Page 11 of Acedia

“Don’t you ever get bored?” Ruvyn asked curiously. “I’ve always wondered this about you—even in our youthful days at The Itrodaris. Your ability to do absolutely nothing is truly unmatched.”

“I get bored sometimes,” I replied, only a little defensively. “But I find ways to entertain myself when I do.”

Admittedly, that was now harder than it used to be since everyone else was constantly preoccupied these days, falling in love and whatnot.

It was very rude of them.

“I’m sure you do,” he laughed. “I can’t fathom what your life is like, Damen. Few Shades in the realm could imagine having so much leisure time.”

“That’s probably true, but not at court,” I pointed out. “There are lazy Shades in abundance here—I am but one of many. Tell me, how have the new developments in the realm been receivedat The Itrodaris? Do they have any opinions on having an ex-Hunter queen? Or an influx of ex-Hunter residents?”

Allerick and Ophelia had toured the realm a little, and I’d accompanied them when I felt like it, but they were hosted by noble houses wherever they went, as was the tradition. Ophelia had gotten a few wary looks in that crowd, so I imagined that opinions among the wider populace were just as mixed.

Ruvyn gave me a look that made me feel very out of touch for a brief moment. It was an odd feeling. “They just want to be able to feed once more, Damen. I’m sure there are some very interesting conversations happening here at the palace in order to facilitate that. I’m sure there are philosophical questions being asked about what it means to be a Shade and to be a Hunter and what the future of both will look like. But in the everyday world of the shadow realm, Shades just want to feed safely and stop drawing from the precious reserves of the energy stores—for many, it’s a blow to their pride to use the stores at all. Most Shades don’t much care who the queen is.”

I nodded, taking a long sip of my wine, appreciating the much-needed reminder that what mattered at court often didn’t matter at all in the rest of the realm.

“Why don’t you visit?” Ruvyn suggested, taking a swig from his own goblet. “See it for yourself. You can’t convince me that you’re too busy—you’ve already admitted that you have an abundance of time.”

I laughed. “True, I’ve given myself away. You know The Itrodaris holds nothing but unhappy memories for me.”

“Liar,” Ruvyn scoffed. “You were always a very capable student, Damen. You impressed all of the scholars with your extensive knowledge and memory. You’re just lazy.”

“Don’t you start,” I groaned, slumping down in my seat. “All I ever hear about is how lazy I am. It’s exceedingly bad for my ego.”

“Your ego seems to be holding up just fine.”

“No thanks to you or my brothers,” I laughed. “I am a simple, unimpressive Shade, who longs for attention despite doing nothing to earn it. Is that such a difficult concept for everyone to grasp?”

Ruvyn shook his head, exasperated. “You’re an intelligent, lazy princeling. It will probably come back to haunt you one day.”

I yawned loudly, stretching out in my bed and wondering if anyone would truly care if I opted to sleep through breakfast. Then again, Allerick might barge in and drag me out of here by my horns just to prove a point. He was always so relentlessly annoying about me attending these sorts of gatherings even though I didn’t have to be there and had nothing of value to add to the conversation.

Ugh. Better to just get it over and done with. At least the tea would be hot and the meat freshly roasted.

“There he is,” Soren said dryly as I emerged from my room, finding him walking along the corridor with Astrid toward the breakfast room. “Did you have a late night?”

“I may have enjoyed a few goblets of wine with Ruvyn last night. He so rarely visits the palace, it would be rude not to.”

How had we parted ways? My memory was a little hazy, but if I recalled correctly, I had promised to pay him a visit at The Itrodaris. Perhaps I would someday, though it sounded like a lot of effort. As a member of the royal family, I’d be expected to meet with the administration and so forth. It would all be very tedious.

Soren looked unimpressed, though the effect was somewhat dulled due to the fact that he always looked unimpressed. “Yes,well, The Itrodaris demands a lot from its scholars. I’m sure it’s difficult for Ruvyn to take a break.”

That felt like a pointed comment, but I might have been reading into things.

“What’s new with you two?” I asked. “Gone on any rescue missions recently?”

“Did you forget that Verity is still in the human realm?” Soren asked impatiently.

“No, of course not,” I replied guiltily. I hadn’t forgotten that at all—I was worried for her, but also confident that she would be back. Theon wasn’t going to let her get away, he loved her too much.

Failing that, Astrid would murder her way through any captors that stood between her and Verity, and drag Verity back herself. I was confident that all would be well.

“It’s not an easy time for us, Damen,” Soren huffed.

“I could be the hero. Point me in the direction of the damsels who need saving, and I’ll take the job off your plate.” I gave Soren my most charming smile and he gave me a flat stare in return.

“Finding themismost of the job,” Astrid shot back. Sometimes, I got the impression that she didn’t like me very much, which was patently absurd because I was delightful company and everyone in the realm knew it.

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