My lips curved into a proud smile. “It means unity.”
The elves were still superior.
“Correctly so.” My king turned his head back around. “Blue means unity, King Athon.”
I adored how the shifter king’s eyes pinched at the corners.
King Elon’s nose scrunched, grumbling, “That means we must continue to stay united during our quests.”
King Traevon hummed deep in his throat, peeking from the corner of his eyes to the gorgon king, his tone droll. “That is a splendid notion. No one should try to kill a royal off right now.”
I snorted softly.
King Elonreallywanted Father dead.
King Athon rubbed his hands over his face hard, chafing his skin to wake himself up. “That is all I have to say. We’re done here for now.”
I tilted my head back and stared at the colorful glass.
Natural sunshine was starting to shine through the ceiling; the Fae night lighting gradually waned.
I asked bluntly, “Do you think our Fae-gifts are here yet?”
“I hope to Fairy they are,” Queen Alora grouched. “I am ready to sleep without my door being broken down.”
* * *
“Father!” I shouted over the rushing wind blowing my hair all over my face—the dips and rises on a pegasus’s back were Fae awful for your hair. The rolling hills of the Elf Kingdom passed by far below us while we flew from High Pointe. “I am going to see Caspian. I’m fairly positive that I owe him an apology.”
My king would not have gone easy on my cousin when I hadn’t returned home as I should have—interrogations regarding my whereabouts were sure to have transpired. In my defense, a dragon had captured me. There was no arriving home on time when a dragon’s talons swoop you out of the sky.
King Traevon glared from his flying saddle, bellowing, “Are you really going to see him? Or are you running off with a lover again?”
Red Louie was a dick. A green,winkingdick.
Huh…
Gross. That was not a visual I wanted.
I huffed. “I swear to you that I am going straight to Caspian’s. Iwillprobably sleep there today.” The last decent sleep I had was when he was lying next to me. It was harder than expected to be away from him for too long—that, and dangerous quests bashed any uninterrupted slumber from my schedule. “In fact, I’ll most likely be sleeping into tomorrow.”
King Traevon’s scowl stayed in full force, yelling, “If I find out you went anywhere else, you won’t be allowed to leave your castlefor years.”
I ground my teeth together and squinted in irritation. “You are being bloody ridiculous! I’m not going anywhere else.” I didn’t wait for his approval, instantly steering my Fae-gift away from him in a sharp left—Penelope obeying my prodding without rebuke after what happened the last time she didn’t do as ordered.
My king did not appreciate my antics.
The entire flight to Caspian’s I had a stalking king following in the distance, watching my every deviated path I veered on—I did it to irk him—until I landed safely in front of my cousin’s extremely private mansion, his dwelling set inside the side of a knoll.
I patted Penelope’s flank when I jumped down and gifted my king a curt wave in the air where he hovered on Javon’s back. To the stable hand, who raced in my direction, I rumbled, “She needs to be groomed.” I kissed my Fae-gift’s nose and stalked in the direction of the back entrance, ignoring the servant as he bowed so low his hideously sharp nose touched the prickly grass.
Behind me, he breathed in reverence, “Yes, Your Highness.”
I jimmied the back door until it unlocked, hidden in the base of the lush, green hillock. I yawned and stumbled inside, trudging up each step of the small, spiral staircase, up to the top floor. I nodded to a house servant who literally fell to her knees at my appearance in the back hallway, apparently remembering me from when I was younger. I hadn’t the vaguest idea who she was.
I strolled right into Caspian’s bedchamber.
I halted in place at the view, and I grumbled, “Pleasetell me this is not an urge.”
