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“You are Prince Rafus’s oldest son. Prince Atticul is younger than you?”

“Yes, by half a year and one.”

“But you are not a prince.”

“No.”

“Master, please, I thought…” Lyr frowns. “I thought that in Azuria the oldest brother is of higher rank than the younger. Why are you not your father’s heir?”

“Because while the eldest son is the heir of his father, this means the eldest legitimate son. I’m a bastard. Atticul’s mother is my father’s wife, Princess Ullinor, mine was a whore.” He watches Lyr’s face as he reacts to this, following Damon’s words. Lyr’s face is truly like no face Damon has ever seen. The bones of it so fine. He’s so delicate. Pretty as a girl. It’s so strange to think anyone would consider it a crime to lie with him.

Not a crime here, Damon thinks, unbidden, not a crime for a soldier at sea.

“Why did you grow up in a palace learning Magaar poetry like a Darek Prince if you’re the son of a whore?”

“Because the whore’s dead,” Damon says bluntly. “Died when I was a babe. My father only had one wife then. His first wife, Princess Karo. And they had no children. When I was born I was my father’s only child. And the only child of the Darek line. I think he thought he might need me. Turns out he did. But not as an heir.”

“He had sons after all. Did he take another wife? You said Atticul’s mother was called Princess Ullinor.”

“Yes. He married Ullinor not long after my birth. She gave him Atticul. And eventually, Endrew too. There is also a daughter. Princess Ferra. Not that having a legitimate family stopped Rafus fathering bastards all over Azuria before it became a crime.”

“He sounds like a selfish man.”

“He’s selfish, yes. But I think at heart he's good. He never expected his children would end up as the Darek Royal line.”

“Because Emperor Selim has no sons, so when he dies his brother, your father, will be Emperor. And so Atticul will be Emperor one day, after your father?” Lyr seems to shiver as he speaks. Clearly, he already has a measure of Atticul’s character. “He will not be a good Emperor.”

“He is young still, but it seems likely he will be worse than Selim. Selim is a zealot, but he has few cares outside of his devotion to Zai. Atticul has many other agendas.” Damon takes another sip of his ale and realises the cup is empty.

“He will not be good for you. If your brother who hates you becomes the Emperor, then what will become of you?”

“I do not know.”

“Perhaps it will not happen. Last night, Trysta said there are people who think you should be your father’s heir. Perhaps Atticul treats you so because he fears you are a threat to his birthright.” Lyr tips his head to one side and thinks. He’s finished eating. His bowl, empty.

“That is nonsense. People like to talk, but I am no threat. The law is clear.”

“Who would become Emperor after your father if Atticul died? Then would it be you?”

“It would never be me. No matter who died. I am not in the Royal Line. After Atticul the next in line would be Endrew unless Atticul had sons of his own.”

“But what if he does not? You said at the docks he was still unmarried. Perhaps he will have no sons like your uncle. What if he dies without issue and Endrew dies too? Then it would be you. It would have to be you.”

“No,” Damon shakes his head. The ship pitches. Lyr gasps in surprise, toppling sideways in his chair. Damon watches Lyr right himself and Lyr gives Damon a sweetly bashful grin.

“It seems strange they would not look to you. A decorated General with Darek blood. Tall and handsome.” Lyr smiles shyly as he says that.

“Lying with my mother was a great sin. For a married man to father a child with a woman who is not his wife is a crime now that Selim is Emperor. My father only avoided the penalty for it when I was born because it happened before the ruling. When Selim became Emperor one of his first acts was to make it so that Zai’s laws became the laws of Azuria. My father had managed to father many bastard sons before it was a crime to do so.”

Lyr’s face cracks into a grin of delight. “So you have more brothers?”

“My father is easily distracted.”

Lyr smiles even wider at this. Damon smiles back. After a pause, Lyr says, “Do you ever think that if your mother hadn’t died you would have stayed with her and grown up with her? You would never have lived in a palace.”

“Perhaps not. And then I would never have become a soldier.”

“Trysta told me you had no choice. You were made to join the army. Was it a punishment? Did you commit a crime?”