"You are going to be the death of me!" Safaa declared, glaring at her little brother, who had now seated himself with his usual languid grace on her throne, his scarlet-tipped wings outstretched and resting droopily on the armrests. The two red markings on his wings distinguished them from Safaa's – who had three identical little strokes of crimson across her topmost feathers – and marked him as the queen's second-in-command.
Shwaan pouted.
"I'm an excellent brother, I'll have you know. The best that you could hope for, really, considering our ancestry. It's hardly my fault you inherited our dear Mother's grumpiness, sister mine."
Safaa snarled. "Don't you dare compare me to her!"
"Oh dear dear," murmured Shwaan, his eyes narrowing as he regarded his sister more closely from his perch on the throne, lips quirking into a mischievous smile. "What has she done now? Must've been something big, to get you this riled up."
Safaa sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. None of this is your fault." She looked sharply up at her grinning brother sprawled on the throne. "Well, apart from distracting my Chief of Guard and Revenue Minister with your ridiculous shenanigans, that is."
"Love is no shenanigan, sister dear."
Safaa snorted.
"Well, I would be much obliged if you could choose the subjects of your amorous attentions from outside my court for the moment, brother, because it looks like we need to start preparing for war. I can't afford to have my soldiers distracted by your utter lack of subtlety while we are anticipating an attack. Perhaps multiple attacks."
That got the prince's attention. "An attack?" He at his sister in disbelief. "She wouldn't dare."
"As things were, she wouldn't have," Safaa agreed, looking away from her companion and out over the sunlit horizon, her hands clasped tightly behind her as if she were physically restraining herself from lashing out at some unseen foe. Her voice was calm and carefully measured. It made Shwaan's feathers stand on end. His wings faded to thin air as he tucked them in and out of sight, hopping lightly out of the throne to stand beside his queen. "The situation has...changed."
"In what way?" he asked, peering closely at his sister, his expression an odd mix of curiosity and concern. Proximity made their differences stand out even more than before, Safaa's dark hair and eyes stark against her brother's sterling locks and silver irises. "You know something you're not telling me."
"Wakeen's returned from earth. And he has news." Safaa's voice was grim.
"Notgood news, I'm guessing."