Page 53 of Bloom
“Why would he?” Jaime asked warily.
“Because he’s strange.”
“Don’t talk about your brother like that.” Lord Monet followed him in.
Zacharie rolled his eyes and came closer. “Here. Give Aleric this.” He thrust a box out. “Make sure he gets it.”
“Or you could give them to your brother yourself,” said Lord Monet.
“I don't want to go in,” Zacharie mumbled.
“He went to breakfast.” Jaime didn’t take the proffered box.
Lord Monet raised an eyebrow and glanced at the closed bedroom door. “He did?”
“Yeah. You missed him.”
“He should be in bed.”
“I said he could have breakfast in bed and rest. He wasn’t inclined to listen to me.”
“Give these to him.” Zacharie frowned.
Jaime finally took the box. “What is it?”
“Cards.”
Jaime hesitantly lifted the lid of the box. “Why?”
“Because they’re nice,” Zacharie said in a rather acid tone. “Why are you opening it?”
“He’s just looking,” said Lord Monet. “He’s not going to break them.”
Jaime’s eyes widened at the top card, and he carefully picked it up. He’d never seen ivory playing cards. The Trickster, a card that could be anything depending on the game, had the image of a black-haired man with his head turned more to one side. His hair was hiding most of his face except for his mouth. His smile wasn’t exactly pleasant, and behind him, three shapes lurked: A woman, a wolf, and a snake.
While Jaime couldn’t read runes, he was pretty sure he knew what they said. The next top card showed an old man with a beard. He wore an eyepatch and carried a spear.
“Is this supposed to be Loki?” Jaime turned the first around. “The art's quite good.”
“They’re all Asgardians. They’re expensive and not for you, so close the damn box.”
Jaime replaced the card and closed the box. Asgardians often weren’t hugely popular with fairies since Odin had once tried to conquer the fairy realm ages ago, and Jaime was pretty sure he’d never met an Asgardian before either. Someone must have decided to get creative with the cards. “I’m guessing shuffling these isn’t easy. Ivory’s quite stiff.”
Zacharie shrugged and headed for the door. Lord Monet sighed after he left. “My sons aren’t very…nice to each other. They do love each other, but brothers don’t always get along.”
Fancy cards didn’t mean shit if Zacharie wanted Aleric’s spot. Jaime set the box on the table.
“Do you have siblings?”
“No,” said Jaime. A sword had ended the possibility.
Lord Monet frowned. “Do you have…anybody at all?”
“No. Everyone died a while back. A fever…My Aunt died in her sleep later. She was older.”
“Ah. I’m sorry. The past couple of days must have been especially hard for you. I wanted to apologize again for what I said.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like you really know me anyway. I would have suspicious thoughts about a new man too.”
