the lazlayon was more than a laboratory of inventions; it was a place of respite and adventure all the same. nikolai found himself running from the grand palace more than usual lately if only to avoid a particularly persistent zoya chasing after him with letters from potential candidates who would happily perform the inevitable beheading of his free will. there were better ways to spend time, such as sitting across from david and pondering on his plans, marveling at his creations and recounting the wonders he had seen from shores afar.
he may have digressed this time, but nikolai was midway through a particularly thrilling tale from the ever-expanding legend of sturmhond—this one featuring a near-marriage to a pirate queen and an accidental mutiny involving pickled herring—when @kosytk interrupted, ❛ if you would cease your talking, I would gladly go. ❜
the king of ravka looked up as though he had been struck across the face, but the grin that followed was swift and seameless — like a new act unveiled on a well-rehearsed stage. ❛ and miss the part where I negotiated peace with the queen using only a spoon and raw charisma? david, you wound me. ❜
