“So not only you, but many of your servants have the same magic that you have?”
“No, only one other. Our gardener is a very sweet man named Oak. He’s descended from an Earth Fae who was exiled from his kingdom after marrying a mortal from the newly crashed ship.”
I smiled fondly against the Stone Fae King’s shoulder, thinking of my father’s unusual backstory. “Anyway, Oak was very eager to pass on his magic, so that it wouldn’t end with him.”
The water swishes, and then there’s a round bar of soap on my back, rubbing with just enough pressure to feel like a massage. “So this Oak was childless, and thus he taught you how to work this magic.”
“Yes. I suppose you could say he’s childless now.” The not-quite-a-lie fills my chest with sadness. “He had a daughter once, but not anymore. He taught me the same as he would have taught her.”
I feel a slight pause in the rhythm of his soaping my back.
“And you welcomed these lessons? I have never heard of a royal accepting such teachings from a commoner.”
“Well, princesses are different. Commoners taught me to read and write. They cook my meals and grow the food that makes them. They mend my clothes and render the fabric to construct them. Everything I have I owe to commoners.”
“Also, my Stone Fae Kingdom. We allow you to thrive on our lands.”
“Well, that’s more of a racket than anything,” I point out with a shrug, not caring an iota about how he feels about my disdain for his people. “The commoners do all the work, while the Fae use their superior strength to take most of what we produce. None of it is very fair.”
The water swishes again, and a cloth replaces the soap on my back. “For someone who has grown up knowing you wouldbe sacrificed to my kingdom, you seem very concerned with fairness.”
I twist slightly, angling my face toward his voice. “The only people who aren’t concerned with fairness are those with the superior advantage.”
A beat of silence. “So, you do not believe in our right of rule?”
“No. This whole system is a load of toilet fertilizer, if you ask me.”
That lands hard. His body stiffens, and the towel massage stops. “I have never been spoken to so frankly. I am not sure how to respond.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never spoken so frankly, either,” I admit. “Knowing exactly how I want to respond and saying what’s on my mind? That’s new to me. Usually, I keep my thoughts to myself.”
Another quiet moment. Steam curls off the water between us.
Then he murmurs, “I should turn you around. Your back has been thoroughly cleaned.”
I hum noncommittally but stay where I am, our strange hug stretching into long silence. I’m no longer even a little bit cold.
“Why did my commander call youSallie Rose?”
I go still.
“Sallie Rose is a nickname that Oak gave me,” I answer after a beat. “If anyone calls me anything, I would prefer it be that.”
“Fine. I will call you that. And if you wish, you may call me Veyrion—in private, exclusively. When others are about, you must call me Sovereign or King.”
“Of course,” I say. Though I have zero intention of calling my future murderer by any of his stupid titles. C’mon.
Still, I add, “Veyrion. That’s a strong name. It suits you. Does it have a special meaning?”
“It simply meansFourthin our Fae language, and that I am male. I was fourth born. My first-born sisters are called Erie and Twerie. My third-born brother was Therion.”
“Oh, wow, you have siblings. How lucky. I’m an only child.”
He stiffens behind me, more sharply this time.
“Did I not receive an announcement about your sister marrying the Elephim prince? And, of course, your elder brother will one day inherit the Aralyssean throne.”
I wince and course-correct. “Yes, of course I have siblings. I only meant that I’vealways feltlike an only child.”
