CHAPTER 3

After washing up and spending some necessary time in her room, Aerys was ready to face the music that had been today's upcoming family dinner. It was a monthly tradition, held on the 30th. Her entire family attended, even if there'd been tension. And tension there would be.

It was challenging to eat in peace with the familial rift that plagued their house ever since Evenos had been named heir. Her father's first wife despised the idea her human-born son would not sit atop the throne.

Lysana, her father's first wife, had been a woman of great beauty. She was as pale as the moon, her hair like threads from the sun. For all that made her so beautiful to other humans, she could never compare to vampire women.

Her mother had been the prime example. She was an unspoken beauty, no one needed to proclaim it for it to be true. Her grace and poise had been something she neededn't learn from her advisor but instead had been born with compared to Lysana.

Lysana had hated her mother for as long as Aerys could remember and, by extension, her children. But she perhaps hated Evenos the most. Not only did her sister have the same golden eyes as their father, but she'd also been so much more than Phaestus had ever been. She'd usurped the greatness of Lysana having a son by merely existing.

There were murmurs around the court that her father had taken Lysana out of duty and her Hereaia out of desire. Those murmurs alone had been the fuel of Lysana's jealousy for the twenty years her mother had been married.

Even with such matrimonial tensions, Aerys could usually bare dining with the rest of her family, but today she'd been set in her feelings. The treatment received from her sister had been more than enough to sour her mood. She'd been embarrassed.

She was dressed in light silk, her hair styled upward. Layrsa had helped her prepare and walked her to her father's rooms. The castle had been designed to accommodate large private audiences, hence the elegant four-person long table.

The blinds were drawn and made from a dark semi-transparent fabric. It allowed them to watch as the sun entered the sky, but not to the extent they'd burn.

Her brother and his mother sat at a side in formal dress. They did not stand or even really spare a glance as Aerys sat in the third chair opposite to them. Her mother and sister always sat closer to her father.

Slowly but surely, dishes filled in as her mother walked through the doors. Quickly the children stood to receive her, only sitting after she'd sat. A few moments later, her father arrived in his entirety. He'd looked tired, but he usually did these days. Not that she saw him often.

The entire table rose, bowing their heads towards him. Even if they'd been family, formality did not lose place even in the comforts of privacy. Such levels of familial bonding were saved for childhood. Aerys had begun her adolescent years and would no longer be treated as a child by her family. What bonds were not made in those early years were usually supplemented by earned merit and mutual respect.

"A fine day, is it not?" Her father happily remarked as he looked at the windows. "My family has been well?" He asked no one in particular.

"Yes, my dear. I've been planning Phaestus's name day." Lysana proudly stated. Her father kept eye contact even as his hand reached for Hereaia's hand. Gently he'd begun caressing the top even as Lysana continued her long-drawn plans for her son's party.

Of course, she'd made a show of inviting prominent families to kiss her ass. Most of them had been newer aristocratic families that made a show of humanity being the future. Most of them backed Phaestus as heir, despite Evenos being publicly claimed. This made Phaestus's name days and a group of friends particularly annoying.

The few thralls in the room had been pouring wine or closely monitoring the curtains lest they moved.

The wives told their husbands about their plans as dinner dragged on. Aerys had begun to wonder where Evenos had been. No one missed dinner. Ever. There weren't enough viable excuses one could make up to do so. After a certain age, they stopped getting sick, and none of them had been old enough to be sent out beyond the capital.

"How have your studies been, Aerys?" Her father suddenly pointed at her. The entire table looked at her. Aerys herself had been focused on the delectable soup served for the day.

She looked up briefly, meeting her father's eyes. "Well. Some of it is confusing, but I've been getting help."

"Who from? I doubt your siblings have the time."

"Cypris. Cypris Galanis." The large room door swung, revealing Evenos. She'd looked reasonably normal. She'd changed from her training clothes but hadn't been wearing the same extravagant clothing as the rest of her family.

Everyone, except for her father, began rising from their seats without a hitch. "Please, remain seated." She calmly spoke.

She briefly stopped behind her father, leaning in to carefully whisper into his ear. Even with enhanced hearing, it was difficult to determine exactly what she'd been telling him. Whatever it was seemed to place a shadow over his face before it reverted back to his cheery disposition.

She sat at his side ahead of her mother and sister. A thrall quickly came to fill her cup, allowing her to take a deep sip. Minutes of silence passed before loud ringing reached everyone's ears.

The bells only went off on special occasions, whether a new season or for festivals. In more dire circumstances, it could mean war. Or even worse, betrayal. Just as they signified life and the joys of it, they also signalled death.

Aerys and Phaestus were the only two in the room who seemed phased by the bells ringing. Both of their mothers had hidden their shock well. Their father rose to leave, his cup and meal practically untouched. Calmly he fixed his robes as Evenos stood from her chair beside him. No words were exchanged as they walked out of the room.