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Chapter4
Chin up. Deep breath. The queen will not have you beheaded for trespassing.
The mantras I repeated to myself as I stood about, building up the courage to knock on the king’s private parlor doors were getting more and more crazy the longer I stood here. And yet, I couldn’t stop.
I brushed my hands against the creased folds of my dress twice before running them over my hair. I made sure to pull my hair away from my face completely, not wanting to tug at it or twirl it like an idiot in front of the king.
While I knew that impressing him wasn’t the reason I was invited here, there was a strange sensation that had been building. It had grown the other day during our conversation about astrology. In fact, since I’d arrived, our run-ins had always been pleasant. More so than one would imagine between a king and servant. His kind, soft gaze drew me in, and when he gave advice I hung on it, like it was a lifeline I had to follow in order to survive.
I wanted his approval. I wanted his praise. I wanted him to think I was good enough.
Good enough for the Unseelie palace. Good enough to be trusted. Good enough…for Noah.
Just knock.
I raised my hand, taking one final deep breath before letting my closed fist rap at the door three times.
He invited you here.
The door opened and a fellow human answered. His genuine smile relaxed me. Phillip, I think, was the man’s name. He was rarely with the other staff, but he’d spoken to the feeders as a group a few times since I’d arrived.
“Hello,” I said quietly.
Philip nodded. “He’s expecting you.” The man barely had to walk ten feet before ushering me through another set of doors. “Right through here, Cora.”
“Thank you,” I said before he closed the door behind me.
My shoes clicked on the dark wooden floors as I looked around at the shelves of gadgets and books. There were tapestries of stars hanging around the room, and maps rolled and piled on top of one another, taking up many of the bookshelves.
“Not as extravagant as my telescope, but since it’s daytime that won’t be of much use.”
The king had arrived.
I bowed my head and saw that His Majesty was dressed in his robes and crown as usual. But the flowing blue garment that normally adorned his shoulders wasn’t there. Noah had one that he usually flung to the side of the room as well when it was just us. Their official garb denoting them as royalty.
“This room is just as magical though,” I said. I ran my fingers along a golden orb that was centered among a sea of constellations, seemingly with nothing holding it together.
“An enchanted version of my favorite constellation in Unseelie, Aquis quietis. A still water. It’s this one.” The king reached toward a tapestry hanging to the right of a small table that had teacups already set in place on it. “The stars form a guardian over the waters behind her. Still waters are the goal, peace.”
“It’s beautiful.” There were figures mapped out all over the tapestry, but that one stood in the middle, and I wondered if these were gifts to or personal investments of the king. It felt too personal to ask.
“Come, come, Cora. Sit and have some tea.”
His motion to the chairs by the table we had already moved toward were obeyed instantly and I sat down, mixing sugar and a heavy cream the fae used into my cup. Everything here was delicious, like it was grown just to entertain the mouth.
I let out a sigh as I swallowed the heavenly blend.
The king chuckled as I covered my mouth and set the cup down. “If you like that, wait till you try these.” He opened the tray that was centered on the round table and revealed delicious-looking biscuits dipped in chocolate. “I don’t share them often. Believe it or not, they’re Phillip’s recipe. From his mother’s side. He won’t tell anyone how to make them, and he only does it once in a while when he can sneak into the kitchen if it’s quiet.”
I gaped at the king and his jovial talk of Phillip. I wasn’t the only person he treated so kindly. It shouldn’t be a surprise, he was different from the queen by far. Noah had so much of his good heart. The way he spoke of Phillip was as if he were an old friend, not a servant or mere human staff. I wondered if Phillip was his feeder as well.
The biscuit melted in my mouth the moment it touched my tongue, and I savored every bite. “His secret is safe with me,” I laughed.
“I did try to have Phillip teach me once,” King Driscoll said as he leaned back in his chair, his hands clasping over his stomach. “We snuck to the kitchen in the wee hours of the night. Not a soul was around and I thought that my breathing was loud enough to wake someone.” He laughed at the memory.
I reached for my tea, dipping the remainder of my biscuit in it and watching how the wrinkles by the king’s eyes deepened as he spoke.
“By the end of the lesson, the kitchen was such a mess that Phillip practically yelled at me to get out.”
