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Bern gaped at her but Thicket didn’t give her a chance to argue. “And Lotta, you do not need to save up leave.”

“I don’t?”

“No. Because you are fired.” Lotta’s eyes went wide. Thicket grabbed her hands, squeezing them tight. “Go to Sleeria. Use your parent’s house and open the most wonderful Atelier in all of Vindrya—in all of the Continent.”

Lotta shook her head. “I could never. I have served you for the last century. I cannot just abandon you now.”

“You are not abandoning me,” Thicket said. She let go of one of Lotta’s hands to grab Bern’s. “Neither of you are. You two have done so much for me. You stuck by me when I needed you the most and showed me what true friendship is like. Both of you will always hold a special place in my life and in my heart, but you can’t live your lives only considering my happiness. You need to find your own.”

Tears welled in Lotta’s eyes and were already streaming down Bern’s cheeks. “You are just trying to get rid of us,” she sniffled.

Thicket’s eyes stung. “I will miss you so much. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t use my queenly reach to guarantee your wishes come true?”

Bern let out a sob and yanked Thicket and Lotta close to her. They sat there, crying and hugging and laughing for longer than what was probably deemed sane. But they didn’t care.

Lotta pulled away first, wiping at her eyes. “I insist that you let me stay long enough to allow me to find and train you a new maid.”

“On one condition,” Thicket said. “You must make my coronation dress.”

A smile broke through Lotta’s tear streaked face. “I will make it the most beautiful dress anyone has ever seen.”

“And you have to delay my banishing until I watch that crown go on your head,” Bern said, jabbing a finger at her. “I didn’t go through all of this just to miss the second most important day of my best friend’s life.”

“Second?” Thicket said. “What’s the first?”

“Your wedding, duh!”

Lotta shot Thicket a mischievous look. “Thicket cannot get married unless she rectifies her situation.”

“What situation?” Bern asked.

“It’s nothing—” Thicket started to say, but Lotta cut her off, filling Bern in on the grim events of Thicket’s love life and surprising Thicket herself with how much she knew. In another life, Lotta would have made an excellent spy.

“And?” Bern demanded, leaning so far off her seat Thicket wasn’t even sure she was sitting anymore.

“I am not on good terms with either of them right now. I haven’t seen Elian since he returned from the Desert Kingdom. And Marcellus… He and I got into an argument.”

Bern launched onto her feet. “Well what are you sitting here with us for? Go talk to them!” Bayo jumped up after her, yipping excitedly. Bern flung her hand towards the wolf. “See? Even Bayo agrees!”

“R-right now?” Thicket stammered.

Bern grabbed her hand and hauled Thicket to her feet. “Yes! Who knows what’s going through their minds right now.”

“Men act tough,” Lotta said, “but they can be especially sensitive when it comes to matters of the heart.”

Bern pushed Thicket out the door and into the hall.

Her heart thudded, the electric sparks that had been quelled by her time with Bern and Lotta reigniting. She touched the ring dangling from her sword and traced the vines engraving the pommel.

“Kit,” Bern called, making Thicket glance over her shoulder. “Don’t think about it too much. The only right answer is the kind of love that will make you happy. But when you are done, you must come tell us all about it. Consider it your way of making up for skipping girls’ time.”

With one last over enthusiastic smile, Bern closed the door, locking her out and leaving her with no choice but to go seek out the two people she had yet to settle things with.

Chapter Sixty

Thicket found Elian first. She knocked on his door. No response. She tried again, stomach churning. A few moments later, the door opened and Elian appeared, eyes scrunched against the light. His clothes were rumpled and his hair… It stood up in odd places, making the longer pieces flop over in sad waves. She stifled a laugh, realizing she must have woken him up.

“Thicket?” he mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “I thought you were with Lotta and Bern.”