“What’s your name?” I asked, keeping my tone even so I didn’t spook her.
“Missy,” she said, her voice quiet but firm.
“You’ve done a good job here, Missy. Your friends trust you, and it’s clear you’re keeping them safe.” Her posture softened. “I need a person like you to do something important. Do you feel up for a new task?”
Her brow scrunched. “Like what?”
“There are people here who are scared and don’t have a place to stay tonight. Families with little ones, elders who can’t rebuild on their own. Children who've lost their mothers or fathers or both. They need someone strong, smart, and capable to find them and help them get to the market area so we can make sure they have food, clean clothes, and somewhere safe to sleep tonight.”
Missy’s eyes widened, the weight of what I was asking sinking in. For a moment, I thought she might say no, and I worried it was too much to put on someone this young. But she straightened, and determination hardened her features.
“I can do that,” she said. “I'll find them for you and send them here.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
Glancing over her shoulder at those still working on the rubble, she chewed on her lower lip. “What about them?”
“I’ll keep an eye on them while you’re gone. Take someone with you if you want, an older child who can help spread the word faster.”
Missy nodded, stealing a quick look at the boy I’d taken the slab from earlier. “I’ll talk to Nill,” she said more to herself than me.
“Good choice,” I said. “Now listen. Tell them to come back here or send one person from every group or family to the market square so we can get them organized. Make sure they know they’re welcome, no matter what they’ve lost. We’ll take them to the castle and make sure they have a safe place to stay. Food and water. A warm fire to stand by when it gets cold tonight.”
Her chin lifted, and I could see it already. She'd accepted the responsibility, made it her mission. “I’ll find them.” Her gaze shot back to me. “Will there really be enough food forallof them?”
“I'll make sure of it. I promise.” Worry gnawed its way through my chest. Lore would do his best to feed and shelter everyone, but stretching resources over the weeks to come would take no small amount of magic. Or a touch of ingenuity.
Missy studied me for half a breath before turning on her heel and calling to Nill. They strode off together.
“She’ll vanquish an enemy someday.” Lore’s voice came from close behind me.
“Maybe she already has. She survived this.” Would she make it through what I worried might be coming?
“You see yourself in her, don't you?” he asked, and I nodded. He brushed a stray strand of hair back from my face. His touch lingered, his eyes roaming over me in a way that made me acutely aware of how kind, caring, and amazing this man was.
“You're not wearing your tunic,” I said. “If you're not careful, your pretty skin will take a beating.”
“Had to take it off again. Someone else needed it; they had nothing.” He tilted his head, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. “Stillpretty, am I? I thought I was lethal, the kind of man who can ruin anything.”
“Including me.” I pressed a hand to his chest, where warmth simmered under the muscle. “You can be both. It’s unfair, really.”
“How so?” His hand covered mine now resting over his heart.
“You’re too perfect.”
“Never that. Don’t forget that behind my amazing ass, I’m still insufferable, arrogant, and obsessive.”
“How can I?”
“I’d say you’re the one who’s unfair here. You disarm me with a single look. You inspire both devotion and madness within me.”
I shook my head, biting back a grin. “Madness seems about right.”
He leaned closer, his voice dipping to a murmur only I could hear. “I’d tear apart the fates themselves for one kiss, Reyla.” His lips brushed my forehead in a whisper, his breath warming my skin. “But for now, I’ll settle for watching you be a true force that should be reckoned with.”
A flush raced up my neck, but I held his gaze. “Good. Keep watch then. We’ve got mouths to feed and homes to rebuild.” We'd come back tomorrow and the days after that, not stopping until our city had been restored and our people were safe.
His low chuckle rang out as he reached for his tunic. “As you say, my queen.”
