Page 58 of Iron Unicorn

As I did not want to be the poor bastard coming between the siblings in dire need of a chat and a settling of grievances, I gave Olivia a squeeze before releasing her. “I could use a nap.”

“All right. I’ll fight with my brother while you take a nap. It’s only fair because I napped first.”

Satisfied the woman would likely leave her brother alive, I flopped back onto the bed, grabbed the blanket, and covered my head. “Wake me for dinner,” I requested.

“I think I can handle that much. Sleep well, Terry.”

* * *

It tookOlivia and her brother three hours to work out their differences, and I spent the time with a pillow over my head wishing the pair would argue at a lower volume. I recognized both needed to vent their frustrations, but they drove me to the edge of my sanity. Fortunately, before either succeeded at driving me crazy, they agreed they’d both made mistakes and settled down rather than forcing me to get up and play referee.

The resulting peace and quiet allowed me to catch a nap.

An energetic discussion on how to prepare crabs and lobsters woke me, and I heaved a sigh at the thought of more crustaceans invading my space. “Seriously? More crabs?” I complained.

Olivia laughed, bounced into the bedroom, and held up her prize, which was one of the live king crabs sent from Alaska. “We’re going to finish off these beauties!”

Like in the warehouse, she wore a thick pair of gloves to keep the crab from stabbing her. I regarded my nemesis with disdain. However, as I’d learned its leg meat was rather tasty, I decided to tolerate its presence in the suite. “I will fight the royals for my share. Do not make me get into a fight for my share.”

“There’s one just for you, and my family will squabble over the leftovers. We’ll make sure the crabs and lobsters are appropriately disassembled so they can’t attack you from the plates.” Olivia headed back into the main room of the suite. “See? He’s doing much better. He can handle seeing them now. He’d just rather if he didn’t have to touch them. We’re working on him handling dead crabs that haven’t been dismembered. Once they’re dismembered, he will eat them. We have to make sure the shrimp are all peeled, because the legs on them are still a problem.”

No kidding. I rolled out of bed to see what sort of nightmare waited for me, and I raised a brow at the seafood carnage about to take place in the suite. Several bushels of living blue crabs waited for their date with destiny, there were at least six large lobsters, and the Montana royals marveled over the ridiculous size of the king crabs.

Daphne’s Edward spearheaded the general investigation into what would be our dinner.

King Patrick had sent several of his royal chefs to the hotel, and they explained the various preparation options.

“Bisque?” I asked, as I’d discovered I would eat an entire pot on my own if allowed.

“Already on the menu,” Levi informed me with a grin. “I’ll have a few new things for you to try, but I’ve made note of what you like so you’re accounted for. It’s the rest of them that are having trouble deciding.”

“Levi’s lobster bisque is worth fighting over,” I announced.

“Thank you, Terry. I will endeavor to make sufficient to keep your companions from bickering over it.”

I grinned, well aware the Montana royals would bicker for the sake of bickering. “I wish you the best of luck with that. Would you be offended if I asked to try a lobster roll?”

I’d heard about them, but my phobia had sent me running without actually trying one. I gave the Texans and Mexicans credit, though.

There were more crustaceans than I wanted to count in the room, and I had not fled for the next kingdom yet.

“I’ll also make some crab cakes for you to try.” Levi’s attention moved on to His Royal Majesty of Montana. “Perhaps a sampler platter, Your Majesty?”

“A sampler platter works, and we’ll make sure Terry gets to try everything. And if we happen to defeat you, we can order something in. We get hungry after we’ve been bickering for a while.”

“We’ll do our best to feed you all without having to rely upon food service.” To make it clear the royals would not be given any further opportunities to offer suggestions, the chefs collected the crabs, lobsters, and shrimp and hauled them out of the room. The bushels had wheels and sloshed, indicating that there was water inside. Once all the crustaceans were returned, a wicker lid kept them contained.

I questioned how my life had become so strange, shutting and locking the door once the lot of them had left. “Have our new horses pleased you, Daphne?”

My friend and former co-worker grinned, strolled over, and gave me a hug. “They’re beautiful animals, and yours should keep you on your toes. I’ve met the ones Pat intends to give to Rachel, and he’s got a good eye. They’ll love her to pieces, and they’ll keep her safe. You’ll be able to run away from those Texans as soon as they clear your health. They’re scared shitless you’ll catch pneumonia again. They probably should have thought of that before doing exposure therapy.”

“It worked, though.” I shrugged, hugged the woman back, and claimed the sole empty armchair for myself, flopping down and stretching out. “Daphne, your opinion on me going in for a talent evaluation?”

“Do it. New York can afford the payout for your rank elevation, your empathy needs to be reevaluated, and you need to be checked for other talents.” The woman hopped over and thumped down on the sofa beside His Royal Majesty of Montana. “Then Edward can relax a little as he isn’t the latest adult royal in the world. So many fuss at him. Everyone expects you to have a royal talent anyway to go with your royal level amount of patience for the absurd.”

“Well, yes. I am from Montana and had to deal with Montana’s royal family. Patience is a requirement.”

The king bowed his head. “He got us all with that statement, and I can’t even argue with him.”

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