“Erm, no,” I say. “Not yet.”
“Then we’ll stop off at the dining room on the way, get you something hearty. There’s no sense in you trying this on an empty stomach.”
I hide a smile at his gruff concern as we make our way through the palace. I’ve gotten to know Leon’s soldiers fairly well over thelast two months—well enough to know that while he might seem abrupt, it’s in little ways like this that Eryx shows he cares.
We pass various members of the palace as we walk down the corridors, but it’s a particularly large fae dressed in a smart military uniform who catches my attention. Tall and broad, I’m just thinking he could probably give even Hyllus a run for his money when I see the quiet soldier exchange a nod with the man as we pass.
“Do you know him?” I ask Hyllus.
“Yes, he’s my brother,” he replies mildly.
“Yourbrother? Don’t you want to say a proper hello him?”
Hyllus shrugs. “We’re not that close. He’s a lot older than me and was barely around anymore by the time I was born.”
I guess that makes sense, given fae lifespans. Children wouldn’t necessarily come all at once. The conversation reminds me of my surprise about Phaia’s partner. I know very little about most of the soldiers’ personal lives.
“What about a partner, like Phaia?” I ask. “Do you have anyone?” I direct my question solely to Hyllus, as I’m pretty sure I won’t get very far probing into Eryx’s love life.
My assumption is confirmed when Hyllus throws a sympathetic look at Eryx before he answers. “I prefer my own company,” Hyllus says. “Everyone calls me a bit of a loner.”
“A loner? Hyllus, you seem to spend all your time with six other people,” I point out.
He smiles. “I have a big family. Most of them don’t live here in Lavail, but further south. Compared to them, six people doesn’t seem like much at all.”
“How big?” I ask.
“I have fourteen brothers and sisters in total.”
“Fourteen?” I gasp. Suddenly, Hyllus’s lack of familiarity with his brother makes sense. “I didn’t think fae could have that many children.”
“We can’t, usually, but every now and again a couple will end up extra fertile. And compared to humans, we have a lot of time to have babies.”
“Fourteen…” I mutter to myself again. Hyllus’s quietness makes sense to me now too. I saw it in Otscold with some of the village’s big families. There’s always so many people talking, one or more of the kids would end up practically mute just to offset the noise.
We reach the dining room.
“Go get something, quick,” Eryx says, and I don’t think I’m imagining that his voice sounds harsher than usual. “I’ll stay here.”
Hyllus follows me inside where I grab a plate of eggs and toast being kept warm on magically heated platters. Hyllus passes a mug of strong, steaming coffee toward me as I wolf down my food. Unusually, he looks like he wants to say something.
“What’s wrong?” I ask in between mouthfuls.
“Your Highness…” he looks pained. “Just in case you were curious about Eryx’s family too, it might be best to avoid asking him about it directly.”
“Really?” I ask. “Is he on bad terms with them, like Damia?”
Hyllus’s face tells me it’s worse.
“Oh no,” I say sadly. “What is it?”
Hyllus hesitates for a moment, then decides to go ahead.
“Eryx was married about a century ago,” he says. “As you said, it’s not easy for fae to have children. His wife became pregnant, but she died in childbirth. It’s why he’s stayed in the army all these years, despite being older than us all.”
My heart aches for Eryx, imagining just how much he must hate bringing it up.
“Thank you for telling me,” I say. “I won’t ask about it again.” I wince internally about how I already made him listen to Hyllus talk about his fourteen siblings. Hardly the most sensitive topic considering his past.
