Page 31 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“Hi,” I say. “How are you?”

“We’re here to keep an eye on you,” one says. Not what I asked, but I guess we’re bypassing the small-talk thing.

“Oh. That’s nice. It’s good to have such strong, handsome guards.” I wink, and the one on the left frowns.

“Is there something in your eye?” he asks.

Right. I suck at flirting.

“What are your names?” I ask.

“I’m North, and this is West.” The first points to his companion.

“Cute.”

That earns me an even deeper scowl.

“Is there something you want?”

I consider the question. How much harm might there be in asking to visit the throne room? I worry it will get back to Cyan, but I don’t see I have any other choice.

“I’d like to go for a walk.”

“We’re to escort you everywhere,” North says. Or maybe it’s West.

“Yeah, I figured that. How about the throne room?”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

My response earns me another glare.

“I’d love to take a closer look at the Alluvion Coral. It’s very pretty.”

West’s eyebrows draw together, and I twirl a lock of my hair, trying to make it seem like I’m just a silly girl who likes shiny things. They appear to fall for it and, without another word, step back and gesture for me to walk.

We pass through the same wide blue-and-white corridors, my bare soles slapping the tile. Somehow, my escorts walk silently and not like they have flippers attached to their feet.

We enter the throne room, and I suck in a breath of relief to find Bain still peering through the glass, staring up at the Coral. West and North take up positions against the wall and I give them a little wave before I approach. Busy scribbling something into his notebook, he doesn’t notice until I’m nearly upon him.

Bain regards me with surprise. I wonder if he recognizes me from earlier. He has the same dark blue eyes common around here, with silvery blue hair cropped around his pointed ears. He also has the same pale, almost blue skin as Cyan.

“Hi,” I say, attempting to snatch a peek at what he’s writing.

“Hello luv,” he says. “Have you come to pay your respects to Coral?”

Sure. Respects.

“Oh, totally,” I say. “It’s . . . great.”

He nods with a beaming smile. “She. She’s truly a magnificent being.”

“She?” I ask. I’ve never heard a gender ascribed to any of the Artefacts. I guess most people don’t know the spirits of the former kings and queens of Ouranos inhabit them.

“Oh, I’ve always imagined her as a woman with all those curves and lithe limbs,” he says, clutching his book to his chest.

That’s . . . a very strange thing to say.