Respen turns to me, his pale eyes examining my face.
“Ah, Princess Morgana. Let me express my gratitude for your help here today.”
It’s not very effusive, but I’ll take it.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I was glad to be of use.”
Not that you made it easy for me,I think wryly.
There’s movement by my hip, and I look down to see Dots at my side. The korigos sniffs, looks up at Respen, and releases a long, low growl that makes the fae king take a step back.
“Apologies, Your Majesty,” I say. “He’s a little sensitive.”
Respen examines Dots’s proximity to me, and his eyes flash with envy.
“Yes, well, you’re certainly turning out to be most impressive, Princess Morgana,” he says.
I smile at the king. Stepping in, Leon explains about me needing rest, then steers me toward the boat. As he rows Dots and me back across the lake with Eryx and Hyllus, my exhaustion properly hits me. But my fatigue doesn’t stop me turning Respen’s final words around in my head.
I can’t help thinking about how they sounded less like a compliment and more like the fae king was taking proper stock of me at last.
When I wake, the sun is low in the sky. I must’ve slept most of the day away, but I feel rejuvenated, stretching out across my bed with a satisfied sigh. I did what I came here to do: I healed Fairon, and I allow myself a rare moment of peace to celebrate my victory.
A peace which is immediately broken by a scratching at the door. I look over to see Dots pawing at it, and I’m reminded of his size—when he stands on his back legs, he can reach up right past the doorknob, his claws leaving deep grooves in the wood.
“You want to go out?” I climb out of bed before he decimates the fancy palace carpentry. When I pull the door open for him, the korigos simply pads out of the room and down the hallway without looking back.
“You’re up.” Leon rises from a chair positioned by my door. I glance after Dots.
“Do you think he’ll be alright?”
“You heard Healer Yanda. Korigos are smart. He’s probably just going to stretch his legs in the grounds. My grandfather’s staff knows he’s yours, I wouldn’t worry.”
I don’t think the korigos belongs to anyone, really, but I don’t argue with Leon.
“Have you been sitting here the whole time?” I ask, my eyebrows raised.
“I spent some time with Fairon of course, making sure the healers examined him properly,” Leon says, a slightly defensive note in his voice. “There’s no sign of the sickness at all, by the way—not that I thought there would be. And then yes, I came here. I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay after the healing.”
I hold the door open, letting him follow me inside as I return to my bedroom. There are some things I want to discuss now that Fairon is cured, and it won’t do to have that conversation out in the open.
“Your grandfather seemed pleased about Fairon,” I say off-handedly as I settle down on the couch. I’d fallen straight into my bed when I’d gotten in, not even bothering to change out of my day dress. I straighten out the wrinkles in the skirts as Leon takes an armchair opposite.
“He is. I know he’s not the warmest or kindest man, but Fairon has always been a priority of the king’s.”
“Because he’s the heir,” I guess.
Leon shrugs. “Yes, and a better heir than I’d make. You’ve saved my grandfather from the unenviable task of trying to mold me into something I can’t be.”
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“A king. Fairon is diplomatic. Cautious. Practical. Everything a ruler needs to be. That’s not the skill set my grandfather ever bothered to have me develop. He’s been kicking himself over the last few years, thinking he’d profoundly messed up when hechose such different paths for Fairon and me. But then you came along and turned the world the right way up again.”
His tone is dry until he mentions me, then that same look shines through that I saw in the Sanctuary—unfettered joy. Once again, I’m dazzled by it, blinking for a moment as I try to remember the question I wanted to ask.
“When you say the path he chose for you…do you mean soldiering?”
“Yes. After I proved myself in the war, he decided that was my calling.” He says the word “proved” with heavy irony.
