“Hello, my love.” Papa kissed my cheek and Mama blew me a kiss since her hands were messy and she was covered in flour.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“Is this a trick question?” she asked with a smile, and I smiled back. She loved to bake and we both knew it.
“The kitchen looks amazing,” I said, looking around. The room had been outfitted with top-of-the-line appliances, new floors and granite countertops.
“You should go look at the guest rooms,” Mama said. “They’re ready to go and we have our first guests coming tomorrow! They’re American, a couple on their honeymoon.”
“How exciting.”
“How was your weekend with Axel?” Mama asked, a twinkle in her eye.
“It was lovely. I had sushi.”
“It was good?” Mama asked dubiously.
“It was incredible. There’s a sushi restaurant here in Hiskale and we’ll have to go there one night.”
“Perhaps I can learn to prepare it.”
I decided not to push back on this since her first instinct would always be to cook versus eating out. I also opted not to mention that Axel and I were moving in together. We were having a nice visit and I didn’t want to spoil it.
“Will you stay for dinner?” Mama asked.
“Sure.”
“You should have brought Kostya.”
“Perhaps he can have someone at the palace drive him over,” I said. “Let me see what Axel is doing.”
“If he’s free, invite your young man for dinner.”
I glanced at her curiously but nodded, sending Axel a text.
SOLANGE: Are you still in your meeting? My parents have invited you to dinner.
AXEL: We just got done. When do you want me there?
SOLANGE: Any time. Can you bring Kostya as well?
AXEL: Of course. See you in an hour? I need to do a few things first.
SOLANGE: I’ll tell Kostya to be ready.
I looked up and smiled. “They’ll be here in an hour. Let me make sure Kostya is ready.”
I was a little nervous about this family dinner situation, but I figured it was time for my parents to get used to us being together. I’d sent Axel a quick text telling him not to mention us moving in together yet, so hopefully nothing too uncomfortable would come up. I had to be sure, though, because my mother could be a ball-buster when she wanted to be.
“Mama, please be nice to Axel,” I said as I cut tomatoes for a salad.
“He’s our guest. Why wouldn’t I be nice?”
I cut my eyes to her and raised my eyebrows. “Hello. This is me you’re talking to. I know you far too well to fall for this innocent act.”
She snorted. “You’re a grown woman and you’re going to make your own mistakes. As long as he’s kind to you and treats you like a lady, I have nothing to say. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.” The truth was, I probably didn’t, but at this point, I’d been given opportunities of a lifetime that I wasn’t going to throw away because of bouts of insecurity. Even if things didn’t work out with Axel, I had a new job, and I refused to do anything to put that in jeopardy. Now that I’d had a taste of freedom, I never wanted to go back to my life in Vinake.
Axel and Kostya arrived a few minutes later and I hugged my brother before leaning up for a chaste kiss from Axel. He smiled at me and then turned to my mother, holding out a bottle of wine.
“I hope red wine goes with what we’re eating.”
“Yes. Thank you. Red wine is nice with roasted lamb and potatoes.”
“Sounds and smells delicious.”
“Did you hear about what’s going on in Vinake?” Axel asked me as I poured us all a glass of wine.
My mother nodded even though he hadn’t been talking to her directly. “Yes, I speak to Mrs. Freela this morning. It is not good.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He shook his head. “The Brat is pissed that we’ve essentially shut them down in Vinake. They burned three abandoned buildings in town with a strict warning that the textiles factory will be next if the people don’t start paying what they owe. Luckily, the fires didn’t spread, but that’s only because there was a thunderstorm that slowed them down. I don’t know that they’ll be so lucky next time.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked quietly.
“We just don’t have the manpower to send a team up there,” Axel said. “But Sandor is going to sit down the chiefs of police from Vinake, Ferdinbrag, and a few more cities. The government is going to offer bonuses and incentives for departments that stay on top of the Brat.”
“They’re afraid,” Mama said. “Mr. Freela was the old police chief. You remember when he was killed two years ago? It was very suspicious. We now believe the Brat were responsible. They sent a message by doing this.”
I translated for Axel, who shook his head. “I’ll pass that on to Sandor. That’s important to know.”
“Perhaps there need to be repercussions for police who look the other way,” Kostya said.
“We’re trying positive reinforcement first,” Axel replied. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll go the other direction.”
Everyone was quiet for a while, ruminating the implications of this news. I hated the idea that our friends and extended family were in danger, but I had faith in the king and Prince Sandor. They would help. I knew it in my gut.
We chatted for a while and my mother was truly on her best behavior. She didn’t ask embarrassing questions or put Axel on the spot, so I was caught off guard when Kostya derailed the whole evening.
“I’ve joined the military,” he announced in between bites of food. “I report to basic training the first of April.”
Papa froze and Mama slammed her fork down on the table so hard, everything jumped.
“Kostya! What have you done?” she demanded. “This is unacceptable.”
“For who?” he asked. “You guys don’t need me here, Solange has her own thing going, and the only way I’m ever going to get anywhere in this world is if I do something like that.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Mama said firmly. “You must tell them you made a mistake. I will talk to Princess Elen and—”
“No, you won’t.” Kostya shook his head. “Mama, I know you worry, but I’m a man. I’m not a child anymore and I need to do this. Plus, you know, it’s the law here.”
“You can defer again. We’ve gotten the deferments every year since you turned eighteen.”
“But I don’t want another deferment.”
“This is because of Magda,” Mama said angrily. “I will speak to her father! You must not do this. I won’t allow it!” She got up and stomped out of the room. A moment later a door slammed.
“Way to drop a bombshell,” I told my brother.
He sighed, glancing at Papa. “Are you mad too?”
Papa shook his head. “No. I’m proud of you. But your mother… She worries. She doesn’t want to lose you.”
“Papa, I need to do this.”
Papa and Kostya spoke in hushed Limaji for a while and I slid my hand under the table, seeking out Axel’s. He met my gaze and we exchanged a look that spoke volumes. How we absolutely weren’t going to bring up moving in together. How we needed to make this an early night. How we couldn’t wait to be alone together. It was weird how we were already to a place where we read each other’s minds.