Bloodrush (The Scarlet Star Trilogy Book 1) by Ben Galley

Author:Ben Galley [Galley, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780992787141
Publisher: BenGalley.com
Published: 2014-12-15T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter XX

“THAT’S HOW BUSINESS WORKS”

‘Karrigan continues to terrorise the boy with tutors and lessons in business. Merion will inherit an immense fortune. And I don’t just mean wealth.

Karrigan’s got something, some skill. I just know it. He is too—I don’t know—impressive to be normal. He is set to take the seat of Prime Lord after next week’s election. He has not been home in some time.’

26th May, 1867

Three days went by, and Rhin and Merion spent them in almost exactly the same way: one beneath the bed, face covered, staring at the door, motionless and pensive; the other in bed, still and pale, also staring at the door, each for completely different reasons entirely. Merion just wanted out. He longed to test out his legs and feel the sun on his back, not through glass and curtain. But he had orders. Lilain’s orders. Stay in bed. Don’t move. Don’t disturb me. Merion, to his credit, followed them to the letter. Until the morning of the fourth day, that was.

It was early, and being a Sunday, Lilain was treating herself to a few extra hours beneath the sheets for once, eyes screwed shut against the dawn and dreaming of something other than tables and corpses. The dead could wait on the day of the Maker’s rest. Lilain was dog-tired after a week of hard toil. She slept like a stone. Merion, however, was wide awake, and busy standing in Lilain’s doorway, staring at his sleeping aunt. A few more steps across the grey floorboards and he was at her bedside, looking down. She looked peaceful enough, but she was as still as a corpse. Merion sniffed.

‘Aunt Lilain,’ he said quietly. She didn’t move.

‘Aunt Lilain …’ he said again, louder this time. Nothing.

Merion moved things to the next level. He raised a finger and pressed it to her cheek. She was cold to the touch, and for half a second Merion began to wonder if she were actually dead. That was until Lilain’s eyes snapped open and she snorted with surprise.

‘Maker’s balls, Merion!’ she coughed, smacking his finger away. ‘What on earth are you doing?’

Merion smiled. ‘Today you start teaching me how to bloodrush.’

Lilain rubbed her eyes and then pursed her lips. ‘Oh, is it that right?’

Merion’s smile grew. ‘I’ve made breakfast.’

His aunt just groaned. ‘Now this I have to see.’

*

If there is one area of expertise the Harks are not well-versed in, it is cooking. The Harks are a very old bloodline, reaching as far back as the Bastard King and the First Empire. However, being such a strong and ancient bloodline, Harks have always had the luck of very large homes, or in some cases, castles. And what comes with large homes? Servants, slaves even, in the past. Not a single Hark in all the bloodline has ever learnt to cook, save for Lilain. And even then, her skills were questionable.

It was a sorry scene that greeted Lilain, as she paced down the hallway barefoot, already wincing at the smell of smoke and char.

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