A Visit

The entourage was led to another wing to settle in when Enzo led Darius and Nicholai to a waiting room. They were going to present the treasures later in the day after they had changed into fresher clothes. With Sancho and Blake helping them out, what was there to worry about?

For now, Darius was more concerned with meeting Nicholai's mother. She was said to have slept for so long, even long enough for her not to see a glimpse of her youngest daughter's long life. That would also mean that Nicholai was almost not her son, aside from their occasional brushes. How frequent that was—Darius didn't know. If she would rather keep her son, Darius should make sure of the answer.