The Royal Suite had the much more conventional layout of a public room where the King, Queen, or both could entertain special guests, the Queen’s solar where previous Queens (who were not also Heralds) had probably spent entire days just embroidering and conversing with their ladies, a room common to the family that was not usually seen by anyone other than the family, with the bedrooms and nursery off that. The sibs were all in the family room, where Lydia’s nurse was displaying baby Rafiel to them, with the mastiff Drake sitting watchfully at her side and Kee’s Gryphon looking uninterested. Dutifully, Abi came over to look at him. At least now he looked like a baby and not a disagreeable old red-faced man. “Isn’t he the most handsome little man?” cooed the nurse. Abi kept her mouth shut and nodded, standing just far enough away that the nurse was unlikely to thrust Rafi at her.

Instead she turned to the others. “The Queen’s attending Court supper. Raid the Palace kitchen or eat with the Trainees?” she asked, as the nurse, trailed by Drake, went back into the nursery.

“Kitchen,” said Tory and Kee. Tory glanced at Kee. “They won’ let Gryphon in the dining hall,” Kee explained.

“They won’t let Larral in either,” Perry said thoughtfully.

“That’s because Larral inhales everything anyone is not actively guarding,” Trey said with a laugh.

“Roo rot!” Larral barked indignantly.

“Do too,” replied Niko.

Abi interrupted what was about to become an argument between a prince and a “dog.” “Look, Perry, you raid the kitchen for you, Kee and Tory. The rest of us can eat with the Trainees. Everyone’s happy.”

“Mama didn’t say we could do that,” objected Tory.

“Mama didn’t say that we couldn’t, either.” Perry often wasn’t home at suppertime, but when he was, he wanted to be with Larral, and Kee didn’t want to be parted from Gryphon under any circumstances. It seemed to her that leaving Perry in charge of the two younger boys solved all of their problems.

He made a face but nodded. “Come on you two,” he said. “Kee, leave Gryphon here. Larral, make sure Gryphon stays here. I’m going to need both of you if we’re going to get enough food to feed them too.”

Of course, they didn’t actually need to feed either the kyree or the mastiff. Both of them got proper meals twice a day. But without a meaty bone or some tidbitting, all three of the humans were going get big sad eyes and possibly whimpers all through supper.

And Kee, at least, would end up putting half of his own meal into his dog.