The Rebels of Gold (Loom Saga #3)(16)
“Prepare his chambers?”
“Yes.” He didn’t see how he’d been unclear on the matter.
“But Cvareh’Ryu . . . Will you not challenge him? Will you not fight to be our Oji?”
Cvareh would have given anything to not have to answer that question.
Coletta
The Rok Estate housed the most wonderful dining room in the entire world. It had a table made entirely of iron that stretched long enough for forty people to sit underneath a ceiling of frescos, lit by a thousand candles. It was a room of pure magic and power that would make even the finest Dragon blush at its decadence.
That was not the room where she and Yveun dined.
Instead, they sat at a basic wooden table, barely large enough to seat four comfortably. The windows were simple rectangles, the mullions made of pine. There were no adornments here, no paintings or carefully sculpted statues. Carved into the only entrance and exit was the symbol of House Rok. It took up the top half of the doorway: three triangles supporting a crown.
Coletta looked down as the servants delivered their food from the kitchens. Her flowers would take over during the second half of dinner, when discussion actually began. For now, she’d let the average man and woman see her as the weak Ryu they all expected her to be.
When the servants retreated, Yveun raised his glass first to his lips, then toward her. “You picked as stunning a vintage as ever, my Ryu.”
“This is a new one I wanted to try.” Coletta watched how the crimson liquid coated the inside of the glass, trickling down in tiny lines. “It’s grown here on Lysip.”
“On Lysip? Where?”
“To the north. The rocky earth and claylike soil give it that mineral taste.” Coletta set down her glass. Putting her fingers on either side of its stem, she swirled it around thoughtfully. “It’s about time viticulture came to Lysip. While I appreciated the irony of House Xin making a crimson beverage I think it’s far more fitting for this to be an area of Rok expertise.”
“I never thought of the color.” Yveun copied Coletta’s motion before setting the glass aside.
Coletta did the same, and the atmosphere shifted.
“Fae is to your liking?” She phrased it as a question, but they both knew better.
“More so than Leona, even.”
That was the answer Coletta wanted to hear. “I believe she will be good for us.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Yveun chewed his food for a long moment. “She will be the ideal asset to finally hunt down the Perfect Chimera. Truly fitting.”
Coletta hummed thoughtfully.
“You disagree.”
“Let the Chimera be.” Like always, the Dono was narrow-minded when it came to things that eluded him, things he felt entitled to. Ah, to have the mind of a man, and have the world rendered as such a simple, linear place. “She has already made a fool of you too many times.”
“Which is precisely why—”
“Why we will not allow it to happen again.” Coletta did not appreciate being interrupted. She inhaled. Yveun made no motion to speak, so she continued. “The next time you see the Chimera will be when her death is assured. For now, we must keep Fae here to secure order on Nova.”
“On Nova?” His pores practically oozed sex at the idea.
“She will go with Finnyr.”
Yveun paused mid-drink, then slowly lowered his glass to the table. He ran the pads of his fingers over the rim of the glass. She could almost see him working out how quickly a boco could get to Ruana and back.
“Would it not be better to keep her here? It will be hard for her to earn the respect of the other Riders if she is off in the Xin Manor. How will she win beads?”
“She has enough beads for three strands of hair.” Coletta took a small bite of the meal. The flavors were well balanced.
“Underground fighting pits and back alley brawls do not a Rider make. We can’t recognize those kills for beads.”
“Do you think she cares?” Coletta reached for her wine again.
There was a good reason she always saw wine set out. If Yveun was well mannered, they enjoyed it together. If he was stubborn but tolerable, she enjoyed having something to take the edge off. The few times he was outright unpleasant toward her, Coletta fantasized about how easy it would be to place a lethal dose of poison in his glass.
“So she goes with Finnyr, then.” Yveun finally resigned. “For what purpose? House Xin will not appreciate us sending a bodyguard for a man they no doubt want to kill.”
“Since when have we cared what House Xin thinks?”
Yveun laughed. It was a delightful sound, so genuine that even Coletta could admit it made him particularly attractive.
“Petra is dead. They are clawless. Now is the time to press harder, not pull back. No half-measures.”
He repeated their House motto, toasting her as he did. “‘Break them again when they are already broken, and see they rebuild in a way we find fitting.’”
She raised her glass to her lips with a smile. Yveun had the look of a king, but his mind was always a step behind hers. They made for a formidable pair in that respect. He was every inch what Nova wanted and Loom needed in a Dragon King; she was every scheming thought required to maintain the fa?ade of his qualifications.