“Please.” I kept my voice light. This was not a command.
“Alright.” She dipped in a curtsy. “My queen.” Joining me, she perched on the edge of the bench, her eyes darting nervously around as if she worried one of the guards would protest. They'd spread out to cover all sides of the garden and appeared more interested in what might try to slip through or over the hedges than in her. Other than Surren, who watched us intently.
She placed the bag between us, and I tugged out a ball, tossing it across the lawn. The nyxin sprinted after it, his lean legs moving swiftly as he chased it down. He snatched it up in his jaws and trotted back, dropping the ball at my feet.
“Aren't you a good boy,” I crooned, rubbing his ears. “Did you see that, Faelith? He brought it back for me to throw again.”
She preened. “I've been working with him, my queen. Our fine fellow is very clever. It's almost as if someone else has trained him in the past.”
“Someone could have.” I explained where I found him.
“No,” she cried, appalled. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she stared down at Farris. “How could anyone eat such an amazing creature?”
“My thought exactly.”
“You were very brave to challenge them, my queen.”
“It was a tight situation for a moment. Lord Lorant helped.”
“I'm not surprised. He's also a fine fellow.”
That, he was.
I picked up the ball and tossed it again, and Farris repeated the game, his tongue flopping around and his tail spiking up over his back.
“Have you been with Evergorne Court for long?” I asked as we watched Farris race around the perimeter of the garden with the ball in his mouth, to the amusement of the guards.
“Since birth, my queen,” she replied. “As all of us have been.”
“Surely not all of you.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “Why not?”
“Because people move. Change jobs. Marry and decide to live in another location.”
“We'd never, my queen.” She sounded scandalized by the very thought. “Evergorne is in our blood and none of us would consider living anywhere else.”
“Why not?”
“Because . . .” She shook her head and smiled as Farris frolicked around us, the ball in his mouth.
“Because . . .” I lifted my eyebrows her way.
“I don’t . . .” She frowned. “I’m not sure what we’re talking about, my queen. I’m sorry, but I’ve forgotten.”
Odd, but alright.
“Do you like it here?” I asked, watching her face more than Farris.
“I adore Evergorne.” Her gaze met mine, and for a moment, her pale eyes appeared milky. Why? I need to find out. “None of us can leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re all bound by the curse.”
45
REYLA
