Page 38 of Under the Lion Star

Leor’s face looked stunned momentarily before he broke out into laughter, tossing his head back as his chest shook.

“Come with me,” he smiled, intertwining his fingers into mine once more and leading me through the corridors until we exited onto a large balcony.

“Wow,” I breathed, looking over the forest below us. “This is beautiful.”

“Z,” Leor breathed somberly. “I’m so sorry.”

“You should be,” I pointed an accusatory finger at him. “I get keeping your secrets initially, but Gods, Leor… surely you knew I’d be in attendance tonight.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I was worried that it would change the way you treated me when you found out. I selfishly wanted to keep things as they were for as long as possible.”

“If you think I’m suddenly not going to point out that you’re an absolute ass just because you’re the king, then you’re fucking delusional.”

Leor laughed and shook his head. He sat on one of the stone steps and patted the space next to him. I acquiesced, lowering myself onto the marble. Wordlessly, we both stared out at the view for several moments.

“Leor,” I hesitated. “What happened to Orin? I know you lost your parents, and I’m sure he saw awful things during his time in the war, but that… that seems like more.”

“Z, I…” Leor trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I trust you. I do, but the danger I could put Orin in if I said anything–”

“I get it,” I interjected. “He’s your brother. He needs your protection. I just… Gods, Leor. He’s so young.”

“Yeah,” he breathed. “We’re trying. Liras spends nearly every minute with him. He has his own room here, but aside from tonight, I can’t think of a single moment I’ve witnessed them apart.”

“I think maybe–” I paused, not wanting to overstep. This wasn’t my family.

“Don’t do that,” Leor frowned. “At this point, I’m glad to hear any thoughts you have.”

“I think you’ve all been treating him as broken because, well… he is. But maybe just try treating him as Orin. The way things would be if he were perfectly normal.”

“Can’t hurt,” Leor shrugged. “I know he’s still in there. I see it sometimes, you know? Occasionally, he’ll rake his hand through his hair or tap his fingers on his thigh. It’s small, but they’re little things that he’d do before my parents died. Before… everything else.”

“When you were both at war, did you ever get leave around the same time to visit home?”

“Sometimes,” Leor nodded, his hand finding mine between where we sat on the steps. “We fought together as well. I just wish I’d been with him when we got the news of our parents. Maybe if I’d been able to intervene quicker, he wouldn’t be trapped in his own mind.”

Leor removed his hand from mine and pushed his fingers through his hair after removing his crown. He held the golden circlet in his hands, running his thumb over the lion’s head at the center.

“Gods above, I really am stupid,” I groaned.

“What?” He let out a quiet laugh.

“Leor, Leorid, Lion Star, Lion crown,” I motioned to the crown in his hands and then toward the comet that hung in the night sky.

“That’s a bit of a stretch to think that my ability to recognize a comet makes me a king,” Leor chuckled.

“What’s with the lion theme anyway?”

“The comet was in the sky when I was born.”

“When is your birthday?”

“Today,” he smiled sheepishly. “Thirty years old, if you can believe it.”

“Ancient,” I smirked. “Happy Birthday. Was a wife your advisors’ gift to you?”

I tried to hide the resentment in my tone. Leor had to marry for the realm, I understood that, but I also knew that once he had a wife, I’d probably not see much of him. Were he my husband, I doubt I’d be secure enough to let him traipse the countryside with some random woman.

“Something like that. Anyway, my mom was always fascinated by lions. Not that she ever saw one in person. But when I was born, and the comet was in the sky, they just ran with it.”

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