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Ash
The rest of the open court was far less eventful. Folk came with minor problems—petty land disputes, requests to delay their tithe payment this month, questions over crops and sanctioned hunts in the royal forest, which they called the kingswood.
I hadn’t even realised there was a royal forest.
Once the open court was done for the day, Lonan told me he was going to practise with his swords and left after giving me a kiss. I’d had a covered training ring made for him at the back of the palace, getting a wide section of the garden cleared and a wooden roof constructed so he could stay out of the sun.
Because it was only getting hotter on seelie land, and I didn’t think Lonan liked it.
The training ring had been cleared and built amazingly fast once I’d asked for it to happen. The perks of being a king, I guessed.
I caught up with Nua after Lonan strode off, halting him before he left the throne room. “Can I speak to you about something?”
“Of course.” Nua nodded to the door that led to the private part of the palace. “Shall we go to the rose garden?”
Server Folk we passed dipped into bows as we made our way through the palace to the small rose garden tucked at its side. The air was warm and redolent with the scent of the blooms when we stepped outside, the afternoon sun beating down on us.
A gardener was out there pruning the rose bushes, but he straightened and dipped into a bow after seeing us, hurrying away and leaving us alone. I smiled at him as he passed, lazily waving off a fat bumblebee that hovered next to my ear.
“Are you alright, Ash?” Nua asked as we walked slowly between the tall stone walls. The air was much cooler in the shade of them. I wondered if Lonan would like it here.
He’d been here once before, when the Brid invited the Carlin and her sons for dinner to gloat. I’d kissed him then, trying to block out the hideous thoughts of what I’d just done—when I’d killed that innocent broon.
I’d pressed him up against the wall, desperate for him even though I hadn’t remembered him, and he’d stopped us for that very reason.
I was hit with an overwhelming urge to go and find him. To convince myself that he was really here with me. That everything was okay.
“Ash?” Nua’s brows twitched over his big green eyes as he looked at me. “Is everything alright? Is Lonan alright?”
I didn’t like the way his voice sharpened. My gaze shot over to him.
“Why wouldn’t he be?” My tone was just on the wrong side of defensive.
“No, no,” Nua said quickly. “I’m sure he’s… What did you want to talk about?”
I stopped, taking a deep breath as I turned to face Nua. “I think… I think I want to go back. To see my old home.”
His head cocked, long green hair shifting in a wave. “Do you mean the cottage?”
“Not the one on unseelie. My parents’ house. That cottage.” I paused, then added, “My house.”
Even though it didn’t feel like mine anymore. That world didn’t feel like mine anymore. I wasn’t mortal.
The thought of going back to a world filled with modern technology and cars and so many people seemed almost surreal. But there were some things I still missed. The internet. Modern appliances. Junk food and soda. Porn.
Not having to worry about the well-being of an entire kingdom of fae.
But the idea of going back, of just seeing my old house, had been on my mind constantly since the anniversary of my parents’ death. I wanted to feel close to them one last time, before my life changed even more than it already had.
Before I forgot them.
Nua was watching me carefully. He gave me a hesitant smile. “You seemed to have a lovely childhood there.”
“I did.” I started walking again. “I think I just want to… say goodbye to that life on my own terms. I never got to. The unseelie took me before I even…”
Nua’s long black claw-tipped fingers rested on my arm. “We’ll go. Will Lonan come with us?”
I balked. “No. Definitely not. It’s not safe. He can’t leave seelie.”
