Zarya paused at the door to watch Darling replace his cowl before he faced the men.

Her heart breaking for him and the pain she’d seen in his eyes, she led the girl outside.

As they were waiting, she allowed Drus to eat enough sweets that she was sure the girl’s father would issue a death warrant for her. But it made Drus happy and kept the girl occupied while the men conducted their business. Over and over, Drus showed her the medal. She also showed it to any and every person who came anywhere near the room. Sometimes she even chased them down whenever they passed by outside in the hallway.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before the doors opened and the girl’s father came to claim her. There was a happy light in his eyes as they took their leave.

The gerents, however, were another matter entirely. They appeared ready to slaughter someone.

Zarya went to the throne room to find Darling sitting on the throne while Ryn glared at him. Maris and Drake stood opposite of Ryn with Syn and Hauk beside him.

“The aristos are going to demand your head over this.”

Darling shrugged at Ryn’s dire prediction. “Then they should have taken care of the matter before it was brought to my attention.”

“Let them have their strokes,” Drake said drily. “I, for one, am proud of you, Darling.”

Ryn passed a look of utter contempt to his youngest brother. “And you’re a stupid little punk incapable of understanding the repercussions of one bad decision.”

Drake moved to attack Ryn, but Darling sprang from the throne to catch him before he made contact. It was actually an impressive feat.

“Settle down,” Darling said sternly as he forced his younger brother away from Ryn. “Now.”

Hauk laughed unexpectedly. “You know, Ryn, I keep thinking back to what my father used to say to me. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those like my mother who can walk into the most backwater dive hole with the worst riffraff in the universe and in ten minutes, she’ll have them baking cookies and singing love songs together. Then you have those like my father. The kind of man who could walk into an antiwar monastery and in ten minutes have the monks at each other’s throats.”

Ryn scowled at him. “What has that got to do with anything?”

Hauk jerked his chin at Darling. “Trust your brother. He’s the best peacemaker among us. If anyone can settle them down, it’s him.”

Syn nodded in agreement. “Hauk’s right. They were all about to set your clock until Darling came in.” He met Zarya’s gaze. “Great timing with the kid, by the way. You completely caught them off guard with that, and lowered their defenses.”

“Not done intentionally,” she confessed. “I wasn’t sure what to do with the girl when I found her sneaking around the hallway, looking for her father. But I’m glad it helped.”