Lindon resisted the urge to copy him. Pride had been trained in etiquette like this, but Lindon hadn’t, and Lindon wasn’t about to pretend.
He couldn’t help but feel that he was being rude, though.
There had been a little polite conversation while Lindon brewed and poured. It was hard to make small talk when there were so many other things Lindon could be doing, but this was important. Through Pride, he could learn the condition of the world and the attitudes of the Monarchs. Not to mention Mercy’s current fate.
Lindon and Pride were seated around a small table in the kitchen, and Dross drifted back carrying a tray of snacks.
Pride was the one to start the discussion in earnest. “Mercy says you helped with her Overlord revelation.”
“It didn’t take much. She was on the verge of advancement anyway.”
“Why do you think our mother didn’t do that?” Pride took a perfect sip of the tea, twisted the cup, and returned it to the tray with an oddly elaborate gesture.
“She suggested that your family values independent progress over speed,” Lindon said. “I can see the reasoning. With your Books, your eventual advancement is guaranteed up to a certain level. It’s more important to ensure that each step is stable, and that you have full mastery over the previous stage before you move up.”
“That is my mother’s philosophy. Those who sprint tend to trip.” He gave Lindon a meaningful look, but Lindon bit into a kind of sugared cracker that Dross had found somewhere.
He hadn’t tripped so far.
“I came here to speak to you about your involvement with the Dreadgods,” Pride went on. “I didn’t know you were involved with the battle in the heavens too. That makes things even worse. My mother obviously thinks you can still be an asset, or she would have crushed you already, but she’s wary of you.”
“And Mercy isn’t allowed to come here and tell me herself?”
Pride’s hand stopped for a fraction of a second as he lifted a biscuit to his own mouth, then he continued unhurried. “That’s right. I’m delivering her message. But here’s a warning of my own. You can think of it as a request, if you like. Stop sprinting.”
“A bit late for that, don’t you think?”
“You’ll reach Monarch eventually, as long as no one kills you.” Pride’s lips twisted as though he found the words sour. “Even our Books don’t guarantee us Monarch. Don’t rush. Wait until the Dreadgods die down again, work with our family, and don’t provoke my mother. Live a long life, then ascend.”
Confused, Lindon examined Pride. “Pardon, but what do you want? Why are you telling me this?”
“Who else is going to?” Pride kicked the table, and tea sloshed over the sides of both cups. “Who do you think is going to tell the Void Sage what to do? No one’s going to say a word until the Monarchs see you as a threat, and then it’s too late! It might be too late already! You think the Rosegold Emperor is going to wait on the Dreadgods? I don’t want to see you—"
He caught himself and pinched the bridge of his nose. “—Mercy doesn’t want to see you hurt. And I don’t want to see my sister’s friends obliterated because they were being stupid. It’s a waste.”
Dross floated behind Pride’s head, chuckling in a disturbing tone and waving his arms in arcane patterns as Lindon weighed Pride’s words. He looked down at the table, where the tea had spilled.
A touch of red colored Pride’s cheek. “I apologize for that. I haven’t spilled tea since I was a child.”
“In recognition of our cooperation during the tournament, I won’t charge you for the tablecloth.”
Pride gave one silent laugh and relaxed an inch.
“We’re in a corner,” Lindon said softly. “Some if it is my fault, and some of it…isn’t.” Eithan had left them in a very awkward position, demonstrating world-shaking power and then vanishing. “I’ll do what I have to.”
“You can do whatever you wish. I have delivered my warning, and now you can live or die as you please.”
Lindon stood and pressed his fists together, bowing. “Gratitude.”
Pride nodded back.
“Mercy. Is she imprisoned, or is she only forbidden from coming here?”
“Everyone in the head family is forbidden from approaching you right now, Aunt Charity included. Mercy’s stuck in Moongrave, but she’s as busy as she’s ever been. The Dreadgods.”