Vhalla noticed his smirk and couldn’t stop herself from blushing. All too eager to hide her embarrassment, she grabbed her pack from Aldrik, bid them both goodnight, and slipped behind the wooden sliding doors into the dim bedroom beyond. A flame flickered by the bedside and in the bathroom, hovering above a metal dish that had been set out. Vhalla made a note to someday ask Aldrik how Firebearers left their flames, but for the time being she was grateful for the light.

Knowing Aldrik was going to take his time, Vhalla decided to take hers, enjoying the luxury of his bath. The water came out piping hot and she let it seep into her bones. The heat relaxed her and staved off the tension in her muscles from turning into fear and worry at the unknown of what the Emperor’s impending demonstration would bring.

She was wrinkled in her fingers and toes when she emerged. Drying and dressing in basic sleeping clothes, Vhalla dragged her feet back into the bedroom. Dim lights still flickered beyond the sliding doors that did almost nothing to block the deep resonance of Aldrik’s words.

“Would you like another one?” he asked, likely from behind the bar with the way his voice carried.

“No, we have a long day tomorrow. You should stop too,” his uncle warned.

“Just a nightcap,” Aldrik assured.

“You were past a nightcap two drinks ago.” There was a tone of scolding in Lord Ophain’s voice that made Vhalla grin slightly.

“Don’t fault me for this.” She heard Aldrik crossing the room, the sound of the furniture scraping as he sat heavily.

“You know I do. And I will especially if you are in an alcohol haze and can’t perform as you need to tomorrow,” the lord said sternly. “I do not think you want to be the cause of her demonstration going poorly.”

“I would never do anything that could jeopardize her,” Aldrik said sharply.

Vhalla took a step closer to the doors, her heart racing. She knew she shouldn’t be listening, that it was an invasion of his privacy. But she couldn’t stop her feet from carrying her up to the papered and carved screens.

“It sounds as though you already have.” Lord Ophain’s words were strong, but his tone was not.

“Don’t you dare tell me—”

“What?” the older man cut off the prince. “That you have clearly broadcasted your relationship with the woman to your men, your leaders, your father of all people?”

Aldrik was silent.

“He mentioned the trial in a correspondence. He asked me to come and speak sense into you.”

“And here I thought you were paying your dear nephew a friendly visit.” Aldrik punctuated his words by bringing his glass down upon the table a little too hard.