Page 9 of The Duke and the Disciple

Orgiastic Den of Hedonism

Rahn strode into the Fanghelm library just past noontide two days after the Dyvareh. Jasika and Anton were already seated at the round table near the row of windows, sipping tea in silence. He didn’t see Imryll, which was unexpected, as she was usually the first to arrive to a council session.

They’d begun their tradition of weekly meetings at Imryll’s Book of All Things Society in the village, but over the intervening months, student attendance at Book had increased enough that the council had had to repurpose their assembly room into another research laboratory. Moving their sessions to the Wynter keep, Fanghelm, had been posed as a temporary measure, but Imryll had also been under the weather as of late, and though she’d made no announcement, he suspected she was again with child.

“Stewardess. Dobryzen,” Anton said, and he and Jasika both shifted to their feet in deference. Rahn turned to see Imryll enter, fluster dotting her cheeks and an empty child sling dangling off one shoulder.

“Dobryzen.” Jasika echoed his greeting.

“Forgive my tardiness, friends,” she declared in a rush, storming across the stone floor with a strained smile. “Aleksy is still recovering from a brief illness, and he’ll only calm for me or his father.”

“We can meet another time, Imryll,” Anton said as he settled back into his seat.

“If we delayed a meeting anytime one of our children was ill, we’d never meet, would we?” she said pleasantly, peeling the sling away and setting it on a bench. Her eyes fluttered fleetingly closed, then opened as she inhaled a slow breath.

Rahn escorted her to the table, reading the sidelong look she gave him. It was more than exhaustion. She’d come with something to say, something that couldn’t wait.

“Are you all right?” he asked, loud enough only for the two of them. He’d known Imryll her whole life. He’d been her teacher on Duncarrow, the royal isle. Theonlyteacher on Duncarrow. The late King Carrow hadn’t cared a whit if the children learned anything; he’d actually preferred they knew as little as possible.

“You and I should speak after,” she muttered from the corner of her mouth. “Before Drazhan calls you in.”

“Calls me in?”

“About Aes. And the Dyvareh.” Imryll’s smile broadened as they approached the table. She took her usual place, and Rahn, still pondering her words, took his. “Let’s do a full report and then I have another matter to discuss. Anton? Would you like to start?”

Anton cleared his throat and sifted through a stack of documents. “My cohort has completed their final notes on balms and will have the full package for submission within the week. We’ve also begun the pre-work for the arduous task of classifying the beasts of the Northerlands. It’s a fairly comprehensive list, bigger than we originally anticipated when we sent our time estimate, so I predict this will take us the next three seasons to complete, not two, especially since many are hibernators. Unless we expand the cohort again, of course. Depending on how thorough we want to go with the notes, we may even want to transition this one to an ongoing topic rather than a closed-ended one.”

Imryll nodded. Her gaze was fixed on the wall of windows and the snowy valley beyond. “We knew this would be a sizable area of focus, but this is important work. Take the time you need. We’ll either add a fourth cohort to stay ahead of schedule, or we’ll adjust our expectations on the timeline. I’d like us to get started before we propose making it an ongoing subject, so we have figures to support the request.”

Anton nodded in gratitude. “I was hoping you’d say as much.”

“Good work on balms, Anton. I’m excited to see what you do with beasts.” Imryll turned to Jasika. “Jas?”

Jasika tapped her fingers along the edge of the table. “We still only have the three of us, Imryll, so we’re working as fast as we can to wrap up coastal patterns.”

“How much longer?”

“Two, three weeks?”

Imryll nodded. “That’ll be fine.”

Jasika sighed through her teeth. “But... After that, we’re approaching a sensitive topic that I’m uncertain how to... how to complete without corrupting our researchers.”

Rahn quirked a brow.

“I’d like your guidance on how to proceed.”

Imryll lifted a hand. “Remind me.”

“Coitus.”

Anton snickered into his fingers.

“Coitus. Right.” Imryll nodded in thought, her eyes turned to the side. “We knew we’d have to sort this one eventually. How long is the curricula again?”

“Extensivelylong.” Jasika’s round cheeks darkened in a flush.

Anton did nothing to hide his growing amusement, releasing a side-of-mouth snicker that drew a scowl from her.

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