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Her lips crinkled. “Let us hope the latter is still a ways off, my love.”
They walked to the portal, and—without a backward glance—plunged through. The light brightened, so white and hot that I had to shield my eyes, and then it faded. The orb was gone. Lainule and Wrath had returned to their homeland, forever.
I said nothing but rose to exit the room. A page was waiting. He knelt at my feet as I tried to keep my composure.
“Your Highness, I have news of your guard. Fearless? They were able to save the leg, but he will be incapacitated for a long while.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
Grieve thanked him and then stopped him as the boy started to run off. “What time is it?”
“Time? Nearly dawn. The sun breaks in the Court of Rivers and Rushes.”
I looked up at my love. “The longest night is over. But the journey…just begun.”
And since there was little left to say, I told Rhiannon I’d meet her in the common room come noon, and then, slowly, quietly, and with a full guard accompaniment, Grieve, Druise, and I headed back to the realm of Winter to get a few hours of sleep.
Chapter 11
Four hours of sleep later, I opened my eyes, groaning as I realized I had to get up in time to get bathed and dressed and over to meet Rhia by noon. And then I remembered: Wrath and Lainule were gone, and the depression of the night hit me all over again.
As I sat up, I saw that Grieve was already awake and gone. Wondering what the procedure for the day would be now that I was officially in charge, I also saw the silver bell sitting on my nightstand. I rang it and within less than two minutes, Druise entered the room.
She dropped into a deep curtsey as I pushed back the covers and slid out of the bed. “I need to dress for the outer world today. I’m meeting my cousin and we’re going shopping. I need to be able to take my clothes off and on easily, so jeans and a sweater, please.”
Druise nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. What would you like for breakfast?”
“Bacon and eggs. Toast.” I yawned and padded into the bathroom while she popped out to give my order to whomever it was that would be bringing my breakfast. That was another thing I’d have to get used to—I wouldn’t be doing much cooking from now on. Not that I liked to play around in the kitchen much, but raiding the refrigerator at night wasn’t going to be quite as simple now.
I finished in the bathroom—somehow they managed toilets and running cold water, though I had a feeling they didn’t quite work like the ones back home. After washing my hands and then brushing my teeth, I sauntered back into the bedroom. Druise had returned, and she had set up a steaming bowl of water.
“I’m going to need a bath every morning, Druise. We’re going to have to rig up a better way to get hot running water for me, because I’m used to showering twice a day and that’s one thing I don’t want to compromise on.”
She nodded. “I’ll take care of it. We may need a couple of days to set it up, but your wish is our command, Your Highness.” She soaped up a soft cloth and began washing the leftover makeup off my face. “Breakfast will be here in a few moments. His Lordship is with Advisor Strict and bids you to rest today. He said, ‘There will be time enough tomorrow for the running of the realm.’”
I smiled. “His Lordship is a sweetheart. But yes, I do need the day to recuperate. The past few weeks have been hard.” I must have sounded defeated because Druise slipped behind me and began rubbing my shoulders as I dried my face and applied moisturizer.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.” She sounded so sad that I forced a smile to my face.
“I’ve lived through worse. I’m just…” I stopped. At one point, Wrath had told me, “Don’t show your vulnerability. Not to those who depend on you.” And I knew that I couldn’t talk about my fears to my lady’s maid. Another wall went up, another invisible boundary line. But then, when I thought about it, I’d erected plenty of boundaries when I was on the road with Krystal. I’d hoped, when I returned home, that I could tear down some of my barriers, but apparently my destiny in life wasn’t geared toward allowing many people in my inner circle.
The servant with breakfast appeared and I ate up, suddenly aware of how hungry I was. Meanwhile, Druise got my jeans ready, along with a warm black V-neck sweater and a silver jacket. I dressed quickly, then quickly applied day makeup—dark shadow that made my newly blue eyes pop, and a sheen of barely there gloss.
Standing back, I observed myself in the mirror. Not bad. I was looking far more pulled together than I used to, and my 140 pounds of muscle was taut and strong. As I allowed Druise to affix my circlet on my head, I realized that I’d promised to meet with Lannan tonight. Joy o’ joys.
When I was done, I headed for the door. “Druise, you stay here. I don’t want to subject you to the outer world just yet. It’s going to be a big surprise, if you’ve never been out there.”
She dipped into another curtsey. “Thank you. But you will take the guards?”
I grinned at her. “I doubt if I could get out of here without them. Yes, I’ll take Check and…well, Fearless is out of commission for now, but I’ll take guards with me.” Actually, after the attack the night before, I really didn’t want to go out without an escort.
Check was waiting for me outside the door, with another guard. “Your Highness, may I introduce Teral? He will be filling in for Fearless.”
I nodded at the new man, who looked big and burly enough to take on just about anybody. They fell in behind me.
Those who returned to the Court of Snow and Ice—and there were quite a number of them who had made the move—had been calling me “Your Highness” since Lainule had first made the announcement that Rhia and I were to become the new Queens. But today, as I walked through the halls, each person near me dropped into a curtsey or bow until I had passed by. I stood a little straighter, suddenly more mindful of my appearance.
“Check, can I ask you something?” He’d served with Lainule, and before that, with Tabera, I’d found out, always as one of their personal guards.
