Bloodrush (Scarlet Star Trilogy #1)

Chapter 20 - "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. There were beans in the sink, egg on the ceiling, and bacon on the floor. In fact, it seemed that breakfast was everywhere but on the plates Merion had set out. Lilain watched in horror as he began to serve up his concoctions. She said a quick prayer to the Maker and sat at the table.

To say the bacon was crispy would have been a lie. It was more like a thin slice of charcoal, resting on a bed of something that vaguely resembled a fried egg, though the grey bits in it were slightly worrying. The beans were nearly black. Lilain's fork danced about, hovering cautiously over the food. 'I don't really have to eat this, do I?'