“I’m going to bed,” I say abruptly.
“Good idea,” Leon says. “There’s a room next door the pair of you can use. If we set out early tomorrow, we’ll reach the border by nightfall.”
I have to admit to myself, I don’t like how off-handedly he says it. Tomorrow we’ll part ways, likely forever, and he doesn’t sound bothered by it at all. Maybe I have no right to feel let down. After all, Tira and I just discussed our plan to find Will right in front of Leon. But it doesn’t matter how much logic I try to bring to it, it still stings.
Tira picks up on my mood as we clamber into bed.
“What he said really got to you, didn’t it?” she says.
I hesitate. But there’s no point in trying to lie to Tira. When it comes to me, she can always tell.
“Yes, it did actually.”
“I’d be kind of offended too,” she says, pulling up the blanket. “I mean, just because you’re a royal doesn’t mean you want to go around murdering your family. Seeing as people have been accusing you of exactly that recently, you think he’d be a bit more sensitive about it.”
I relax my shoulders, smothering a smile.
“Thanks,” I say. “You’re right.”
I know it’s awful for Tira to be separated from herfamily, but I’m very glad she’s here with me.
“So it turns out the Nightmare Prince is kind of rude,” she says as we finally settle down to sleep. “Who would’ve thought?”
I have strange, vivid dreams that night. Dreams about being in one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen, where there’s strange, exotic plants climbing up every pillar, and every person who walks by is more beautiful than the next. Once I notice their ears are tapered into points, I understand where I must be: the Fae High Court in Filusia. It’s funny, the palace is different from how I’ve imagined it in the past—less forbidding and more ethereal. I bend to smell a flower, appreciating its divine scent and delicate coloring.
“Not as beautiful as you, of course.”
I turn to see Leon, dressed in a gorgeous blue uniform, his eyes sparkling down at me.
“Shall we eat?” he asks, offering me his arm.
I dream of us dining through the night, eating delicious food and tossing back wine—glass after glass—without ever feeling sick. At one point, Leon lifts his cup and proposes a toast.
“To the future,” he says, smiling at me. Something flutters in my chest, and I realize it’s hope.
“To the future,” I repeat, lifting my cup to my lips. The wine is perfect, full-bodied, and sweet. I swallow it down, deliriously happy.
Because a future here means a future with Leon in it.
Chapter32
Morgana
Eryx still needs to be helped onto his horse the following morning, but I’m glad to see him awake and only slightly more grumpy than usual.
“I’m sorry about your leg, Eryx,” I say, handing him a flask of water.
He grunts, eyeing the bandaged limb resentfully as he tucks the flask into a saddle bag, and Hyllus hands him his reins.
“Next time you want a friend rescued, try to do it somewhere closer to a decent healer, alright?” he grumbles.
I nod soberly, hiding a relieved smile. I was worried he’d be genuinely upset, but he seems to be at his usual level of grumpiness, no more.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, turning to share a wink with Stratton. He’s distracted though, failing to give me one of his cheeky grins in return. I wonder if everyone is now feeling the effects of yesterday’s fighting. I woke up feeling worse than I have in a long time, plagued with all sorts of aches and pains from our run-in with the Temple.
Only when we’re all assembled do I notice the missing person.
“Where’s Alastor?” I ask as we set out from the inn.
