Ryn made a noise of frustration. "I was trying to explain to them that they need to take the matter to Lord Derkstig since he's the one who's in charge of setting labor standards."
Gerst grimaced at the mention of the gerent's name. "And we've taken it to him. His answer is to suck it up and be grateful we have jobs while others don't."
Just as Darling started to respond, the door to the main hall opened. Scowling, he watched as Zarya came in holding a little girl around the age of seven in her arms. Dressed in white, the little girl had curly brown hair that framed an angelic face.
He noted the panic on Gerst's features.
"See," Zarya said in a soothing, sweet tone to the child. "Your father's fine. Just like I said. No one's hurting him." She set the girl down so that she could run to Gerst.
Sobbing, the girl buried her face against her father's leg and held tight while the plebs rolled their eyes in obvious contempt.
Zarya curtsied to Darling. "Forgive our interruption, Your Majesty. There was a group of boys outside the gate who were tormenting her. They told her that her father was in here, being eaten by a monster. So she snuck into the palace, wanting to save her father from harm."
He would laugh if it wasn't so typical. "Maris?"
Maris came over immediately.
Zarya watched while Darling whispered something to Maris and Maris quickly left the room.
The girl's father peeled her off his leg and forced her to stand in front of him. "Drus, you have to leave now. I have important business to attend to."
The little girl sniffed and nodded. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I was just so scared you were hurt."
Zarya moved to take the girl's hand. "Come with me, sweetie." But before they left, she led Drus over to Darling.
With those voluminous, official robes that obscured his entire body, and the cowl covering his face and head, he did appear scary and fierce. Especially since no one could see or read his expressions.
However, Zarya knew the truth of him and he wasn't the minion of evil they feared him to be. "Drus, this is Governor Cruel. See what I told you, he's not a monster. He's just a man, like any other."
Darling knelt down on the floor and held his gloved hand out to her.
The girl stepped back to hide behind Zarya.
Kneeling down to her level, Zarya patted her on the back and turned her around to face Darling.
His damaged voice filled with patience, he tried again. "It's all right, Drus. I won't hurt you. I promise. You know, you remind me of my baby sister when she was a little girl."
Her eyes widened in awe. "You have a sister?"
"I do, indeed. Like you, she's very beautiful, and very dear to me." There was a smile in his tone as he spoke gently to her. "I also have a couple of very mean brothers, as well."
That made the corners of her mouth twitch as if she wanted to smile, too, but was still too afraid to try it. "Really?"
"Really. They're standing right there." He pointed toward them.
Drake and Ryn appeared less than amused by his description. But neither said anything to refute it.
The girl giggled.
Maris returned with a small box. He bowed formally as he presented it to Darling.
"Thank you, Lord Maris." Darling opened the box and pulled a small medal out that he held up for Drus to see. "Do you know what this is, Drus?"
She shook her head.
"It's called the Recognition of Honor and Courage. We give these to the soldiers who show exceptional bravery while under fire. Men and women who stand up for others even when it's really scary for them to do so." He tied a small knot in the ribbon to shorten its length. "I would like to present this to you."
Drus scowled at him. "Why?"
"Because you were terrified for your father. Even though you thought he was fighting a scary monster, you came inside to check on him, and I'm quite sure you thought you'd get into a lot of trouble for it."
She nodded vigorously. "Setchel said that I'd get fed to the monster, too."
"See," Darling continued, "that's extremely brave. Now if you'll kneel in front of me, I'd like to give you your award."
Zarya smiled as Drus knelt like an adult in front of her governor.
Darling held the medal up and performed the entire official ceremony. "It is with my greatest honor and gratitude that I, the 139th Governor of Caron Druxton Ambridate Darling Setonius Cruel, bestow this medal on you, Drus Gerst, for exceptional bravery while under the duress of fear and fire. May you live always to be a shining example to the people that when other lives mattered most, yours mattered least. It is for others that the brave will always gladly lay down their lives so that all our people can live without fear."
He placed the medal around her neck. "Now rise, Dame Drus. And let everyone know from this day forward that you are the bravest of the brave. You are the pride of the Caronese people and of her governor who thanks you for your courage and service."
Her beautiful features lit up as she cradled her medal in her small hands. Laughing, she launched herself at Darling. She hit him with such force that it knocked him back and caused his cowl to fall to his shoulders.
Drus's laughter turned to a terrified gasp as she looked up and saw his scarred face.
Zarya held her breath at the sudden tension in the room. The gerents and plebs glared with obvious disdain and aversion.
Eyes wide, Drus stared in dismay. "Did someone hurt you, Your Majesty?"
Agony and embarrassment burned bright in his blue eyes, but to his credit, Darling offered the girl a smile that was twisted slightly by the vicious scars across his lips. "They did."
"Then you can't be a monster."
Darling frowned. "How so?"
"Monsters can't be hurt by people, silly. My nan says so. You can only be hurt when you have a heart and monsters don't have hearts. That's why they steal them from others." Smiling at him once again, she leaned in to give him a quick kiss on his bearded cheek, then she patted it kindly. "I'm glad the beautiful lady was right. You are just a man and a very nice one, too."
