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“As long as he approves of the man?”
I nodded. “He trusts me.”
The king nodded sharply as he glanced at the lightening sky. “The curse is going to snatch you home at any moment. May I please have your name, or I will spend the next day referring to you as the short human in the worn velvet robe.”
I smiled at the idea. “Kate, my name is Kate.”
“Is Kate short for something? Kathryn, Kathleen, or Katrina?”
“Just plain Kate. I was never meant to amount to anything, unlike you with all your fancy names.” I grinned up at him, expecting him to share in my amusement.
But he didn’t. Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the king and the garden suddenly faded away and I was standing in my bedroom feeling strangely exhausted and disappointed. I had wanted to hear what Emrys had to say about my name.
Chapter Three
Emrys
The next night, I stood in my usual place off to the side of the sycamore tree where the princesses arrived every night. The first to arrive were always the youngest and the eldest because they retired to bed first.
The tiny toddler appeared, her golden curls and soft cheeks reminding me once again of Kate’s words from the night before. How could her brother be so heartless? She clearly wasn’t well. Something was wrong with her heart. It could cause permanent damage that even a healer couldn’t touch, or worse, it could kill her. My chest constricted.
The twin terrors arrived, stretched, and ran shrieking off into the depths of the gardens. By the time the rest of my guests arrived, the terrors would have a few pranks already prepared for their victims. I had long ago warned them away from the maze and set wards specifically against them.
As much as I strove to be a suitable host, I drew the line at allowing them all into my home, which the maze guarded. My court and I needed a safe place to escape to when it all became too much. Marilla, the princess dowager, appeared next. As my silent servants assisted her to her feet, she smiled at me.
“Good evening, Your Majesty.” She offered me a deep curtsey. Despite the show of spryness, she winced as she straightened.
“Highness.” I bowed to her in return. Of all of my original guests, she was my favorite. “Are you well this evening?”
“As well as one can expect at my age.” She attempted to wave off my concern, but I wasn’t so easily swayed.
“I will summon the healer to meet you.”
“No need, Majesty. I will be right as rain after my nap. I will just leave the company of your guests earlier than usual.”
I surreptitiously signaled a servant to summon the healer before I offered her my arm. “I wish you would accept my offer of a bed or lounge so you can comfortably rest.”
“I might be old, but I am not yet dead.” She accepted my arm. “Did the new prisoner find you last night?”
“She did.”
“Good. I like her.”
I inclined my head, unwilling to disclose anything.
As we approached Marilla’s usual seat at the table, the rest of the usual princesses arrived. But when I returned to greet them, Kate wasn’t among them. A gaggle of them rushed after Alion, my military head. They besieged the poor elf every night.
After exchanging formal greetings, the others moved off toward the dance floor and the food. I waited for my usual time beneath the tree, but Kate didn’t appear. Where was she? Reluctant to abandon my post, I waited until none of them were watching and slipped into my shadow form to wait undetected.
She hadn’t been well the night before. There was clearly something wrong with her heart, and her brother’s lack of concern bothered me.
The night grew darker. Midnight came and went. The women chatted, giggled, and entertained themselves. My servants and courtiers moved about silently. Then, about an hour after midnight, she appeared.
Curled up on the grass beneath the tree with her knees pulled up to her chest, she was suddenly there. Dropping my shadow form, I moved to her side. She didn’t move except to shiver despite the warm spring night air. Once again, her feet were bare, but the sight of them made me pause as I approached. Purple, blue, and swollen, they appeared beaten and bruised. An intense wave of anger pounded through me. Who had hurt her? Her brother? A servant?
I glanced at her face. Her paleness highlighted a sprinkling of pale spots across her nose and cheeks that I had missed the night before. Despite the pallor, I detected no pain in her expression.
Then she stirred.
