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“Go to bed, Derek,” said Marin. “There’s no need for you to be up.”

Marin put her arm around Brighton, who stood slowly and painfully. Kaerius wrapped his own arm around the larger man and helped him toward the bed.

“I’m all right,” Brighton mumbled. “I’ll be fine. I just want to… I wish I could think what to do.” He sat on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Marin.” His voice was quiet and broken.

“It’s not your fault,” Marin whispered. She swallowed and forced a smile. “I’ll be fine. Get some rest.”

“I’m sorry.” Brighton sagged.

A few moments later, Kaerius and Marin had cajoled him into bed just as Lila returned from the bathing room.

She said, “I’m here.” He sighed and relaxed, and they left him to rest with his wife by his side.

“Thank you, Kai,” Marin said to Kaerius. “You’ve been very kind. Tomorrow I have a meeting with Lord Ralph in the morning and Lord Galbraith in the afternoon, so I won’t see you until evening.”

How can I help you, Your Highness?His stomach rumbled suddenly, and she stared at him.

“Are you hungry? Didn’t you eat dinner?”

He blinked at her.I don’t think so. May I eat lunch with you tomorrow? If I cannot accompany you to the meeting with Ralph, I would like to at least hear what he has proposed and how he has threatened you.

Marin glanced away and then back at him, biting her lip. “I can order you a meal. My father doesn’t eat much dinner, so I try to get him to eat again right before bed. Perhaps you would like to dine with him?”

I would be honored to.Kaerius felt this was a strangely momentous question, as if Marin were trusting him with her father’s vulnerability.

Half an hour later, the servants appeared with small plates on a tray, and Marin ushered Kaerius in to her father’s sitting room. The king sat by the fire in a soft, elegant dressing robe edged in gray fur. One wall of the room had windows which looked out over the darkened sea. The moon glittered on the water.

“Here you are, Your Majesty,” said the servant quietly. “Lobster bisque, warm bread and butter, and the warm cauliflower salad you like.”

The king nodded.

“And for you, Your Highness,” the servant said to Marin. He merely nodded at Kaerius as other servants put more dishes on a nearby table.

Kaerius ate the bread without too much trouble, but found the soup so rich he could only manage half the bowl. The cauliflower salad had far too many ingredients, and when Kaerius tasted it, the flavors made his eyes water. He sighed softly and sat back.

“Did you have enough to eat?” Marin eyed his bowl.

I have gone far longer with minimal sustenance. You have been more than generous.He smiled reassuringly.

Marin said to one of the servants, “Would you bring a plate of the fish he liked last time? Raw. Thank you.”

The king murmured almost inaudibly, and Marin flushed a little. She looked at Kaerius. “Would you like to stay while I play for His Majesty? I often play piano for him in the evenings, but I have not done so in several days.”

I would be honored.

At this moment the servants returned with a plate of fish cut into bite-sized pieces and arranged in neat rows by cut. Yelloweye tuna, fatty salmon, bluefin tuna, eel, lean salmon, and yellowtail made a remarkably pleasing array, and in another situation, Kaerius might have lingered over the meal to better savor each bite. Instead, he ate quickly, not wanting to delay her playing piano, whatever that meant.

Marin sat with him, and he smiled at her between bites. When he finished, she stood and crossed the room to sit at an enormous wooden instrument in the corner.

Then the most exquisite sounds filled the room.

Without thought, Kaerius moved closer. His heart ached with the desire to sing.

Marin’s fingers moved over the keys, and she looked up at him and then down again, her cheeks pink.

She began to sing softly.

If there had ever been a more beautiful sound, Kaerius had not heard it. Her voice was like sunlight on water, as sweetas a morning breeze. He stood transfixed, wondering distantly whether her voice was truly that lovely or whether it was lovely primarily because he loved her.