Page 77 of Dark Princess Ascending
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "You've seemed distracted all day."
Brandon's expression softened. "I'm fine, Princess. Just work stuff." He stood and crossed to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I know itmust be terribly disappointing that your storyteller sometimes gets grumpy."
She caught his hand and brought it to her cheek. "I'm not at all disappointed. I love you in all your forms, and you don't have to pretend to be upbeat for me. I get grumpy, too."
"You do?"
She laughed. "As if you haven't noticed. I'm not a ray of sunshine like Syssi."
"I'm sure she has her grumpy moments as well." He leaned and kissed her lips. "So, what questions have you answered so far? Did you get to the naughty parts yet?"
She shook her head. "I'm just on the first page, and so far, the questions are both boring and confusing because I don't know what half of the answers mean."
She glanced at her laptop screen displaying the Perfect Match questionnaire and decided that it was enough for one day. Something was clearly weighing on Brandon's mind, and perhaps talking about it would help his mood.
"Tell me about these InstaTock videos you're planning," she said instead. "Maybe I can help."
His smile this time was more genuine. "It's pretty simple, really. We need to grab their attention in the first three seconds or we will lose the audience completely. Then we have about fifteen seconds to make our point before they swipe to the next video."
"That doesn't seem like much time to convey anything."
"It isn't." He settled on the arm of her chair. "But that's the world we're dealing with. Everything has to be quick, flashy, and instantly engaging."
"Unlike the Perfect Match questionnaire. They are not catering to the same audience. Some of these questions require serious thought."
Brandon glanced at her screen, but since it was displaying the questions in Kra-ell, he couldn't read them. "What are the questions about?"
"Vacations." She closed the laptop. "It can wait. We have about two hours till dinner, and Ell-rom and Jasmine are not home."
He arched a brow. "What do you have in mind?"
She smiled up at him. "Exactly what you have in yours."
45
BRANDON
Brandon's stomach churned with anxiety as he sat beside Morelle at Annani's dining table. He knew what was coming—after all, his own suspicions had sparked this gathering—and he berated himself for not warning Morelle beforehand.
He should have told her and prepared her for this. But how do you tell someone you love that you suspect they were created to be a weapon?
Hopefully, Kian would handle the revelation diplomatically, though Brandon had his doubts. His boss, for all his leadership qualities, wasn't known for his emotional intelligence, and his delivery style left a lot to be desired.
Annani might do better, but now that they were all gathered around the table, it was too late for Brandon to make suggestions about who should break the news to the twins.
Thankfully, Morelle seemed unaware of his inner turmoil, completely absorbed in entertaining Allegra. The child had demanded her highchair be placed between Morelle and Syssi, and no one had thought to argue. The little girl was clearly taking after her father, already showing signs of Kian's assertiveness.
"More!" Allegra demanded, holding out her empty cup to Morelle.
"What do we say?" Syssi prompted from her other side.
"More! Please!"
Brandon caught Kian's eye across the table and gave a subtle shake of his head, trying to convey that he hadn't shared his suspicions with Morelle yet.
Kian's responding nod suggested he understood, and Brandon hoped they were on the same page.
"Everyone, please," Annani called for attention as her Odus began pouring wine. "We have reason to celebrate tonight."