"Have you spoken to Elka recently? Visited her to see how she is faring, perhaps?" Nheera asked her son over breakfast.
It was just the two of them at the long dining table, with Hairan seated a few chairs away from his mother rather than beside her. Two guards stood watch by the entrance of the dining hall, unmoving and silent, and without them, the vast chamber almost felt empty.
Their cutlery clinked against their plates, the sound loud as though trying to cover up the obvious lack of communication.
Usually, whenever their mother deemed it necessary to spend time with any one of them, she always found a way to rope the other two into the occasion as well. With all of them present, her scrutiny felt diluted, shared equally among the three of them and not just directed at one person. This time, however, Azul and Jayran were absent, sent from the palace to attend to official matters, which left Hairan alone to face her.
