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“Thank you, Bernadet,” he answered with a sad smile. “He was a great man, and King Divos ensured I was well taken care of after his passing. But I had no desire to stay in Taitha.” His face flashed with a hint of sorrow. “Too many memories had been soured after I lost my father. So the King arranged a squire position for me in Eserene, and luckily enough I befriended King Umfray. He granted me lordship upon my twenty-first birthday and assigned Tyrak as my personal guard.”

Aunt Berna diligently listened to every word that came from the Lord’s mouth. I tried to shoot Tobyas a glance, but even he was wrapped up in Lord Castemont’s story.

“Sometimes it just takes being in the right place at the right time. Isn’t that right, Cal?” he laughed.

Why was he singling me out? I did my best to muster a smile. “Yes, my Lord.”

“Forgive me for asking, but you never married?” Aunt Berna asked, fingers laced beneath her chin.

“Since I was not born in the country of Widoras, I was not required to enter the marriage market at any point.” Aunt Berna seemed to deflate a bit at his answer, and I watched as the Lord noticed. “But it’s never been out of the realm of possibilities.” She blushed —ugh— and nodded. He smiled with crinkled eyes and looked back to his plate. “Dinner was lovely. Let me help you clear the table,” Lord Castemont chimed as he folded his napkin.

“That is very kind, my Lord,” Aunt Berna answered in a melodic voice I’d never heard before.

“Just Evarius.”

My gaze shot down as I tried to hide the scoff on my face. Tobyas wasn’t so smooth as I was, and a choked laugh escaped his throat.

“Tobyas Vic Myrin,” Aunt Berna said sternly. “Manners.”

My brother fidgeted in his seat. “Sorry.”

“Off with you two,” Aunt Berna commanded, shooing us away with a hand. “You’re excused.” The disciplinary tone wasn’t reflecting on her face anymore as she looked back to Lord Castemont and smiled.

“Don’t go far, boys,” the Lord called. “I’d like to show you both something as soon as I’m done helping your lovely aunt clean up. And remember, I brought dessert.” I felt Tobyas perk up next to me as we shuffled toward the staircase.

Aunt Berna’s house was beautiful, with hand-stitched upholstery and shiny marble floors. It was what I’d always imagined the inside of the castle in Taitha to look like, probably the Eserenian castle too. There were a bit too many soft pinks and creams for my liking, but Aunt Berna was proud of her home. We learned very quickly after arriving in Eserene that we didn’t touch the painted pottery, we didn’t sit on the settee with dirty clothes, and we always took our muddy boots off before we entered the house.

Tobyas usually did all three of those things anyway.

He and I each had our own rooms at the top of the stairs, each bigger than our entire hut back in Taitha. Both rooms had soaring windows that looked out over the small courtyard in front of the house and the cobblestone street beyond.

“What do you think of Lord Castemont?” I asked Tobyas as we settled on the bench that sat before the window in my room.

He didn’t take his eyes off the street. “It’s obvious he’s wearing a wig,” he answered.

“What?”

“The man,” he said, pointing absentmindedly out the window to a plump, middle-aged gentleman wrapped in a fine surcoat despite the uncomfortable summer heat. One of our favorite things to do was to make up stories about the Prismanian passersby, and I could see the wheels turning in Tobyas’ mind. “He’s wearing a wig. He lost his hair because he’s stressed out that his wife is spending all of his money.”

I let out a laugh at the mop of hair that sat atop the man’s head. “And his only hope is to marry off his son to the daughter of some rich sucker for the dowry.”

Tobyas snorted, peering down the street, looking for his next victim.

I cleared my throat. “Really, though. What do you think of Lord Castemont?”

“He brings us gifts. And he’s been through the Onyx Pass a lot, which is pretty interesting,” Tobyas murmured with a shrug, his eyes narrowing on a woman with a thick fringe of feathers around the collar of her frock.

“But aside from that. Do you think he likes Aunt Berna?”

He shrugged again. “Everyone likes Aunt Berna. She’s a very likable person.”

“Don’t be a smartass.”

Tobyas’ brows raised at the swear I’d used, but then face crinkled as he considered what I said. “He compliments her a lot.”

“So you think he likes her?”

“Yuck,” Tobyas spat.