Page 51

The young man tightened his mouth into a grim line.

“Your turn!” Mela waved the mallet in Heath’s direction. “And remember, no magic!”

“Not fair!” Jas jutted her plump bottom lip out. “I want my turn.”

“It’s fair,” Mela protested as she trotted toward the colored pole. “It’s his turn. You went and then I did. Grumpy needs a turn now. Then it will be your turn again.”

Heath sighed and grimaced. “Why?” he asked his mother. “Why do I get a nickname and not Jas?”

Lady Lyra smiled as she tied off the thread she was using to mend his coat sleeve. “Jas is Jasmine’s nickname. Mela was trying to make you feel included.”

“But Grumpy?” Heath rolled his eyes. He accepted his mended coat from his mother and shrugged it on. “I am not my father.” Then tugging the garment into place in a motion that defied his assertion, he strode off to claim the mallet and his turn.

“And yet he is the spitting image of Greyson.” Lady Lyra shook her head the moment he was out of hearing range. “The delusions of youth.” She smiled as she watched the children. “What are your plans for Mela?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning down at my embroidery. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t master the knot stitch she had attempted to teach me. The knot kept unraveling.

“For when Kent moves to the capital and establishes his court. What do you plan on doing with Mela? Once her humanity and connection with you and Kent is known, she is going to become a point of weakness for Kent. Do the two of you have a plan for protecting her?”

“What do you mean? Mela is my charge, not Kent’s.”

“Ah, but my husband said that Kent bound himself to protecting the pair of you.”

“He did.” Much to my annoyance.

Lady Lyra’s gaze narrowed slightly as she studied me. “Have you discussed what that protection will look like? The capital is nothing this home. Greyson and I work hard to preserve what little peace we can within our domain, by both magic and the culture we foster. By contrast, the Unseelie king spent decades creating a miasma of conflict and prejudice among his people. Even with him removed from the throne, that learned behavior will take time to discourage. In the meantime, Kent is going to need all the support he can gather. He will also need to protect or remove all weak points from his life.”

“Then he should leave us behind.” None of that description appealed to me. I was struggling as it was with the daily exposure to so many people around me constantly. Which was strange since I had spent all my days with people at the tavern. Still, they hadn’t really cared about me then. Now there were expectations, and scrutiny, and strangely intense emotions flying about. I had never struggled like this before. Perhaps it was something in the land or the air of the Wild Wood that made me more sensitive to everyone’s emoting.

“I disagree. He will need people around him that he can trust.” The petite human woman leveled a serious look at me. “People like you.”

“But I am a nobody.”

Lady Lyra smiled softly. “Dear heart, if you matter to Kent—the future king—then you are somebody.”

But I wasn’t important, even to Kent. I pressed my lips together to keep myself from protesting Lady Lyra’s assertion. “What are the duties of the Unseelie king?”

Gathering her embroidery project from the midst of her basket, Lady Lyra resumed her work. “He needs to connect to the land, rule the court, decide which laws to be ratified, marry eventually, and provide an heir, among other things. Greyson hopes he will take a more active role in government and policy than the current king does.”

Picking up my sewing project once more, I eyed the pattern outlined on the cloth. “I heard the current king is married.”

“He is.” Lady Lyra glanced at the children before lowering her voice. “The queen retired from public life when the Seelie king broke the curse, and her husband’s activities became known. By her accounting, she was not aware of how damaging it had been to both nations. When the rumors of a living adult heir began circulation, she confronted her husband.”

Lady Lyra grimaced as she continued. “He confessed it all—his worst infidelity, his true mating mark not being for her but for the naiad he had married in secret, and more. And finally, when Greyson confronted him with the records of his orders to destroy the whole naiad tribe and poison their lake, she refused any further association with her husband.”

My chest ached for Kent’s mother and her people. “There are records?”

Lady Lyra nodded gravely. “Back when his bigamous marriage was discovered, the ruling council gave the king a mandate to reveal all to the queen and swear to never see his mate again or give up the throne.”

He had clearly chosen the throne. “So, the queen knew of his infidelity then.”

“Sadly, it wasn’t his first infidelity, and he never told her that the naiad was his fated mate. He told the queen that his renewed commitment to her had led to the sudden appearance of a mating mark.” Lady Lyra shook her head sadly. “She threatened to leave him unless he swore a binding oath to never stray again. He agreed but still sought out other female company and flirted publicly with them. I feel for the queen. To be bound to a man who refuses to remain faithful in heart, mind, and action is a horrible prospect.”

“Momma!” Jas ran across the field and plowed into her mother’s skirts, scattering the sewing basket contents onto the grass.

“Oh, Jas, be careful!” Lady Lyra caught her daughter before she threw herself down on the ground on top of the needles, silks, and threads. “You will hurt yourself.”

Setting aside my sewing, I slipped from my seat and into the grass to gather up the contents of the tipped basket.