Page 140 of What Fury Brings
Sanos pulled the hair attached to the heads of the two idiots carting him around. Trantos and Canus finally dropped him.
“Mind your manners,” their mother said, “and come meet your sister-in-law.”
“Not for four more hours,” Emorra said unhelpfully.
Olerra smiled politely at all of them. She didn’t seem uncomfortable, exactly, but like she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. When she caught Sanos’s gaze, she said, “Sorry. I’m not used to so much family in one room. It’s exciting.”
Ikanos slung an arm around Olerra. “It’s really easy. Basically, we all pick on Sanos.”
“Hey!” Sanos said.
“I think I can manage that,” Olerra said. “Shall I tell you about the time he wrestled another man naked in front of a thousand women?”
“Olerra, dear,” Andrastus said, patting the cushion beside him. “You must sit down and tell us everything.”
“Yes, leave out no details,” Canus agreed.
“Okay,” Sanos said, striding over to her. “I think that’s enough family time.”
“I want to hear the story.” Emorra pouted.
“Don’t you have to get ready?” he asked Olerra.
“Not for another hour,” she said sweetly. She sat beside Andrastus, and the rest huddled around on nearby seats. “I’ll start from the beginning.”
Sanos massaged his temples to put on a show, but the truth was, he couldn’t even muster up any true outrage. He had everything he needed in this room.
And now the power to keep them all safe.
He sat down to hear her side of the story of how they first met and fell in love.
Olerra wanted a massive wedding, and Ydra had helped her make it happen. The entire Amarran court was present, and many foreign nobles had come to extend their well-wishes. Not a seat was empty as she stared down the rows and rows of bodies.
Olerra’s dress was midnight black to match the onyx on Sanos’s armband. It was trimmed in silver, and the hem brushed her knees. The sleeves hung off her shoulders, and a leather corset cinched around her waist.
Her sandals were black leather. Beads had been strung onto the strings climbing her calves. Her hair was arranged in the traditional wedding braid, a crown of plaited hair wrapping around her head, the rest of the strands cascading down her back. Simple braids were interspersed, more silver beads woven throughout.
She and Ydra stood alone on a raised platform outdoors, the attendees extending before them in large rows. Most were in conversation with their neighbors. Few were looking at the two women on the dais.
“There are so many people,” Ydra said.
“Isn’t it exciting?”
“Better you than me.”
“Someday this will be you,” Olerra said.
“No, thank you.”
“What happened to thinking of stealing a husband for your own?”
“I was putting on a show for your prince, and you know it.”
“Have you ever considered it, though?” Olerra asked. “Taking a husband? A real one, I mean?”
“I asked my favorite whore once if he’d like me to take him away. He said he liked bedding a different woman every night and nothing could persuade him otherwise.”
Olerra smiled. “You and your desire to save everyone. Someday, I hope you’ll learn to let someone take care of you.”
