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I considered this information, but it was hard to know what to make of it. What had happened to these people, and what made these two children different?
Fergus, who had finished his bun in record time, began clambering up a rough pile of stone that had been left against a wall in the mouth of a nearby alley.
“Careful!” Lumi called, her voice sounding more anxious than the danger warranted.
“Are the healers in town expensive?” I asked, curious as to the source of her excessive fear.
Lumi hesitated. “Not particularly. But there aren’t many of them, and they’re too weak to be of much use.”
I frowned, exchanging yet another glance with Nik. Costas had told me that Constantines only married other strong healers. Did that mean they were hoarding the healer bloodlines?
“But in a town this size, there must be someone,” I mused aloud. “Even if the Constantines are the only full healer family, there should be the odd one here and there—given the way affinities, and even strong seeds, can pop up seemingly out of nowhere.”
Lumi stared at me as if she didn’t know what I was talking about.
“I used to wonder the same thing,” a new voice said, joining the conversation.
I jumped, startled by the new arrival, but the two children exclaimed in delight.
“Costas! Costas!”
Fergus jumped down from the pile of rocks to join his sister in swarming Costas. He smiled at them both, producing sweets from his pockets that distracted them enough that he was able to extricate himself.
“Delphine,” he greeted me with a pleasant smile, his eyes traveling on to Nik with a questioning look.
“I’m Nik,” the prince said shortly, looking at him with open speculation.
I tried to take a subtle step further away from Nik, remembering that Costas had witnessed my performance with Grey at the breakfast table.
“This is Costas,” I said. “He’s the second son of Augustine, who is the oldest Constantine son.”
Costas cleared his throat awkwardly. “Actually, I’m Augustine’s older son. I’m the same age as Barnabas, and Ignatius is the younger one. Thus the name.”
I stared at him, and he seemed to misunderstand my confusion.
“I’m Costas now, but once upon a time I was Constantine Constantine.” He shook his head. “No little boy needs to be saddled with a name like that.”
“But…you’re the oldest?”
“I know.” He looked sheepish. “I’m well aware Ignatius is the one withthe look.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good thing in this case,” I muttered, remembering my impression that Ignatius carried himself like the oldest son of the oldest son—an observation that was even less complimentary now I knew it wasn’t actually his position.
“My Uncle Ambrose and Cousin Barnabas agree with you on that, I think,” Costas said in an amused tone. “Since the oldest son’s oldest son is such a disappointment and clearly cannot be heir, they think the torch should pass to Barnabas as the next oldest grandson.”
I raised my eyebrows to hear him speaking so openly about the power dynamics in his family. Just in time I remembered I was supposed to be in thrall to the Constantines and rearranged my face accordingly.
“You seem sufficiently popular here.” I gave him a sweet smile as I indicated the happy children.
He laughed. “With Fergus and Lumi, yes. As for the rest of them…” He looked across the market. “They like me well enough, I suppose. They’re used to me, at least.”
“That’s because you actually come here,” Lumi chipped in, surprising me with her awareness of the conversation. “Don’t the others get bored never leaving their house?”
“Of course they leave the house sometimes, brat.” Costas ruffled her hair affectionately. “You know that. They often go to one of the beaches or walk in the lower slopes of the mountain. And they come into the town on festival days.”
She wrinkled her nose, an expression I was already becoming familiar with. “Not enough for us to know them like we know you.”
“That’s true,” Costas conceded in a light tone, but something in his face gave me a different impression. I couldn’t be sure whether he thought it was a good or bad thing that the townspeople weren’t given the chance to get to know the rest of his family.
