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Zoe giggled and jumped away, only to bump into their father as he stepped into sight.
Father caught her against him. “I hear it’s time for your present.”
She grinned at their parents. “And yours, too!”
“Ours?” Mother asked. “Oh, Lio, you know we love the window. You don’t have to give us anything else.”
“My Gift Night may be during the Festival of the Rose, but you know I’m not going to combine your presents.” With relish, Lio withdrew a pair of scrolls from his robes and presented them to his parents. “You can take advantage of these as soon as we migrate to Orthros Notou. Through my diplomatic contacts, I secured you invitations to a secluded estate in the Empire.”
“The best part is,” Cassia added, “he didn’t tell anyone where it is.”
“Except us,” Zoe whispered.
Their father unrolled the scroll with a smile worthy of the Blood Errant. “Thank you, Son. You are a Hesperine after my own heart.”
Lio grinned.
Mother smiled too, but concern dimmed her aura. “There are only two invitations.”
“I’m afraid Zoe, Cassia, and I can’t join you,” Lio said. “We’ll be too busy touring the western steppes.”
Zoe tugged their mother’s sleeve. “Lio says it’s known as goat country. Did you know there’s an entire goat country?”
“There are vast plains of wildflowers,” said Cassia, “and great herds of goats who eat them.”
Zoe straightened her mantle again. “I can’t wait.”
Now their mother’s enthusiasm was undimmed. “This is lovely. Thank you so much, Lio.”
Father pulled her close. “How exciting, my Grace. I get to run away with you.”
“Again.” She gave him a kiss.
“Are you ready for your present?” Lio asked Zoe.
Her eyes widened. “A tour of goat country isn’t my present?”
Lio put his hands on his sister’s shoulders. “Your present is waiting for you in the house, upstairs.”
“I’m ready!”
The whole family stepped to the upstairs room his parents had long ago reserved as a bedchamber for their future secondgift. Until tonight, Zoe had only set foot here once, and only long enough to grow frightened. Lio turned her to face the wall of windows, whose peaked arches and clear glass panes overlooked her goat barn. All except for the central window, which he had filled with stained glass.
Zoe didn’t even glance up at the high, vaulted ceiling or around at the long, spacious room. She ran to his present. “You made me a goat window, too!”
She reached out to stroke the glass portraits of Moonbeam and Aurora. She put one hand on the real Knight, another on the image of him laying down in peace with her goats.
Cassia joined Zoe at the windows. “Lio put a light spell in the stained glass that will make your betony grow better. But only if your plant has more room. It’s running out of space in its small pot. If you transplant it, it will start to bloom.”
Zoe turned to their parents, her face brilliant with excitement. “Can I move to this room now?”
“This room is right above my workshop,” said Father. “I would be so glad to have you closer to me while you sleep.”
Mother’s aura mirrored Zoe’s happiness. “We’ll move your things this very night, if you like.”
As Lio came to stand by his Grace and little sister, Zoe hugged him around his waist. “Thank you.”
He grabbed her and lifted her up. He sensed her surprise, but no fear. He propped her on his hip, so she could see better through her windows.
