Ursula laughs, “Snakes and spiders?” It was an amusing thought. She was sure that between them, they knew more than a few vipers.
There was nothing she found especially jarring in animals. They were all instinct - nothing else, as far as she was concerned. Creatures driven by the very base and so, predictable. People, she’d found, were the greater danger.
“I am glad you are so clever, Commander Dornkirk,” she said, “I would worry if a game such as ours presented a challenge to the First Minister of the State.”
Titles were such pretty things. Worn and discarded, and if you weren’t careful, picked up by someone else when you weren’t looking. The Dornkirk brothers had proven that - and it was up to the rest of them to adapt.
Ursula considered Brenner again, remembering his easy charm and wit. She wondered if this was the same man who’d played a part in a coup. She wondered if this was the man who’d risked everything for Kalzasi’s princeling. She wondered if -
“Quite right,” she says, pinching the stem of an offered flute of champagne. It was chilled and to hold it by the glass would be, first and foremost a faux pas, but would, unfortunately, warm the liquor in the most unpleasant way. “A bit of bubbly they say, a bit of afternoon excitement.”
She took a quick sip, savoring the champagne. She always enjoyed how the bubbles popped over her tongue, leaving behind an air of sweetness. Ursula wondered where this specific sort had been imported - and if they should expect more, given the current political situation.
