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Wistfulness stole across the soldier’s features. “They were my brother’s favorite fauna.”
Empathy constricted my ribs. When I first met Aire, he confided to me and Briar about his brother, who had a similar condition as Nicu but died at a young age. What happened to that boy, the knight hadn’t expanded on. But with time, mayhap he would.
Briar’s expression softened. “You must miss him a great deal.”
“I’d have given anything for him to see this day come.” Aire inclined his head, his mouth slanting upward. “I’m heartened to know Nicu has experienced a different fate. Not without its tragedies, but still he lives. And while I breathe, he’ll continue to do so.”
This, I comprehended. The man hadn’t been able to save his brother, so he spent his life as a warrior trying to save everyone else. Yet something told me he overextended himself, guarding his secrets the way he guarded this kingdom. It took a lot for the knight to confide in anyone, because we all wore disguises in some fashion.
I tipped my head to the side. “And what about you?”
Aire lifted his chin. “I have all I need.”
Hardly. As I’d told him before, someday a person might prove him wrong. But that was for Aire to find out and not for me to assume.
Relieved of duty for the morning, Aire joined us for a meal. In this dining room, a maple trunk grew from the floor, cut through a rectangular table, and umbrellaed overhead.
With one hand on my fork and the other beneath the table, I coasted my fingers up Briar’s thigh and rested my palm there. Seconds later, her own fingers threaded with mine, and a little smile graced her profile. Like this, we each ate with one hand. And what a fucking triumph to have a day when this was the only challenge.
Moments later, Eliot and the ladies strolled into the great hall in a flurry of linen, leather, and chiffon. Having been raised in a court of sin, it took the Spring ladies zero seconds to register how we’d spent our waking hours. One perceptive glance at Briar’s face, which suddenly bloomed a calamitous shade of scarlet, then another glance at my depraved smirk, and glee spread across their features.
As the women did a raunchy dance behind the guards, their hips and pelvises thumping to imaginary music, Briar’s expression scrunched into an exasperated and censorious frown. With a humorous grin, Eliot sauntered to his chair. Aire glowered at the exhibition, his capillaries bursting.
The doors opened again. Swiftly, the ladies ceased their dance and pranced to the table whilst concealing their mirth.
In their wake, Avalea stepped into the dining hall. Nicu trotted beside her, his hands laced with the queen’s.
Briar’s reprimanding expression faded, and her mouth broke into a smile. My gaze latched to Nicu, the sight of him moving freely through the castle—thanks to the ribbon installation—swarmed my chest.
My son’s lack of height was uncommon for his age, so his arm extended more than usual to grasp Avalea’s. But when he saw the rest of the company, life altered course. His eyes bloated with elation, and he proceeded to attack everyone with hugs.
The members of our group doted on him, each one beckoning Nicu and indirectly fighting over his attention. I savored the view of my son being welcomed, of everyone’s features alighting on him as though the sun itself had just entered the room. Nicu had a gift for charm. Among this clan, he was an equal participant and a source of delight.
At one point, Cadence balanced her chin in her palm and mused, “So where do we go from here?”
The ladies and minstrel wavered. Basil and Fatima had pardoned their shift in allegiance to Autumn and invited them back to Spring. The Crown wanted its famed minstrel to return, the women had originally been part of Fatima’s retinue, and it would be an insult not to accept. Unless they already had a standing contract in this kingdom.
Briar hesitated, looking to me and her queen for reassurance. When we nodded, the princess aimed a wistful grin at the ladies and her best friend. “It’s your choice, of course. But um…” Timidity crossed her features. “We do have positions open as our Spring ambassadors. And this court could use an official minstrel.”
The ladies had looked crestfallen a second ago. Now their features brimmed with excitement, though they withheld the squeals fighting to smash through.
Ambassadorships would enable them to live here but frequent Spring, allowing them to travel between the Seasons, to come and go as they wished. And if Eliot wanted to join the ladies during their jaunts to Spring, he could travel with them as a famous bard, delivering our message of humanity through his music. Moreover, it offered the group a greater role in this crusade.
“Sounds like we went from having one job to two,” Vale beamed.
“Two?” Briar wondered.
“You don’t think we plan to stop being your ladies, do you?” Posy insisted.
“And leave her to the mercy of an Autumn coterie? Not likely.” Cadence scoffed before giving Briar an earnest smile. “You’re stuck with us, Highness.”
Pleasure kindled across the princess’s face. “I’d love that.”
After a moment, Eliot’s low voice answered, “You know my answer.”
His grin said everything. Thrilled, I watched Briar and her best friend reach across the table and clasp hands.
Eliot mouthed,Monarch.