Darling lowered his head and gave her a somber military salute. "Thank you, Dame Drus." He rose to his feet as Zarya came forward to reclaim Drus's hand.
She smiled down at the little girl. "Come on, sweetie. I'll take you to the reception room where we have cakes and cookies so that you can wait for your father."
Drus let out a squeal of excitement. "Cakes! Oooh, I can't wait. I love cakes."
Zarya paused at the door to watch Darling replace his cowl before he faced the men.
Her heart breaking for him and the pain she'd seen in his eyes, she led the girl outside.
As they were waiting, she allowed Drus to eat enough sweets that she was sure the girl's father would issue a death warrant for her. But it made Drus happy and kept the girl occupied while the men conducted their business. Over and over, Drus showed her the medal. She also showed it to any and every person who came anywhere near the room. Sometimes she even chased them down whenever they passed by outside in the hallway.
It seemed like an eternity had passed before the doors opened and the girl's father came to claim her. There was a happy light in his eyes as they took their leave.
The gerents, however, were another matter entirely. They appeared ready to slaughter someone.
Zarya went to the throne room to find Darling sitting on the throne while Ryn glared at him. Maris and Drake stood opposite of Ryn with Syn and Hauk beside him.
"The aristos are going to demand your head over this."
Darling shrugged at Ryn's dire prediction. "Then they should have taken care of the matter before it was brought to my attention."
"Let them have their strokes," Drake said drily. "I, for one, am proud of you, Darling."
Ryn passed a look of utter contempt to his youngest brother. "And you're a stupid little punk incapable of understanding the repercussions of one bad decision."
Drake moved to attack Ryn, but Darling sprang
from the throne to catch him before he made contact. It was actually an impressive feat.
"Settle down," Darling said sternly as he forced his younger brother away from Ryn. "Now."
Hauk laughed unexpectedly. "You know, Ryn, I keep thinking back to what my father used to say to me. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those like my mother who can walk into the most backwater dive hole with the worst riffraff in the universe and in ten minutes, she'll have them baking cookies and singing love songs together. Then you have those like my father. The kind of man who could walk into an antiwar monastery and in ten minutes have the monks at each other's throats."
Ryn scowled at him. "What has that got to do with anything?"
Hauk jerked his chin at Darling. "Trust your brother. He's the best peacemaker among us. If anyone can settle them down, it's him."
Syn nodded in agreement. "Hauk's right. They were all about to set your clock until Darling came in." He met Zarya's gaze. "Great timing with the kid, by the way. You completely caught them off guard with that, and lowered their defenses."
"Not done intentionally," she confessed. "I wasn't sure what to do with the girl when I found her sneaking around the hallway, looking for her father. But I'm glad it helped."
Darling clapped Drake on his shoulder. "You need to get back to your mother."
Zarya didn't miss the way Darling referred to his mother or the fact that Drake didn't think it was unusual.
"Not while I'm needed here."
"You aren't needed," Darling said, not with malice, but patience.
Drake clenched his teeth. "You know, I may be emotionally stunted, but there's nothing wrong with my mental capacity."
Darling smirked. "Obviously there is, or you wouldn't be arguing with me."
Still, Drake stood his ground. "I'm not leaving. Not this time. I'm not a child anymore, Darling. It's time you stopped treating me like one."
Darling silently cursed at his brother's obstinacy. Even though he wanted to choke him for it, the kid was right. Still, it was so hard to see Drake as a man when he was used to protecting him. "Fine. Stay if you must."
Drake inclined his head to him with a respect he'd never shown Darling before.
"So what's the next step?" Ryn asked. "You pleased a handful of plebs today, but the gerents will all have seizures when they hear that you sidestepped Derkstig, and sided with the workers over them."
Ryn was right. They would have a tantrum to make any infant proud.
"I didn't side with the plebs. I only did what was right and decent where they're concerned."
Ryn snorted. "They're not going to see it that way."
Again, he was right.
Darling considered his options for a few seconds. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was something he should have done weeks ago. If he wanted to move forward as governor he couldn't postpone it any longer. "I need to call a meeting with the CDS."
Ryn's eyes widened in alarm. "You sure about that?"
No... The last thing he wanted to do was voluntarily walk into a room where he would be considered a laughingstock by everyone in it. It was why he'd been postponing it.
But he had no real choice. He'd have to meet with them and let them know that they still had their places with the new regime. That he was willing to let bygones be bygones, and to move forward without going after them for the past.
He nodded, then looked past Ryn. "Syn, how fast can you repair my face using Prillion?"
Ryn was aghast at his question. "Are you out of your mind? You do know that shit's illegal, right?"
Darling shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm sure the Tavali"--he cast a meaningful look at Ryn--"can lay hands on it. And it's not illegal in my empire."
The look on Syn's face called him all kinds of stupid, but he thought it over before he answered. "I could have the bandages off in about seventy-two hours, but there's no guarantee that one surgery will make that much of a difference. Might not make any improvement at all. That being said, there is a new procedure with skin nanos that might accelerate it and do better than standard reconstruction. It's still experimental though, and I've not used it. I'd have to call in a few favors to get someone to the table who might be willing to try it. But again, I can't guarantee anything. And I don't know how your body will cope with any of it. We won't have a clue until you're under and you know how risky that is."
