"Cheeky youngster." Cord swatted at Oron's hand, making him laugh.
Amelia turned to Darian's mother. "I don't know if it's okay to ask, but how are you all related?"
Aleksandra looked at Darian and Oron, and the three of them started laughing. She turned to Amelia. "It is a bit of a puzzle, isn't it?" She looked over at Darian. "Would you like to explain or shall I?"
"You tell the story best, Mother." Darian wrapped an arm around her shoulders, getting comfortable.
Aleksandra thought for a moment. "I suppose it all started right after the Great War. It was dark times; so many people had lost family. There was no victor in that war, just losers. The fae returned from the battlefields to find that things at home had changed as well. People were giving more deference to the families that had proven themselves in battle instead of established noble lines." She paused and looked at Darian and Oron before continuing.
"Before the war, House Eirson had been the closest to the throne, but they had made some bad decisions and lost favor with the people, whereas House Alina gained the people's trust by bringing home so many fathers and sons." She paused, again looking at Oron.
He nodded. "I know the story well Mother, you won't hurt my feelings in the telling of it."
"I love you, darling."
"I know."
The queen continued. "One night, the members of House Eirson decided to completely eliminate all of the family members of House Alina and blame it on a smaller house, House Liordon." Amelia gasped. Aleksandra looked at her. "You know that family?"
Amelia nodded. "Yes, Aedan Li'Liordon serves in my eldest brother, Caiden's, unit in Storm Keep."
The queen smiled. "His brother, Aeson, serves here in the Chi Unit. They are very good boys."
"They are," Amelia agreed.
"Since House Liordon wasn't a prominent house, the head of House Eirson figured no one would question his word when it came time to report the deaths of House Alina."
Amelia leaned forward. "What happened?"
The queen smiled at Oron. "He hadn't counted on the noble heart of a ten-year-old boy, his own son. Oron overheard the plans, but was caught trying to sneak out of the house to warn someone. He was locked away in the cellar until almost morning when he was able to break free. He immediately ran to House Alina and snuck in through a back window, which happened to be the window to the nursery. Oron gently picked up the baby and climbed back out the window. He heard the sounds of screams and men's shouts and decided to run and get help. He arrived at the palace carrying the only surviving family member of House Alina."
Amelia turned to her mate. "You?"
He nodded. "If Oron hadn't come to check on the house first, I would have been murdered with my family. He really is a super big brother." He winked at Oron.
Amelia smiled gratefully at Oron. She knew that hearing this story had to bring up painful memories for the warrior.
"Of course he is, he has always taken care of you." The queen took a sip of water. "Due to Oron's testimony, the members of House Eirson were banished from Éire Danu, forever denying them the light of the fae. Deciding their fate was the easier of the two tasks I had before me. After the rogue fae had been banished, I was still left with two little boys who had no family and no home. I interviewed countless families willing to take in baby Darian, but none would take Oron. They didn't want to be associated with such a treacherous House. I watched Oron and Darian closely, and what I saw made my decision for me."
"What did you see?" Amelia asked.
"I saw one little boy dedicated to a baby that he insisted was his brother. I asked Oron which family should have Darian and he said..."
"You can only give him to a family that has lots of boys. He'll need a big brother." Oron said quietly.
The queen nodded. "And I said, it's a good thing I have decided to adopt you both. You can be his big brother."
Oron leaned back. "It was the happiest day of my life. I swore that night that I would never let anything happen to my baby brother. And Gods, did he ever put that oath to the test! I never saw a kid get into so many fights and dangerous situations in all my days." He turned to Amelia. "It looks like I have blond hair, but it's really white. That's what he did to me."
Amelia laughed.
"I wasn't that bad," Darian scoffed.
"I started drinking at an early age because of you," Oron argued.
"Boys!" The queen clapped her hands.
"Sorry," they said together.
The queen looked at Amelia and winked, and they both laughed.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready," Cord announced as server after server carried in bowls of hot soup and plates of grilled vegetables. To Amelia, everything smelled incredible.
"Brothers can be the biggest gift and the biggest pain in the ass," Brennus said as he lifted his spoon.
Amelia, Darian, and Oron nodded. The queen looked shocked. "Brennus, language."
Brennus grinned. "I forgot my love, there's no way two unit warriors like Oron and Darian, or a woman raised by unit warriors like Amelia have ever heard the word 'ass' before."
Aleksandra sighed. "I wanted to at least give Amelia a good impression."
Amelia waved off her concerns. "He's right. I was raised by my brothers and pretty much all the warriors in Storm Keep. There isn't much that can shock me."