He went and opened the door. “Yes?”
“There’s somebody here to see you. She says that she knows you.”
“Who?”
“A Yore seer.”
Gahariet looked down at himself. He was dressed in a woman’s dressing robe.
“I have to go to my room to get some clothes, but I’ll be downstairs in five minutes, okay? Just tell her to wait. I want to hear what she has to say.”
Gahariet ran into his own room, one hand keeping the dressing robe firmly shut. He threw on some of his loosest clothing before heading downstairs. He didn’t look like a prince at the moment, but he didn’t care.
When he got downstairs, he stopped and froze.
The Yore seer was the one from the market, the one who had told Olivier about his mate.
Raising one eyebrow, Gahariet said, “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
She didn’t answer his question, instead asking her own. “She’s come, hasn’t she? I can feel her.”
Her eyes were slowly turning silver, first around the edges and then in the middle. Gahariet wanted to be careful. She could be one of the Yore who could pull mind tricks. Even if she didn’t like the Drakan Thrones, Gahariet knew that she seemed to be emotionally invested in Phuong’s well-being. Stars, she’d predicted Phuong’s arrival, hadn’t she? Gahariet tried to ignore what else she had predicted.
“Why don’t you come upstairs with me? We need someone to watch over her, and you might be a good choice. Do you have any references? Any experience?”
“Just watching after my own family, that’s all.”
“It could be enough. Come.”
Gahariet went up the stairs as the Yore seer followed him slowly behind. They could both hear the creaking of her joints.
Gahariet didn’t know why, but his instincts said that he could trust her. Something about her made him confident that she wouldn’t hurt Phuong.
“It’s okay if you don’t have any experience. The other personal attendants can bring you up to speed, and it’s a unique position anyway. Come see her.”
They were at Phuong’s door. He abruptly realized that his twin and his mate were naked.
“Hold on. Stay out here for a little while.” The Yore sank gracefully and sat on her heels while Gahariet ducked inside of the room.
Phuong was still asleep, but Olivier was awake. He was tracing the edges of her barely visible scales with the tips of his fingers.
“The seer is here.”
Olivier turned. “The seer from the market?”
“Yup. Get dressed.”
Olivier went to Phuong’s closet and chose one of her dresses unabashedly. It was a simple tunic, and it looked unisex. Gahariet wished that he’d had the luxury of choosing whatever he wanted. Olivier looked like the clothing belonged to him, while Gahariet was sure that he’d looked absolutely ridiculous in the pink dressing robe.
“We have to get Phuong dressed, too.”
“What?” she asked sleepily. “What’s happening?”
“Just put on a dress,” Gahariet said. He went to her wardrobe and grabbed one. He pulled the covers off of her and she yelped.
“Cold!”
“Put on a dress. There’s someone waiting outside who wants to meet you very much.”