Yes, he did.
But at this point, he'd rather be dead than continue living with his current disfigured face. He saw the panic in Zarya's eyes that told him she didn't want him to risk it at all. Gods, how he wished the rest of the world held her heart. That everyone could see past the ugliness and judge him for something less petty.
It was why he loved her.
Unfortunately, others weren't like that and he knew it better than most.
"Not like you can make it any worse," he said under his breath. He spoke louder to Syn. "Do what you can, as fast as you can. I'll call the meeting for the end of next week." He turned back to Ryn. "Can you run things while I'm down?"
He didn't miss the reluctance in Ryn's eyes, but for once his brother agreed to help him. "I'm willing to try. You going to kick my ass if I screw something up?"
"Probably."
"Oh well then," Ryn said with exaggerated enthusiasm, "by all means, let me get started right away."
Zarya suppressed a smile at Ryn's sarcasm.
Darling ignored it entirely as he walked over to Syn. "How long do you need to prep?"
"I can have you in surgery in about four hours from now. Or we can wait until tomorrow morning."
Darling's gaze locked with hers. She wished she could read his mood, but he gave nothing away. "I want it over with. Please, get started on the prep."
"You sure?" Syn asked.
He nodded.
"All right. Hauk and I will jump on it. See you in four hours at HQ." They headed for the door.
Darling glanced to Drake. "I really wish you'd go home."
"I am home."
A fierce tic started in Darling's jaw. But he didn't say anything more about Drake's refusal. "Can you and Zarya give me a few minutes alone with Ryn and Maris?"
Drake inclined his head to him before he offered his arm to Zarya.
Surprised by the unexpected chivalry, she tucked her hand into the crook of Drake's elbow.
As they started for the door, Darling stopped them. He cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand. "You understand why I'm doing this, right?"
"I do, but I don't agree with it, and I really wish you'd at least wait until tomorrow. You've barely had time to heal from the attack."
His gaze softened before he leaned down to kiss her.
Zarya held him to her when he started to pull away. "Don't you dare die on me."
He nuzzled her cheek. "I know. You'll follow me into hell and beat me if I do," he whispered in her ear.
"You know as stubborn as I am that I will, too."
He kissed her cheek. "I'll be up in a few."
She nodded before Drake led her from the room.
Drake didn't speak until they were alone in the back hallway. Then his entire demeanor turned stiff and icy as he pulled her to a stop. "Why are you here?"
His accusatory tone brought up all of her defenses. "Excuse me?"
He raked her with a suspicious glare. "I'm trying to understand what I saw just now. I've heard every rumor from you're Darling's kitchen slave, his military prisoner, his political hostage, to the most ludicrous of all that says you're his mistress. What exactly are you to my brother?"
That was a difficult question to answer. While she had no doubt that Darling loved her, she wasn't sure what that meant exactly.
Yes, he'd proposed to her, but since they'd gotten back together, he hadn't breathed a single word about marrying her again. Nor had he asked her about her missing engagement ring that the slaver had taken from her. There was no talk about having a future together--not the way they used to talk about it for
hours on end.
When they were alone now, all she could focus on was the shadow of mistrust that would darken his eyes. That unguarded look of painful torment.
But most of all, Darling's words haunted her.
"When it's just the two of us and we're alone, I can forget what happened, and I'm better. Then just as I think I'm all right, it all comes barreling back and kicks me in the crotch. I can still hear you laughing out in the hallway when I needed you most. And honestly, it hurts all over again. I feel betrayed. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but my feelings don't have ears and they don't listen to my head."
Which meant she had no idea where she currently stood with Darling. Honestly, she was too scared to ask lest she find out just how little he trusted her.
So she settled on the simplest truth. "I'm the woman who loves him."
Drake's expression said she was completely insane. "You know he's gay, right?"
"He's not gay."
He laughed until he realized she was deadly serious. "Since when?"
"Always."
Drake scoffed. "You don't know my brother very well, then."
She had to bite back her own laughter. "Trust me. I know him better than most, and I definitely know him better than you do. Darling only claimed to be gay to save your mother's life."
"Bull. Shit."
"No. Truth," she said, duplicating his sharp staccato. "You can ask Maris if you don't believe me. He's the one who helped Darling pull the ruse off all these years."
For a moment, she thought Drake might vomit as he finally accepted the truth. He looked positively green with sickness as he stepped away.
"Are you okay?"
He shook his head before he pinned her with a brutally cold stare. "Are you sure? Positive?"
"Absolutely. No doubt in my mind. He and I have been sleeping together for over three years now."
Once again, he shook his head as if he couldn't grasp the possibility that Darling had lied to him. Rage blazed deep in his blue eyes. Never had he looked more like Darling than he did right now. "I should go in there, and beat the utter shit out of him."
She scoffed at his bravado. "I think you'd find that extremely hard to do. I've seen him fight. If there's anyone better, I haven't come across them."
Drake held his hand up and laughed. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person? Darling never fights. He hates it."