Page 92 of The Shadowed Oracle
She opened her mouth and let the laugh fly.
“Honestly, at a time like this, Ingrid?” Callinora asked.
“Sorry. I just didn’t know Viator knew the wordballs.”
“And what else would we call them?”
Ingrid considered, “I don’t know, something fancier?” She looked to Dean, hoping for backup, or at the very least a smile, but found he was too preoccupied.
Just as the silence felt strange, Raidinn raised his hand. “I think—yeah, I’ve gotta jump in on this. I’m siding with Ingrid here.” He shook his head harshly. “A princess, sayingthat. I’mshocked and appalled, I must say. Proper ladies never use that word where I’m from.”
“We preferbollocks.” Tyla delivered the joke dryly.
“Bollocks? Oh my, that is lovely!” Callinora clapped her hands. “Bollocks. I might use that.” She looked around sneakily, like she’d be punished if any of her elders in court were listening in. “Bollocks,” she repeated softly. “Yes, it does have a ring to it.”
Dean scoffed, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “I think we’re a bad influence on you, Princess.”
“Watch it!” Tyla patted him lightly on the back. “Careful, we might think you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I am!” he protested. “I’m just, you know, making sure.”
Raidinn slammed his hand on the table, nearly knocking over the glass of wine he’d been sipping from. “Well quit it, mate! Loosen up. Can’t you see we’re talking about testicles with a bloody princess?! A real live princess!”
“Yes, riveting,” Dean grunted.
“That’s nothing,” Callinora mused. “My brother would’ve told you all sorts of stories about…” She stopped, her mouth a tight line as if she’d surprised herself by broaching the topic. “Let’s just say my parents were far more concerned about us adapting to polite society than they were about us taking over the kingdom. We even had anethics and etiquetteinstructor.”
“I think I had one of those,” Raidinn said with a cock of his head.
“No, that was just a therapist, dear brother.” Tyla leaned close to the others, whispering. “Had a slight fixation with violence.”
“Fighting!” Raidinn added. “A fixation withfighting. Not violence. You make me sound mad.”
Tyla shrugged. “Well, you weren’t far off.”
“Oh shut up.” Raidinn looked to the princess. “Ignore her. You were saying? About your ethics teacher?”
“Her name was Lady Holgah,” Callinora said. “Whether that was her given name or her surname, I haven’t the slightest idea. Holgah. What a foul woman. Must’ve been half a century ago, but I can see her now so clearly.” She scrunched her nose. “Hard to forget, actually. And not in a pleasant way.”
Callinora plopped her feet up on the table, dreamily staring off into the distance. “Nothing about her was pleasant, now that I think about it. My brother would spend every lesson trying to wipe that pinched, wolfish snarl off her face, but he never could, no matter how hard he tried. Got to a point where we thought she’d actually lost the use of her facial muscles in some freak accident.”
Another drink, another swivel of that bulky blue ring on her index finger. “So, of course, my brother and I made a game of it. We conjured up stories of how the accident happened. We’d write them all down, then we’d ask leading questions to see if we were on the right track.Lady Holgah, we’d say,where did you grow up? Lady Holgah, were there a lot of, I don’t know, poisonous coilfish in your village? Or any witches with a grudge against you and all your kin?”
She laughed to herself, then, noticing only Raidinn joined her, said, “Suppose it’s funnier if you know what a coilfish is.”
“I got the idea,” Dean contributed.
“I’ll take that! If Dean the Uproarious thinks it’s funny, then I’ve done my job.”
All but Ingrid erupted into laughter.
“Hey! Take it easy,” Ingrid said. “He’s trying.”
“Thank you,” Dean said. “I really am.” He paused, placing a hand over his forehead. “It’s this damn brain of mine. Won’t leave me alone.”
“We know,” Ingrid said.
“We love you for it,” Tyla injected. “Most of the time.”
