“I used to be scared of the dark too,” I said. “But we’ll all be down there with you. Me, your daddy, your grandmother, Uncle Galen. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“It’s notme. What if something happens toyou? All of you?” she said, her bottom lip trembling.
I remembered Thorne had mentioned his daughter suffered from anxiety too. I wondered if this had anything to do with it. Some deeply rooted fear she couldn’t shake—not necessarily for herself, but for those around her.
“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked, and she nodded. “Did you know that where I come from, we havemagic? And that some of us, like me, can even turn into otheranimals?”
Her brown eyes widened in shock. “Youcan?”
I smiled. “When I’m back home in my empire, I can become a fox.” Her mouth fell open. “Do you know anything about foxes?”
“They’re soft. And…they have sharp teeth.”
“Yes, that’s true,” I said with a chuckle. “But they can also see in the dark. Everything looks bright, even when all the lights are off. What if we both pretend to be foxes? They aren’t afraid of the dark because they can still see.”
She looked at me for a second, then propped her hand on her hip. “You knowI’mnot a fox, right?”
A snort escaped me. “It’s calledpretending, little girl,” I said as I tickled her sides and underneath her arms. That earned me a giggle.
“Okay, I’ll pretend. And if anything tries to hurt me, I can bite them.” She mimicked biting the air.
I ruffled the top of her head and stood. “I feel safer already. Do you want to go now?” She nodded and tucked her hand back in mine, and we followed the path the others took deeper into the new cave.
Thorne emerged from the shadows a short distance from us. “Thank you,” he said under his breath, holding his hand out to touch mine.
I pulled away and stepped ahead of him. “Of course,” I said, more briskly than I meant to. That look in his eyes was already threatening to draw me in, and I had to put distance between us.
“These caverns are a bit smaller than the ones out front, sowe’ll split you into two groups to explore these areas,” Kol was saying when we reached the rest of them. Azura saw Marigold’s hand in mine, and her sharp eyes narrowed before turning back to Kol. “You four can come with me”—he pointed to my mother, Leo, Rose, and Taryn—“and the rest of you will go with Amalia.”
A young woman who had been on her knees inspecting part of the wall stood up, brushing dirt off her hands and smiling at us. Her eyes caught on Thorne, and they slowly scanned down his body.
Something coiled in my stomach.
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty,” she said to Galen, giving a quick bow. “And who else do we have joining us?”
“Empress Clarissa Aris of the Veridian Empire,” he started, gesturing to each of us in turn. “My close advisor and Regent Lord of the North Territory, Thorne Reaux, his daughter Marigold, and his mother, Lady Azura Reaux.”
Amalia shook each of their hands, ending with Thorne. I didn’t miss the way she glanced at his left hand.
She flashed him a coy smile. “So nice to meet you, Lord Reaux,” she purred.
I turned my head and rolled my eyes.
“Right this way.” She placed a hand on his upper arm as she guided us down the opposite tunnel from Kol’s group. She spoke of the mines and what a day in the life for the workers looked like, but I wasn’t listening. My gaze was homed in on her fingers as they brushed down his arm, the way she threw her head back in laughter at everything he said, how she flicked her golden braid over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes like some lovesick teenager.
“It seems my granddaughter has taken a liking to you,” a voice said behind me as we walked, and I twisted my neck to find Azura smiling down at Marigold. “As has my son, although he’s always had a fondness for pretty things. Until the next one comes along.” Her blue eyes glanced at him and Amalia ahead of us.
I clenched my teeth but said nothing, simply nodding and returning her smile.
A moment later, she let out a sigh. “I believe we started off on the wrong foot, Your Majesty. I would like to apologize.”
“Oh?”
We both stopped walking, and she slowly bent down to rub Marigold’s back. “Why don’t you run along and catch up to your father, dear,” she said, then straightened as we watched her trail after Thorne and Amalia.
“You have to understand that Galen is like a second son to me,” Azura went on. “You must see how difficult it is to trust others who walk into his life when we can only guess where their interest lies.”
“I have nointerestbeyond securing an alliance with your kingdom, Lady Reaux. One that would strengthen both Mysthelm and my empire.”
