” Dozian said. “If you need to lean on my resources, tell me. Don’t let professional pride sway you.”
Vykhan half bowed. “Of course not, Father.” He hesitated. “TheBdakhunis perhaps related to the matter I came seeking counsel on.”
“Now we tree the prey,” Aanyah murmured.
Vykhan took a moment, rearranging the sentences he’d planned. They waited in silence, content to sip tea.
“My Silence is fraying,” he said finally. Again.
His parents exchanged another glance. “You’re beginning the prime of your life,” his mother said. “This isn’t unexpected.”
His parents, and theirs before them, had also been trained in Haeemah’s Precepts. To follow the path of peace, of nonviolence against all odds, they had to perfect calm, neutrality, and humility. It was a study of decades to perfect the discipline. It was not until the last year he’d begun to feel dissatisfied.
“I considered that,” he said, “but I don’t think my life stage is what is causing the break.” This new break. It would not be the first time.
“Is this at all related to the time you spent. . .away. . .in your secondary academy years?”
Vykhan’s abdomen tensed. He relaxed immediately, hoping they had not noticed the flinch. It was a time of excess and dark things. The utter opposite of Silence.
“Perhaps related,” he said.
A time he would slit his own throat before he returned to, bringing shame to his family and the palace. To his Lord, the ImperialBdahn, who had trusted Vykhan with his youngest daughter.
His Silence must remain flawless. It was why their bloodline made perfect palace guards. They trained harder than any otherAdekhan, developing skills to protect and serve without taking life. Subdue a deadly foe without causing bloodshed or permanent harm. It was an art as well as a way of life.
“How is your newest guard? Reign Obe’shan?” Aanyah gave him a knowing look.
Dozian glanced at his bonded. “What haven’t you told me, Aani?”
“Hmm. It wasn’t my place to tell. If you paid more attention to business outside of the Heir’s. . .”
Dozian waved a hand. “That is why you are my Second. An Obe’shan, huh? That is a solid bloodline. They’ve produced skilled warriors six out of ten generations, though only twoAdekhan.”
Aanyah bit into a biscuit. “The newest one is a stepdaughter. Human, but graduated her first cycle at Yna Ipaluk.”
“I believe I heard of that one.” He pursed his lips. “And she is now in service? Good for Benyon. I’ll have to comm him. If he’s produced one, he can produce another. A human, at that. What a waste that they let him go back to farming.”
“Reign may one day beAdekhan,” Vykhan said quietly. “She has the will, though her discipline lacks.”
