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Just as the room began to disappear, I heard Ryker mutter under her breath. “Oh, no.”
The fraying world respun itself. Large gates and the walls around the Acture Court castle appeared. The babble of the river behind us was loud, but it didn’t cover the small holler that both guards emitted when we appeared before them. Their swords were drawn quickly, but they didn’t move any farther from where they stood.
I waved my hand, dismissing their reactions. “We are here by invitation of King Windre.”
“Yes, of course, Prince Dace.” One bowed.
“King.” I kept my tone bored, even if it felt like an offense.
“I’m so sorry, your majesty. King. King Dace. Please, I send my blessings to your court.”
“Your blessings are received,” Ryker said with me. I glanced at her as we finished and she beamed. How many other bothersome royal mannerisms had she already picked up?
The gates swung open and a Fae walking, or rather I should say jogging, came to meet us. “King Dace, it’s an honor. I’ll show you to a private space and send word of your arrival.” Then the short man practically sprinted away.
“Are we supposed to follow him?” I gaped.
“Obviously, quickly.” Ryker laughed, tugging me forward. She gripped her dress and lifted up from her feet.
A new freeing sensation began to overwhelm me as I held my crown to my head, thinking it may slip off at this speed. Together we rushed after him. My soul, the entirety of my spirit, was lighter. I wasjoyfuleven…
“Hurry or we will lose him,” Ryker said under her breath.
“He is a fast bastard, I’ll give him that.”
What fools we must have looked, sprinting into the castle like that, howling in amusement, like wolves to the moon. Somehow, in this moment, I knew this was the happiest I’d ever been. I’d take looking like an idiot with Ryker over pining over her when she was a million miles away any day.
The Fae abruptly stopped, pushing open a door and waving us in. We entered shortly after him, both out of breath, while he seemed unbothered by our small run through the Acture Court. He could've at least given us a more scenic route.
The room he offered us was a plain meeting room. A rather small one, with only a little round table with chairs in the middle. The chair at the farthest end moved smoothly over the tile as I pulled it out and offered it to Ryker. I perched myself on the table, facing her.
“That was thrilling.”
“Yes, well, could you imagine having someone with that sort of speed living in your castle at all times. You couldn't give him commands on the go because he would already be gone.” She smoothed her dress.
“Sounds exhausting.” And I meant it. He must offer some sort of special skill for King Windre to keep him on staff.
“You’ve arrived!” a cheery voice called as he entered. “And you’ve arrived a king, no less.” He held his arms out at his side, the crimson robe he wore today hanging at his sides.
“We received your letter. We came as soon as we could given the pressing matters in my own court,” I responded. King Windre was a good man, but if he wasn’t the weirdest king I’d ever met.
“Would you like a lemon drop while we wait for the others to join us?” he offered, pulling warm candy from his pocket and offering it from his palm.
My case in point.
“No thank you.” Ryker pointed her eyes down. I imagined it was an attempt to hide the small giggles that she produced. It was pleasant to my ears. King Windre didn’t seem to mind though as he popped a candy in his mouth then stuffed the rest in his pockets.
“You have an interesting, um, greeter,” I started, trying to fill the quiet of the room with talk. Typically, I’d happily sit in silence, but today I was feeling some pressure. Whether it was from my new title or the fact that this meeting had to be called at all was beyond me.
“Ah, Fredthorn. You must make him nervous. He does tend to speed up his tasks when he is worried or fretting about something.” King Windre sucked on his candy loudly. “Do you think you’re an intimidating person, King Dace?”
“Not particularly.” I shrugged, watching the grown man play with the end of his braid like a cat.
We all stopped talking to listen as heavy footsteps sounded down the hall. They hurried this way so quickly that I wondered if it was Fredthorn again. If I’d scared him in some way, I supposed I could issue him a brief apology to help slow the man down.
“You’re here!” Ryker’s sister, Hattie, squealed. She brushed past King Windre, followed closely by a frowning Nymph I didn’t recognize with pin-straight black hair.
Ryker jumped out of her seat, nearly toppling the chair, but I reached back from my position on the table and caught it before it could make a noise. Ryker’s gown glittered and sent streaks of light moving around the room as she did. Hattie pressed into her and inhaled deeply before pulling her sister back to examine her.
