I squinted, wanting to ask a question, but remembering that my goal today was to play nice.
“Say it,” the king commanded as we continued to carry on our conversation alongside parliament’s. “It is written all over your face you have something to say.”
I turned to look at him and gave him a smile before asking, “How much of these meetings are actually dealing with Savaryn’s greed versus improvements to the country as a whole?”
“More than half,” the king answered honestly.
“A question, Your Grace, before we move on to the next issue!” a parliament member asked. I recognized him as the parliament leader, Mr. Winston.
“Yes?” the king answered, looking just as bored as I felt.
“I meant for Her Grace, Your Grace.”
I gave my head a shake. That was going to take some getting used to. I swallowed and hoped my voice was going to sound double as confident as I actually felt. “Yes?”
“Given the recent healings in the forest, which we understand are from your hard work and care, possibly your magic as well, is there anything we can do to speed up the process? Or assist you in your endeavors in the forest.”
I paused. I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to say on that matter. “Well, now that everyone knows I’m Enchanted, I assume our king will allow me access to the forest more frequently.” I stole him a glance and he gave me a nod. “So I just need the space and time to keep working, keep healing.” I paused. “I have attempted to heal the lake on numerous occasions. That is the part that is proving to be most difficult. The lake itself.”
Krew added, “But she has at least changed the viscosity of the lake. It is not as thick as it used to be. She is making headway.” He paused. “We should set up some rules for when guests at Kavan Keep can enter the forest. I do not want anyone messing with her processes or worse yet, bothering her.”
The king gave him a nod. “How about the rest of you stay clear from the forest until midafternoon. That gives Jorah the morning hours to work in the forest?”
The parliament leader gave him a nod. “That is fair.”
“And,” the king added, “if any of you attempts to interfere with her work in that forest, for whatever reason you believe necessary, you will deal with me personally.”
“She is healing the forest,” Mr. Winston said with awe. “Why would we want to interfere with that?”
The king glared. “She wears a crown upon her head now, or did you miss that? Not only that, but she is now the queen’s proxy. Don’t think I don’t remember how some of you used to pester my wife in trying to make her see your side of things.”
An awkward silence fell upon the room and then we were off to the next topic.
After about twenty minutes of hearing them bicker about disloyal tensions in Rallis, the king turned to me. “I’m jealous.”
Of course he would start another conversation with me during the one issue parliament discussed that I wished to listen in on. “Why?”
“Krewan wears your ring today, but not the one I gifted to him.”
I looked to the new ruby on the king’s thumb and back to his eyes. “And you are surprised by this? Given the backhanded message along with it?”
The king’s lips pulled into a smirk for the briefest of moments. “Well, no.”
I was torn between listening back in on parliament, or asking a question I just kept coming back to. “Why didn’t you send Nara back to Rallis the moment you figured it all out?”
The king thought about it for a moment. “A man has needs, Jorah. I assume you are well acquainted with that fact by now.”
I shoved my magic down as I simultaneously felt my skin crawl. It wasn’t my magic. Just pure disgust.
Are we done now?I sent Krew.Also, I’m still cold.
Krew was moving without another word, taking off his tailcoat, and then reaching it over to me.
The king looked at us quizzically.
“I was cold,” I offered before realizing that no one else had heard me say to Krew that I was cold. Not wanting him to connect the dots that we could talk to one another telepathically, something he likely already suspected, I added as I slipped my arms into Krew’s warm jacket, “I am always cold. My apologies. Where were we?”
The king leaned toward me again and added quietly, “I believe you were about to tell me why my sons stole my ring.”
