"THEN it's settled?" The Emperor beamed. "Val will pick you up tomorrow, so the two of you can arrive at the palace together," he said to Astrid. "Try to dress like an actor's personal assistant." He then turned to Wulfric. "You shouldn't go with them. Head to the palace separately, either before or after." He nodded, looking very pleased with himself. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll leave you two alone."
He appeared and then disappeared just as fast, like a whirlwind that didn't care what kind of mess it left behind.
Astrid turned to Wulfric. "Is your brother always like that?"
"You mean like a force of nature that just sweeps through and leaves you to deal with the aftermath?" Wulfric said dryly. "Pretty much."
"Well, at least he seems happy about it," Astrid said. "By the way, are you really okay with me going to the imperial palace?"
