Page 39 of Royal Rising

“Afternoon, Edie,” Bo says.

“I suppose you’re here to see yourbrother.” I don’t mean for it to come out that way, but that’s how it comes out.

Bo looks abashed. “If he’s around?”

“Or not,” Spencer adds. “We can just drink our beer in peace.”

I don’t even serve them a pint before I go find Kalle.

12

Kalle

Edie bangs on theoffice door and tells me Bo and Spencer are here. She’s gone before I open the door, and that’s when I know I really messed up.

The bar is quieter as some of the after-lunch crowd has gone home for afternoon naps before they return for the evening shift.

Bo sits with Spencer at the bar, with empty seats around them. Both men are a common sight in here, but there’s still a space around Bo that most people won’t enter unless they’re personally invited. Spencer is fine, as he’s technically not family, but really is, but the rest of us have the same space.

Lyra explained it to me once—that we could pretend to be regular people, but we’d never really get there because of that space. We intimidate or scare; I’m not sure why it’s there. And I usually can ignore it because I’ve got Edie, and she never makes me feel like that.

I really messed up.

I give Bo and Spencer a grunt as a hello, and busy myself with pouring us pints, the head thick and foamy.

In unison, we pick up the glasses.

I make it two-thirds before I run out of air.

Bo finishes the entire twenty ounces, then pushes it back to me for a refill.

“That good?” I ask him, giving him another one.

“He had a lunch with the Minister of Wildlife,” Spencer says, setting down his glass at the halfway mark. “It turned into a meet-and-greet with a tour company going whale watching.”

“It was a lot of people,” Bo mutters. “Not used to that.”

“Time to go back to your house in the woods, little brother?” I ask sympathetically. That’s why taking Odin out of the succession has been so rough. I know my brother; Bo is a good man. A smart man, smarter than the rest of us. But he’s also a man who likes his own company. His privacy. He’d have a tough time with people constantly demanding his time and energy like they were trying to peel off pieces of him.

I know Bo would hate to be king, even more than I would, and that’s saying a lot.

“I like my house in the woods. I want to talk to you.” Bo leans over the bar to where I keep the bag of potato chips and pulls one up. I take it from him and pour some into a bowl because if I leave him the bag, the whole thing’ll be gone in a second.

“I figured, since you didn’t call in the cavalry.” We have brothers’ text chat, along with Spencer, that is used to call a gathering when one of us needs something.

Because he grew up at the castle, and his father has been such a constant in life at the castle, we all treat Spencer like another brother. Each of us has a different relationship with him, though. He hangs out with Odin socially, because they are the same age, but also worked with him on castle stuff. He plays with Gunnar, doing Gunnar stuff. I go to him for business issues. But it’s Bo whouses him as a confidant, more than we do. If there’s something on Bo’s mind, he talks to Spencer first.

Sometimes I wonder if we could somehow convince Spencer to take over. That would solve everything.

“No, Gunny doesn’t need to hear this.” Bo taps the counter, clearly uneasy because if I’m not one to discuss my feelings, Bo is even worse. He glances at Spencer, who gives him a nod.

I frown. “What’s going on?”

“I know you went to see Dad earlier.”

No clue how he knows that, but the Battle Harbour grapevine is frightening at times.

“I get you’re trying to figure things out,” Bo continues. “Odin stepping down didn’t make it easy on you. I think we all thought he’d eventually take over after Dad.” He gives me a rueful smile. “I know if it’s a no for you, nobody wants me to take over.”

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