Page 45 of Dewpoint
“You look well,” I said to Velle instead. “Thank you for traveling all the way here to see me. It’s an honor to have one of Danyl’s finest visit Thovudin.”
“The honor is mine, Your Majesty,” she said, her tone clear it wasn’t at all.
“Please, sit,” Treena purred, making it clear she wasn’t about to let go what had happened.
Brat.
Velle wasn’t happy when Myriam snickered like she thought her friend had switched sides.
“Please excuse us and make sure the security is turned off in here,” I told the staff after food was brought in. I smiled when they seemed hesitant. “It’s fine, thank you. We’re college friends and Lydia is right outside if there’s a problem.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” one of the guards said, bowing and ducking out last.
I waited until we all had food and decided to cut right through it, focusing first on Myriam. “I know you pushed for this no matter our past because Velle is talented, but you didn’t letme drag my feet when there are other options—I’m being pushed to consider other options and Velle is more a wild card since she dislikes me.”
She didn’t deny it and simply licked her lips.
I looked at Velle then. “So let’s start with what’s going on in your life that you need help with.” I sighed when she bristled. “Velle, please, I’m not—you’re not my favorite person but mostly because I don’t think you’ve ever been fair to me. I have acountryI’m running now. You cannot understand what is on my shoulders and—”
“You are not the only one with problems, Sagan,” she snapped.
“No, I’m not, so tell me what yours are and let me help you.”
“Stop,” Myriam cut in. “Just stop and swallow your fucking griffin pride already. I told you that she’s not what we thought and I misjudged her too. She put Father in his place and—we were wrong, okay? Just—fuck, I went out on a limb for you here. Can’t you just at least appreciate that?”
Velle flinched and chilled, clearly valuing her friendship with Myriam. She took a few deep breaths and met my gaze. “While I was studying and thinking it was all to take over our family business, my parents racked up a lot of debt. Like alotof debt.”
Now I understood why Myriam had pushed so hard. Not only did she know I would be sympathetic to Velle… I would see my parents weren’t the only assholes out there who did this to their own children.
“Your parents are alive though, yes?” Treena hedged, glancing between us.
“Yes, but left me as the collateral basically,” Velle muttered. “I graduated my last master’s program thinking I was coming back to train under my father to take over one day only to find out there’s nothing left. Nothing but millions in debt with the wrong people. When it was clear my dad couldn’t salvageanything, he took out a ton of loans from the wrong people and bailed.”
“Bailed?” I pushed.
“Grabbed Mom and they’re gone,” she sighed. “They basically told me they were retiring and traveling the world with their ‘nest egg’ and to clean up the mess.”
I did some quick thinking and swallowed loudly. “Your program ended the same as mine, right?”
“No, a few weeks before. You had some extended extra thing with your doctorate,” she corrected. “I found out beginning of June, and at first I thought it was some type of sick test to put my schooling into application. But then they were just gone. Very obviously not abducted or hurt and gone. Left me a damn manual of passwords to access everything. Lists of debts.”
“Well, that is…” Treena simply blinked.
Yeah, I didn’t know how to finish that sentence either. Really, I didn’t.
Wow.
“Okay, to start, I’ll need a list of debts or get them to Myriam if you’re uncomfortable with me knowing,” I said. “And I’ll handle it—or she can on my behalf, but I’ll loop in—”
“This is what fucking pisses me off about you, it really does,” Velle sneered as she tossed her fork onto her plate. “You’re so full of yourself and—you can’thandlepeople like this, Sagan.” She gestured all around. “You’re in your gilded pretty world while the rest of us are in reality and things are dirty and messy.
“You’recluelessas to the real world. No one I now owe money to will give a fuck you’re royal or queen. They’ll laugh. It won’t change shit and—” she snarled when Myriam tried to cut in. “No, come on. I know you said we were wrong about her, but I know you’re with me on this one. You understand more than most. Your dad is like the people I fucking owe now!”
“It’s not as easy as Sagan is making it sound, but she’s good, and if she says she’ll handle it, she’ll handle it, Velle,” Myriam snapped. “Stop fucking up your chance for help because the only other option is my father and that’s not better!”
I listened to them argue a bit, but they slowly chilled, and I realized it was because they felt the tension coming from Treena and me.
“What is happening here?” Myriam asked, gesturing between us.
