“That’s why Fenlas was sent to barter an alliance, Inok. I’m not completely oblivious to this tumultuous world. I’ve lived in it a long time. Most are too young to remember the Iron Wars. Autus was still a child when he conquered the other half of the north.” I tucked my hands beneath the folds of my robes.
“Imagine what all these years have taught him.” Inok looked away, his eyes fading, as if he could see Autus plotting in the distance.
“I prefer not to think of him at all.”
His focus snapped back to me. “That is precisely the point and the problem. If you do not think of Autus, Coro, and Morwena, you will not see them coming. You’ve been withdrawn for so long, you’re the easiest target.”
“Or so they would think,” I answered. “What would you have me do? What do you advise an old king?” I asked as he began to pace before me, his feet sinking heavily into the deep scarlet sand.
“Get a message to Fenlas to come home. I don’t claim to know all things, Your Grace, but I would bet anything he already has a target on his back.”
I forced a smile. “He is smarter than you give him credit for.”
“I never said he wasn’t smart, but is he wise, my king?”
“When I was a boy, my father expected me to marry for the sake of the kingdom, as most royal fae eventually do, but it was my mother who encouraged me to wait. My Efi was worth the wait. Worth the fights with my father. The day our mating bond emerged, we were wed by midnight, Inok.” I paused a beat as I remembered. “Though some mates are fated and prophesied, she was my surprise and gift in all ways. I wasn’t wise then either. But I knew what I wanted.”
We walked back to the castle in amiable silence. I navigated toward the kitchens as I always did after visiting Efi’s Isle. There was nostalgia in the kitchens—memories we had there as young lovers. I rubbed my chest and leaned against the door to the larder, letting the tart smell of elderberry distract me.
“Another bad day, Your Grace?” Loti asked from inside.
She stood to about my waist, and I don’t think I had ever seen her without that apron on. Her sandy curls were wound tight to her head and perfectly in place each and every day.
“Will it always be this way?” I asked the cook as she shuffled through the vegetable baskets. This was the other reason I came to the kitchens. Of all the fae in Alewyn, she too had lost her mate. Long, long before I had lost mine.
“Always.” She nodded. “It’s been fifty years since Efi passed, my king. Has it gotten any better since that first day?” She handed me three large potatoes.
“It comes and goes.”
She released a heavy sigh. “That’s about as good as it gets. Take those to the cutting board for me, would you?”
The greatest lesson I’d learned as a king is to treat the people who take care of you like you are also taking care of them. In any other kingdom, Loti would work for nothing and likely never see the face of her king. In the Flame Court, I hoped all of my subjects saw me as their leader but also a friend. Loti made a fair wage for her work, as did everyone else.
While the other royalty ruled with a heavy hand and fearmongering, I chose to rule with compassion. The world didn’t know it, but the ability to enchant the mind was weakening. Morwena’s siren song was still immensely powerful, but perhaps that’s why the others were scrambling for war. Before enchantment was gone forever.
“Where are your staff? The kitchens are empty.”
“Aye.” She huffed as she crossed the room with arms full of more potatoes. “Jima was needed to help at the market, and both of the new girls are out. I’m afraid you’re stuck with just me today.”
“I suppose it’s a good thing Efi taught me how to peel a potato then.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” She smiled and held out the knife. “Do you remember, Your Grace, the first time she pulled you down to these kitchens. By the Mother, I thought you’d chop all your fingers off by the time you were done,” she laughed.
“She never did give up on me, did she?” The corners of my mouth lifted.
“She was far more patient than I would have been.”
“Far more patient than you are, even now. You swore to the heavens when I burned the rolls.”
“I thought you’d fire me right there for cursing at you.” She laughed, placing a pot that was nearly larger than her onto the counter. “Now look at you, working in the kitchens like a commoner.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” I said, smiling as I sliced into the first lumpy potato.
“Your secret is safe with me, my king. Imagine the crowds we would have to fight off if people knew how many meals you’ve prepared in this kitchen. They would line up just to watch.”
I plopped a potato into her silver pot. “Are you ready for the Trials to begin?”
“Are you ready?” She sliced a knife through the peel of the potato without taking her eyes from me.
