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“So you really think I’m going to be queen?” I asked.
Charon stared at me as if I were an idiot.
“I mean, the elves of Calor Villa willwantme to be queen?” I clarified.
“Of course,” Charon said.
“You don’t get just how happy everyone is that there’s someone in this world who can actually tameNoctus,” Aristide said. “We all had written him off as a bachelor forever. I thought his adopting Ama would mark the beginning of his ‘crazy cat guy’ years, eh, Noctus?”
“It only occurred to me to adopt a cat because I was becoming concerned you were in your dotage, and I needed something to cheer me from that depressing thought,” Noctus said.
“Lies,” Aristide declared.
“Oh really?” Noctus said. “Then why did you suddenly start complaining that your blood drinks tasted off and begin acting paranoid?”
“Because the blood drinkswereoff! Ker kept spiking them—she added her own fur once! That’s beyond petty, that’s just mean.”
“You told me my blood tasted furry,” Ker said. “I thought you should taste what real furry blood was like.”
“I had to hack up a hairball after drinking that concoction of yours.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t know your digestive system was so delicate or I wouldn’t have tried it. And I did apologize.”
I watched the chaotic exchange of friendship for a moment longer, then turned back to Charon. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance I could just be a symbolic monarch, and not actually get involved in the political side of things?”
Charon frowned at me. “Do you not care about the elves and our fate?”
“I do, I just don’t know that Ishould be making decisions with Noctus for them,” I said. “It feels…wrong.”
“Don’t worry,” Ker assured me. “The elves will benefit from you as their queen—you’ll do more for PR than Noctus’s pretty face ever could since you’re a shadow living among elves.”
“I object to that,” Aristide said.
“On what basis?” Ker asked.
“That Noctus has a pretty face. My memory tells me he’s striking, perhaps a bit terrifying, but not pretty.”
Ker bowed her head. “You are correct. I will amend my language in the future.”
“Both of you are idiots,” Noctus said.
I smiled at the trio—not because of the content of the stories, but the way they were telling them.
Noctus, Aristide, and Ker were acting extra chaotic, and it was because they were relaxed and happy, and were reveling in teasing each other.
I might not be looking forward to becoming a queen, but it means a lot to know they’re all for it.
Charon led me further down the street. “If you look closely, you’ll notice this section of the town uses different architecture and building materials compared to the rest of Calor Villa. That is because this part of the town was renovated about a hundred years ago after a landslide flattened several buildings.”
Noctus strolled along behind us, Ker and Aristide trailing in his wake.
“Is the reconstruction important?” I asked. “Are other levels jealous?”
“No, rather, it is notable because Maven and Cedaric are paranoid about further rockslides, and request that defensive spells be strengthened by His Majesty on an annual basis,” Charon said.
I nodded at the sound logic. “That makes sense. Do landslides happen a lot?”
“Your Majesty?”
