“You’ll have to wait while I set these two up,” he said as he situated a saddle on Peaches. Why hadn’t I renamed him yet? Andar tightened a strap around the gelding’s middle. “You could have waited inside, but I thought you’d like to leave as soon as possible, and ifyou didn’t come out here, I expect someone would corner you and try to be sympathetic.”
“You’re right.” And their sympathy was nearly unbearable. My saddle tattoo warmed as Andar finished securing Peaches’s bags and rubbed the horse’s shoulder. I slid up closer to Andar. I wasn’t as comfortable with horses as he was, but I was no stranger to them.
I gripped the saddle, bracing to lift my foot into the stirrup, when Andar cupped his hands and bent down. A sheepish grin crept onto his face. “I know you can jump up, but I’m right here, so I might as well make it easier for you.”
I stared at his hands. This was the sort of thing I used to have soldiers or slaves do. Why would he want to make it easier for me?
“And no,” he added with an eyeroll. “You won’t owe me anything for it. There is no debt for a two-second kindness.”
My indecision was making it take much more than two seconds. With that thought, I stepped onto his hands. Air caught in my throat as he tossed me up faster than I expected. I swung my leg over the saddle and landed neatly—he’d been more effective and more gentle than my memories of soldiers or slaves.
He patted my knee and turned toward Sabir. “This will just take a few minutes, and we’ll be ready to go.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I watched him smooth a blanket, strap down the saddle, and finishgetting his horse ready. The spot on my knee was still warm from his gesture, and the heat was working its way up to my heart.
How did he keep touching the organ that I’d deliberately walled off? There were reasons I’d blocked its emotions, but—in this moment—I couldn’t think of any. My mind was not willing to think of anything besides the fact that I wanted this fae. I wanted his no-debt kindnesses and his fiery eyes and warm touches. And I wanted them to be mine, not a pretend me that kept getting little pieces of him as part of our charade.
What would it take to make him mine?
If you have enough power, you can demand anything you like.My parents’ solution. The most frequent advice they gave me.
Somehow, I did not think any degree of power would convince Andar to stay with me. He finished preparing his horse and hopped into the saddle, leaning forward to whisper something to the animal.
I sighed. The more time we spent in this city, the more relaxed and attractive Andar became.
Attractive? I checked myself. He hadn’t changed his appearance—he was just as tall, muscle-bound, blue-eyed, and black-haired as when we’d first met—but all the unexplainable kindnesses he’d done for me made him terrifyingly attractive.
I was closer to the door, so I nudged my horse toward it. Just as Peaches put his head outside, a loud, irritatingly familiar voice cried out.
“Mallifuff!”
“Oh no,” I moaned under my breath.
Bummel’s voice returned. “But how did you get here, my ferocious equinox?”
“Just equine,” a tired voice corrected him. Aakil. The librarian.
The door swung open to reveal Amador’s curious face. So all three of them were still together… though clearly not performing for the queen of Kerebos.
“How did you come to be riding on this gelding?” Amador peered up at me as he asked. His voice was not so demanding as it was filled with the ragged edge of a fae who was tired and annoyed at the world.
“You are in no place to question me,” I hissed, dropping the glamour around my face and hoping nobody outside of the stable could hear or see me.
Amador’s brows popped up. “Your Majesty!” He bowed his head and elbowed Bummel, who did the same. “We did not expect to see you here.”
I folded my arms. “Nor did I expect to see you. I thought you were performing in Kerebos?”
Each of them let out a different sort of sigh. Aakil rolled his eyes, Bummel shook his head dramatically, and Amador lifted his expression to mine. “Tragically, our journey has been something of a disaster. The queen’s wedding has been cancelled, and we are returning home without pay. After the money we spent traveling and…the money we will spend replacing our horses, it has become a very expensive trip.”
At least his trip wasn’t frequently interrupted with obnoxious musicians.
A hand on my knee distracted me from the annoying fae.
Andar’s hand. He must have climbed down from his horse while I was talking. He leaned close to me with a look that encouraged me to bend down so he could whisper. I bent at the waist, and he shifted to speak in my ear. The heat from his lips close to my skin sent a warm shiver through me… and then his words chilled and froze that heat. “Perhaps it is time to return the geldings.”
My jaw fell. I snapped it shut and straightened up in my saddle. “Why would we do that?” It wasn’t our fault they didn’t have more money.
Andar smiled, and the fiery blue in his eyes burnt with a warm sincerity. It was new, but it was not unpleasant. More endearing. Something I wouldn’t mind seeing more often. “Because,” he said, “it is in our power to make their lives more pleasant. My Gran used to say that when you improve someone else’s life, you also improve yours. And I think both our lives could use some improvement.”
