Heirot

"Your Ivie. What a fascinating claim," Cera smiled beautifully.

"Tenara," Havi greeted her by name, as if to re-emphasize the intimate position she claimed to have with him. "This is my eldest sister, Marquess Cera Ruthe."

His sister's eyes narrowed, her face all teeth as she gestured to the empty seats at the table. "Clearly there is much to discuss, but first, do let us eat. It sounds like the night was short for all of you."

Tenara moved to the table and took a seat. The mask on her face felt brittle and hard to maintain. She was hungry. Starving. But she didn't feel the desire to with her nerves so high. She felt more comfortable at the table when Havi and the others joined her.

Could his sister tell? Hadn't Kishva been able to? She had mentioned Tenara's fault in not bonding Havitharon. Her heart began thundering in her chest, and she reached down beneath the table and grasped hold of the cloth at Havi's hip.

Cera's chin lifted elegantly, peering along Tenara's torso. "Tell me more about you, Princess. Kosa tells me you are from another wyrmway. It must be a dangerous place indeed, since you come so well armed to breakfast."

Tenara glanced down at the sword at her hip. "Forgive me... It's a habit. I mean no offense," she said. "It was a gift and means a great deal to me, and I carry it wherever I go."

"How lovely," Cera said idly. "May I hold it?"

Havi and Ren both tensed slightly.

Tenara hesitated. She felt the itch of panic, felt the fear of making the wrong choice scratch her magic. The pressure bloomed beneath the surface of her skin. She could -not- let her hold it. No matter what. She crushed down the panic, and bowed her head toward Cera. "I know you mean no offense," she said. "Where I come from, it is highly improper to ask such a thing. A gifted weapon is held in as high regard as... an Ivis. To ask to hold such a thing is akin to asking to touch a Yurivis's male."

Cera smiled sharply. "Fascinating. As you wish... I was merely curious. Such quaint weapons have fallen out of favor here, so we rarely see them. They are difficult to wield properly within the confines of the wyrmways."

Mercifully, two servants entered through the kitchen door with a cart. On it were several ornate ceramic domes covering earthen plates.

"Oh, good. Our meals have arrived."

The maids began politely setting a dome-covered plate in front of each of them. Both servants looked tense, as if feeling immense pressure at their assigned task. When everyone was served, the maids began lifting away each dome, revealing... a perfectly normal breakfast. At least for this world.

That was, until they got to Tenara. When the maid lifted away her dome, Cera's eyes sharpened knowingly, while Kishva snorted in amusement. Her breakfast consisted of long, narrow mushrooms that curved like pitch-black helixes across her plate. A small cluster of moon moss had been set as a garnish, the same as the other plates.

Tenara's eyes settled on the spiraling mushrooms. She stared at it for a long time, partly confused and partly fascinated. Her gaze lifted from the plate and turned towards Havitharon. *Is this... poisonous?* And then, Tenara had a thought, recalling the name Havitharon had given her when they first met. The one Ren still insisted using for him. "Thvoros?"

*Do not eat it,* Havi thought, his tone hard and angry as he glared at his sister.

Cera was only focused on Tenara. "Oh, I was given to understand that this dish aligned with your tastes. Was I mistaken?"

Tenara had half a mind to take a big bite of the inky black mushroom just to spite the woman, but wasn't certain if it would kill her or not. Maybe it would affect her differently since she wasn't from this world, but that wasn't a risk they could take. She'd already had one experience with Toothsbane, and wasn't certain it would fix poisoning.

Tenara poked at the mushroom with the fork. "It is lovely," she said. "You were not mistaken. However, I think traveling stole my appetite. Please forgive me."

That was a filthy lie. Tenara was so, so hungry. She hadn’t eaten a meal in days—having been too scared to eat or drink what Elias brought them. But she knew this was a test. That the mushroom represented the being next to her, and if she could devour it to prove she claimed Havitharon, she would. But, since she couldn’t, she pretended to want to, and abstained from doing so.

Havi scowled at Tenara's plate. With a fork a knife, he moved something from his plate to hers. A bright yellow vegetable that had been sliced into round cross sections and simmered in sweet sauce. "If I remember correctly," he said in a court-trained tone, "You prefer them with these." He tilted his head strategically as he donated his food, making sure his sister could glimpse the gold rings that were mostly obscured by his hair.

Cera definitely noticed. She showed him a vicious smile. "Princess Hajaris, you may not be aware, but it is custom here to seek permission from a male's family before claiming one as an Ivis."

Tenara glanced from the food that Havitharon was offering to Cera. "If I had found Havitharon in your wyrmways, I would have," she said. "But I did not find him in yours. We might not have returned at all, but it seemed wrong for you not to know what became of your brother."

Cera and Kishva seemed like two mean girls at court, and Tenara had dealt with her share of them as a teen—children of narrow-minded nobles who whispered behind her back that she was not a legitimate child of the king. But, Tenara was taking a risk in such bravado toward Cera. The woman was trying to test her, and Tenara wasn't sure if she was passing the test or not. They were in dangerous territory, and if either of those women found out about the blades...

A terrible thought grew in Tenara's mind. Elias. Elias knew about the blades, and if he hadn't died or been killed quickly, if Kishva had extracted any amount of information from him... They needed to leave. Now. Panic clawed up inside Tenara, fierce and hot to the point of barely being able to keep it off her face.

Kishva cut the food on her plate meaningfully. "It sounds like you are not ignorant of our customs. Then, surely you understand that my Arty is not yours to claim, either. You stole one of my harem, and even attacked my compound and fled with no apology."

Ren sat rod-straight in his chair and clenched his hands in his lap, hoping to hide their trembling.

"Did you not cast Artisuren aside yourself?" Havi asked.

Kishva fanned herself. "My, my, Cera, your brother is as unmannered as they say."

"Indeed. Please try to view it as one of his charms," Cera scoffed. "Such imperfections are all the more satisfying to grind smooth."

The subtext of the words made Havi's senses come to high alert. Why was she speaking as though advertising him for breeding.

Kishva smiled coldly. "I broke his bond only because I believed he had run away. The story changes if he was stolen, as your brother was. Who knows if this other male was acquired legally, either," she gestured to Laurius. "Thvoros of Ruthe, one of my blandest sluts, and a hornless with fire for hair. Do you expect us to acknowledge such a nonsensical harem?"

Laurius snarled and said lowly in the language he knew they didn’t understand, “Princess, I fear diplomacy may be heading out the window…”

Tenara took a steadying breath.

“I didn’t steal anything,” she said evenly. “It is also not my fault you lack the imagination to acknowledge them, it doesn’t change the truth that they are mine now.”

Laurius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you worried I would fuck us.”

Cera set her utensils aside and perched her chin on her crowned fingers whimsically. "Ah, but princess, I beg to differ. Truth changes all the time. How would you suppose every other family in the high court would feel if they knew all they had to do all along wasn't to win a duel, but simply to trick my poor brother into a stolen bond. That would leave both you and I in a rather unpopular position."