As we reached the palace gates leading to the courtyard, they swung open without a sound. The wind blew toward us, the bushes and groves of trees with their flower fragrance hit my face and I sneezed again.
Bassza.
It was going to be a long seven days.
The courtyard was bustling with activity. Servants scurried toward us, their uniforms clean and not a single cloth out of place. I stared down at our cloth and muddied feet, and I knew we didn’t belong.
The fae had their wings fluttering behind them, helping my tribe grab things off the wagons, and orcs who rode their horses dismounted and handed their reins to the stablemen.
I reluctantly handed my reins over, and Ulam pushed at my shoulder. I rubbed his forehead and pulled oats out of my satchel to gift my friend before handing the reins over to the stableman. “Give him your best bed or I’ll find you,” I grumbled and shoved the satchel full of oats into his arm.
The stableman, who was tall for a fae, nodded his head and waved the satchel in front of Ulam as he followed, cart and all, with the rest of the horses.
“Can you be nicer?” Sugha hissed, pulling on my arm.
I growled and pulled my arm away. “They are touching my horse.”
“That Osirus and Melina gave you. They wouldn’t hurt him,” Sugha argued back.
I turned my neck to crack it as I followed Sugha to the bottom of the steps that led up to the palace. The rest of the tribe had already gathered and were gazing up at the tall, regal figure with shimmering silver wings, which glowed in the sunlight. Her hair matched the dark plum-colored robes she wore, and I was thankful it wasn’t some bright-colored cloth to burn the eyes out of my skull.
“Welcome to the Golden Light Kingdom,” she said, her voice like music. “I am Lady Elowen, advisor to Queen Melina. Her Majesty awaits you in the throne room.”
With a graceful sweep of her hand, she waved for us to climb the steps that led into the palace, where every surface sparkled and shined. Our feet dirtied the floor, but no one was behind us cleaning up like we were trouble to the palace. We were their guests.
I mean, we did help them win a war all those years ago…
The throne room was bathed in a warm golden light, that shone from large crystal rockssuspended from the ceiling. Why you needed a bunch of rocks hanging from the ceiling, I did not understand.
There were also flowers. Tons of flowers in decorated pots and I rolled my eyes. My nose was already tickling, and I could feel a sneeze coming.
Bassza!.
There, seated upon a throne of silver and gold, was Queen Melina. Her wings were a bright array of colors—the only wings in the kingdom that could do that. Melina rose to her feet as we entered.
“Oh, I’m so excited!” She jumped up from her throne and trotted down the stairs. “I thought you were never gonna get here!” She ran across the floor and gave a big hug to Sugha, who twirled her around and set her down gracefully.
“We wouldn’t miss it, would we, Valpar?” Sugha nudged me in the gut.
I grunted from the pain and rubbed my belly. “No, never.”
Melina tilted her head downward. “Right. I know you have been skipping out on these things. This time, you will have loads of fun! Sugha told me all your favorite foods and we replicated your ale. You won’t even have to pretend to be nice, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Er—grumpy loin cloth.”
Melina eyed me up and down, and the female servants giggled in the corner.
I sighed heavily and rubbed my eyebrow with my claw.
She linked her arm with Sugha and walked past me. The normal scent she carried was typically sweet, like candy, but today there was another scent lying beneath it.
Sugha and Melina continued to walk around as she pointed to a new stained-glass window, and I followed them, trying to pinpoint the smell. I took in another breath and my shoulders relaxed.
What is it?
Sugha turned around and cocked his head. “Valpar, you alright?”
I blinked several times and found myself hovering over Queen Melina, sniffing her hair. I stood up straight and realized that everyone was staring at me.
Shit. As the King of the Cerulean Moon Kingdom would say.
