“Yes, maybe not always. But for enough of the time. You should have seen him after you left, Zaria.” He shook his head sadly.
“I have no idea what either of you are talking about.”
“No one does understand us.” Xavier gave a sigh of long suffering.
I gave him an exasperated look. “I’m not some city maiden ready to fall for your act of supposed suffering. I’m still waiting to hear about this apparent scam.”
“All those years,” Xander began.
“All our long, weary youth,” Xavier continued.
“We believed in the mirage of freedom once we turned eighteen. But it turns out that now we’re of age, there are all theseresponsibilitiesandexpectations. It’s not free, at all!”
I laughed. “Only the two of you would be surprised by that.”
“But we’re the third and fourth children,” Xavier told me earnestly. “We’re so low down the list we hardly count as royal. Rek and Adara are supposed to take care of all that.”
“Well, mostly Rek,” Xander said. “Adara can’t be counted on for much.”
“Excuse me!” I cried, offended on my friend’s behalf.
“From the adults’ perspective, I meant,” Xander explained earnestly, as if his words would remove any offense. “Naturally she’s the best of good companions in mischief.”
I wanted to protest again, but I was on shakier ground, so I held silent.
“Did you see that Yasmine’s here?” Xavier asked his brother, his attention wandering to something on the other side of the room.
“Yasmine?” I looked between them in surprise. “Isn’t she several decades too old for you?”
Both of them laughed.
“Don’t worry, Zaria. We aren’t about to fall prey to the legendary older woman,” Xander said.
“We’ve just heard she throws the most fabulous parties.” Xavier briefly looked away from whatever—or whoever—held his interest to throw me a wink. “There might be a little bit of freedom we can take advantage of.”
“Excuse us, old friend,” Xander said, giving his brother a shove in the direction of his gaze. “But we must continue circulating.”
Both of them hurried away, moving through the crowd with purpose. I was left standing alone, shaking my head and fighting a laugh.
“Could anything be more typical of the twins?” I asked the empty air.
“And what do you know of Their Royal Highnesses?” asked a female voice from behind me.
I turned slowly, wishing I’d kept my thoughts inside my head. I didn’t recognize the voice, but as soon as I saw the girl’s face, I remembered her. Iola was the daughter of a senior vizier so should have been a preferable playmate for the royal children than me. But she was also two years younger than the twins and me, and more than three years younger than Adara, so we’d only spent time with her at larger gatherings of the palace children.
She must have turned sixteen only recently, so this would be her first ball, or close to it. But she carried herself with the confidence of someone far more experienced. She obviously didn’t have my gift with faces, though, because her expression made it clear she didn’t remember me.
“Hello, Iola.” I gave her a friendly smile, and her look of confusion deepened.
I was about to remind her of my identity when I felt someone approaching from behind me. Iola’s posture changed, her eyes brightening as she watched the newcomer.
“Your Highness,” she said with a welcoming smile.
A shiver up the back of my neck told me which of the royals it was even before he spoke.
“Rek is fine.” Despite the friendly words, he sounded distracted.
“Thank you.” She flashed her eyes to me, as if to make sure I’d caught the interchange. She was betraying her inexperience after all, if she thought it important to impress a total unknown like me.