Alabaster Cities (Kings and Thieves Book #2)

Chapter 9

**oops, I'm posting this late- again! Sorry. Blame college.**

Chapter 9

Ari awoke with a pounding in his head.

His hair was a mess; he didn't even bother looking in the mirror to check, confident enough in the mop of tangles he'd no doubt see.

They would leave to Verignes in just a few days. Most of Ari's clothes had already been packed and neatly folded in the corner. Aveline still hadn't packed yet, which surprised no one, and Lyla probably already had an itinerary written up. Ari kept trying to remind her that the trip was an investigation, purely, but did she listen? No.

Ari ran a hand down the side of his face, willing himself to climb out of bed. After three straight months of virtual boredom in Apreuna, it suddenly seemed as if everything was happening, all at once. First there was the horse race business, then the Verignes assignment, then Jamie showing up and turning things upside down, as per usual, and now, with the little orphan boys...

Ari would have to be on his guard if he was ever planning on surviving the next unforeseeable amount of time.

He winced as he swung his legs over the side of his mattress. He'd overslept. Yesterday he'd spent the day helping Henry and the rest of the crew tidy up the ship, and he'd pulled a muscle lifting the anchor.

Maybe he'd go for a run around the beach this morning, that sounded-
A loud knock on the door cut into his next thought.

"Ari!" It was Lyla, sounding rather chipper for it being early morning. "Are you ready?"

Ari stared vacantly at the closed door, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "For what?"

"We're having tea with the royal family this morning!" There was a pause before her muffled voice returned. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"He forgot," Aveline's giggle came out of nowhere, and Ari groaned.

"No, I didn't!"

(He did).

Ari threw his blankets off his bed; they were too hot.

"Dress nicely! We don't want to make a bad impression. Also, my mother's going to be there," Lyla added as an afterthought, her voice pitched slightly higher than usual. Ari blandly gazed into his wardrobe across the room. No wonder Lyla sounded so nervous— her mother could be quite the little shrew.

Aveline would kill him if he'd said that out loud.

"Great," he said instead. The royal family... that meant Tristran and Ben would be there, which wasn't terrible, but it also meant that he'd see Jamie.

Ari climbed out of bed, threw on a royal blue doublet over his shirtsleeves and thought about how his luck was the worst in the entire universe.

"We'll be waiting for you downstairs," Aveline finally called through the door, and in a moment Ari could hear her and Lyla's heeled shoes click across the corridor.

Ari dressed himself in record time and rushed down the staircase, pushing his hair back with one hand as he flew down the banister. They sometimes held these things in the living room in the West Wing, but if it was nice out (which it always was), then they'd be outside... Ari hazarded a guess as he wandered through the palace. It was so peaceful in the mornings; Ari was fairly sure his noisy boots and just generally loud behavior had adversely affected the palace morning schedule.

He slowed to a jog as he reached the west wing, following the sound of voices down the hallway. Ugh, he'd left a button undone... Ari glanced down in his attempt to fix it, not noticing another figure before him as he turned the corner.