Solna tugged at the saddle on the big bay. The horse tried to dance to the side, but Solna clamped a hand on the saddle horn to keep it where it was. Vius had vanished with Ilul and Ida to finalize the guard rotations and the like. His husband’s general still refused to deal with Solna, irksome pissant that Ilul was, but Solna was almost certain that releasing an Osairan general from service was just as difficult as it was to dismiss a Sumentan one. It would be a full Court affair, no doubt. Until then, they were stuck with Ilul’s bad temper.
Ida had refused to take over Ilul’s duties when Solna begged her just the other night. Had, in fact, rolled her piercing eyes at him and walked off without a word. Solna chuckled to himself as he remembered it. Dwarves had no patience for fools and I
