Veilspeaker (Pharim War Book 2) Read Free

over with.”
    Sileon’s eyes widened. “But sir, if you want to
increase your influence, court is the best place—”
    “Go Sileon.”
    The advisor’s face went red, but he bowed his head and
scurried out. Jez tried to glare as he left, but Sileon looked so ridiculous
trying to maintain his dignity that it was impossible. He disappeared through
the door. Osmund met Jez’s gaze, and they both laughed. It was several seconds
before they calmed down enough to speak.
    “All this talking about politics almost makes me long
for the times we were fighting an evil mage bent on releasing a nightmare
demon.”
    Jez grinned. “Yeah, if only something like that would
happen here. It would certainly make things more interesting.”

CHAPTER 4
    Dinner, as it turned
out, was still two hours away, but Sileon insisted they spend that time getting
ready. He summoned an army of servants, seemingly from nowhere. When Jez asked
about it, the stout man simply said that being a baron had its advantages. Jez
took that to mean he was paying them a great deal of money.
    The
servants helped him out of his clothes and into new ones, something he’d never
really gotten used to. They ignored his assertions that the clothes he’d worn
before the king were good enough. They even tried to comb his hair, which he’d
allowed to grow a little longer in recent weeks. He managed to stop them from
doing that, however, and he was glad for that small mercy. Every time Jez tried
to speak with Osmund, Sileon cleared his throat, wordlessly instructing him to
say nothing in front of the servants, as if Jez had any secrets to keep.
    Osmund
stood by the door. Every once in a while, he would grumble something to one of
the servants, and they would take a step back, stammering and pale faced.
Sileon scowled, but Jez could tell his friend’s actions more out of boredom
than any perceived threat to Jez.
    Finally,
Sileon settled on a bright blue doublet with gold embroidery, leaving Jez to
wonder who would think to weave gold into clothes. Like his previous outfit, it
had lace at its neck, and Jez struggled to avoid scratching. Sileon ushered the
servants out of the room. Getting dressed had taken almost the full two hours,
and Sileon spent the next several minutes drilling Jez on the finer points of
etiquette that might come up in a formal dinner. Eventually, a servant in the
purple livery of the king came to lead them to the dining hall.
    The
king was seated at the head of a table made of lacquered wood. The seat to his
right was occupied by a tall pale skinned man with yellow hair. A whispered
word from Sileon told Jez it was Lord Varin. Many of the other chairs were
occupied by men and women wearing the same dark green as their lord. It seemed
Varin had brought a dozen people with him. Three of Varin’s guards stood
against one wall, next to those of the king. Jez motioned for Osmund to join
them. Villia and her apprentice were also present, and her eyes kept wandering
from Jez to Osmund. Her gaze made the hairs on the back of Jez’s neck stand on
end.
    Only
two seats sat empty, one at the king’s left, and one next to Varin, though as
soon as Jez glanced at it, Varin glared at him. That seat must be reserved for
someone else in Varin’s party. This time, Jez didn’t have to be told that he’d
been insulted. He bowed deeply to the king and inclined his head to Varin.
Propriety demanded that Varin, ranked much lower than Jez, rise to greet him,
but instead, the lord just returned the gesture. Since there was nowhere for
Sileon to sit, Jez waved toward the door. For a second, it looked like Sileon
would object, but a glare from Jez sent him away. Jez would just have to make
it through this dinner unaided.
    As
soon as Jez sat down, a girl in a flowing green dress stepped into the room
followed by a pair of guards. One was a bearded man with a crooked nose and the
other was a raven haired woman with ice blue eyes. The noble they were guarding
was a tall girl