“They’re mouseberries,” she corrected him. “And yes, I would eat that.” She held up her plate. “Please.”
“I’ve already fed you dragon steak and the other version of salad patty. If you want more, you can make it yourself.”
I leaned against the doorjamb, entertained by this entire exchange. But my movement drew both their eyes to me and caused Aflora to jump up off my rug and onto her feet. “Oh! You’re back.”
“I am.” I tucked my hands into my pockets and glanced around my room. “Seems like you did a good job cleaning.”
“Figments,” Aflora said quickly. “Zeph made figments. We were just making sure it’s all sorted. So, uh, looks good. I’ll leave you two to it, then.” She started toward the door, and I moved to block her exit.
“I’m nearly arrested for an explosion at the Academy, and you’re going to leave me with a ‘looks good’?” I arched an eyebrow at her. “Seriously?”
Zeph came up behind her, effectively caging her between us. She lifted the plate to her chest like that would be able to protect her.
“Um.” She bit her lip, considering. “I’m glad you’re okay. We know you didn’t do it. Oh, and Clove had no magical ties that Zeph could find. So we’re not sure who gave her the stonepecker or where she found it, but we’re pretty sure it was done on purpose to set you up. It’s a good thing Shade stopped by to warn us about the search.”
That was a hell of a lot of information in a handful of seconds. I gaped at Zeph. “Stonepecker?”
“Yeah. Aflora’s familiar brought it to her as a gift and dropped it in her lap. We’re guessing it’s how the culprit enteredthe Academy grounds, but I had to destroy it because of the Warrior Bloods.”
Of course. “What about my other things?” I asked him, knowing he’d interpret my question.
He jerked his chin at the closet. “Sir Kristoff did his job.”
I nodded. “Good.”
Aflora’s brow creased. “I thought Sir Kristoff took the night off?”
I grunted and put my hands on her hips to walk her backward into my Guardian’s chest, then kicked my door closed behind me. “Sir Kristoff doesn’t take time off,” I said, releasing her to Zeph. He promptly wrapped his arms around her, knowing I didn’t want her to leave. The two of them watched as I walked over to my closet. As soon as I opened it, the gargoyle in question came strolling out with my box.
“Here you go, My Prince,” he drawled, holding it up for me.
“Thank you, Sir Kristoff,” I murmured. “You’re excused.”
He bowed and disappeared into a white cloud of dust, his trademark exit.
“Now he’s taking the night off?” Aflora guessed.
“No, he’s gone back to the front door,” I replied, my focus on the box in my hands. I opened it to check the contents inside and nodded. “All here.”
“Then the gargoyle did his job,” Zeph murmured.
I nodded. “He did.”
“What’s in the box?” Aflora asked, unusually bold tonight. Or maybe she was just getting more comfortable with us, in which case, I approved.
“Your real collar and a few other items I don’t want the Council to know about.” Such as the photo of her parents from Sol.
I went to my closet to return the container to the rightful place, one Sir Kristoff knew about so he could hide it again should the need arise.
While my father commanded the kingdom, the gargoyle’s allegiance belonged to me. I’d seen to that minor detail the day I started attending the Academy. It was an easy task, mostly because I treated Sir Kristoff with respect and listened to his requests. A few negotiations later and his loyalty was mine.
“My real collar?” Aflora asked, touching the thin leather around her throat. “I thought that’s what Zeph put on me before the guards came for me last week.”
I met his gaze over her head, wondering if he wanted to explain it or if I should. He gave a subtle nod for me to go ahead.
“This isn’t the collar from the Council,” I said softly, stepping in front of her again. I lifted my finger to the leather encircling her neck and traced it along her throat. “Remember how there were two before?”
She nodded. “I destroyed one in the LethaForest.”
