My random page theme continues this weekend (the first weekend in October already!) with a snippet from page 145 of The Scholar's Heart. Here, Tristan is arriving at the palace for an evening with friends, and ends up being slightly oblivious.

They chatted as they strolled through the palace. The guards didn’t stop them when they arrived at the wing containing Philip and Amory’s suite, and they continued on to the suite. Griffen knocked on the door. Tristan felt a rush of surprise and pleasure when it opened and Etan was on the other side. He knew he’d likely see Etan tonight, but that knowledge didn’t diminish his pleasure at doing so.
Etan was balancing a sleepy Julien on his hip, the child’s head resting on Etan’s shoulder, his eyes blinking slowly. Etan was smiling, and his smile stayed in place even as a shadow of something passed through his eyes. He blinked, and the shadow was gone, but Tristan knew he’d seen it, and from the way Etan had glanced between him and Griffen, he could only guess Etan knew something had happened between him and Griffen. Or at least, that Etan suspected. And he didn’t seem happy about it, though Tristan wasn’t sure why. What happened between him and Griffen had happened before anything between him and Etan, and it hadn’t been more than a little fun for both of them. He hadn’t even seen Griffen since.