Page 60 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

“Without traders there would be no economy and—”

“This is oversimplified—”

Voices tumbled over each other. I sighed and raised my voice. “Did you all know”—I paused until every person in the room shifted back towards me—“that there are women and children in our city who go hungry?”

The group blinked at me. A tense quiet traced through the space like a breeze swirling about, invisible but touching everything in its wake. Emrin’s forehead furrowed, his lips pursed, but then he pressed them back together again.

Fen cleared his throat. “Your Highness, there are people who go hungry in every nation that has ever existed.”

I nodded. “I’m sure that’s true. But I have no control over other countries. I do, however, have influence here.”

And Father did as well. He couldn’t possibly have not known about the children who lived in poverty in our city. That didn’t align with my view of him. He must have just assumed that it was part of every nation. But that didn’t seem right. My father was a compassionate man. I held in a sigh. I’d discuss it with him when he returned.

“Some people choose to go hungry.” Joden scowled. “They waste their money on other pursuits.”

I fixed him with a look, letting the room sit in terse silence for three heartbeats before speaking again. “Is that true for children?”

Eliga tapped his fingers together. “What are you proposing, Your Highness?”

I swept back against my chair, the sleeves of my robe draping over the armrests. “I’m proposing that we find the root issue for this and seek a solution.”

Several more beats of quiet passed before Joden cleared his throat. “We can have someone work on that, Your Highness. For the time being, let’s return to issues we are able to address today.”

The conversation continued on, but my thoughts wandered again, drifting to back alleys filled with bright, hungry eyes. When we left the meeting and turned a corner, Emrin knocked his elbow into mine. “Where were you last night?”

My breath caught. “Oh, just busy.”

He scowled and shifted towards the windows, where the bushes seemed to deepen in color by the moment. “You weren’t in your office.”

“Yeah, sorry. Was there something you needed?”

His forehead furrowed, wrinkles sweeping across his brow. “You were distracted through all those meetings today. Multiple times you lost track of the conversation.”

“I’m sorry. I can have an off day now and then, can’t I?”

“It’s not like you to have an off day. What’s on your mind?”

The palace walls peeked out behind the landscape of the gardens. The city teemed beyond it. “I’ve never considered that children, Em, babies practically, go hungry in our kingdom.”

He frowned. “Where did you even hear that? Was it from Apollo?” He rolled his eyes. “He’s probably just trying to get a rise out of you.”

“That’s not untrue, but I have it in good confidence.” I bit my lip. “There are people in our kingdom who go to bed hungry every night.”

He shrugged. “The poor make poor choices.”

“I’m not sure it’s that simple,” I whispered.

“So, that’s what's bothering you?”

We turned a corner, flaxen light flooding the space. “Yes,” I said, but then I stopped speaking. Apollo stood leaning against the wall by Father’s office. I cleared my throat. “Is there something you need?”

He grinned and pushed off the wall, his sandaled feet dimpling the carpet as he walked over to us. “I’m here for my mentoring.”

Emrin’s mouth parted. “You’re here to be mentored?”

“That’s right.” Apollo smirked. “According to almighty Zeus, your brother is going to make a better man out of me.”

Emrin’s eyes widened until they nearly reached his hairline. “Good luck to you both,” he said and then turned and walked away.