The guards waited for us with a chair for Timur. It was a regular chair, void of magic, and instead of wheels, it had bars for the guards to carry it.
He paused momentarily, staring at the chair. He could fly to the palace in a fraction of the time it would take the guards to carry him across the city’s busy streets.
“It’d be convenient to have a place to sit down when you’re there,” I pointed out.
He nodded and took his seat in the chair. The guards waited for me to climb in as well. I sat on Timur’s lap, and for a moment or two, it felt like we were back in Ashgate, going to see another client of ours. Even the busy streets and the thick crowds that had already gathered in the plaza by the palace gates couldn’t completely shake that illusion.
The reality of being back in Teneris fully settled only when we entered through the palace gates. The guards who delivered us here set the chair down, and I climbed out, stretching my legs.
“Joy Vessel Elaine?” A man got off a bench in the inner garden and swiftly headed toward me. “It’s an honor to see you again.”
“Sigid?” I exclaimed, genuinely happy to see the Joy Vessel Keeper who had always been kind to all of us. “Oh my goodness, I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“It’s the tendrils, isn’t it?” He grinned, pointing at his arms.
Only now I noticed that his tendrils were hidden, no longer clipped like Joy Vessel Keepers were required to do.
“Are you not a Keeper anymore?” I asked.
“Oh, I am. I’mLadyDawn’s personal Keeper now,” he said proudly, and I noted the special emphasis he had put on Dawn’s new honorifics. “But His Highness decreed it’s no longer necessary for us to wear the clips.”
“That’s kind of him,” I said.
“It really proved unnecessary since our humans now decide for themselves whom they wish to share their joy with. And if anyone in the palace disrespects their wishes and tries to assault them, Prince Rha can just order that fae beheaded,”Sigid explained casually, then turned his attention to the cloaked Timur who remained seated in his chair. “And this must be General Timur?”
“Greetings.” Timur was brief.
Sigid bowed. “Welcome to the royal palace of Teneris. Lady Dawn is busy with the final preparations to receive the queen, but she ordered to let her know the moment you arrive. Would you like to wait in the lady’s drawing room while I go look for her?”
Among the courtiers taking a stroll through the gardens and the servants rushing with errands in preparations for the welcoming ceremony of the queen, I spotted a small group of human men by one of the fountains.
“Can we wait here instead?” I asked Sigid, recognizing Erik as one of the men by the fountain.
“Absolutely.” Sigid gave us both a bow again. “If you need anything at all, please let a servant know.”
When he departed in search of Dawn, I touched Timur’s shoulder.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said, taking a step in Erik’s direction.
A part of me feared to learn of all the atrocities Erik might’ve gone through in Ashgate. But I had to make sure he was okay now and to find out if I could help him in any way.
I only managed to take a step or two away from Timur before Erik noticed me too.
“Elaine!” He jogged to me with a wide smile. “It’s so good to see you, cage mate.”
“Cage mate?” I snorted a laugh as he grabbed me into a quick, firm hug.
“It’s closer than a roommate, isn’t it?” He stretched his shoulders, clearly relishing the freedom after the confines of thecage. Tilting his head aside, he spotted Timur behind me and gave him a two-fingered solute. “Greetings, General!”
Timur nodded silently.
“You’ve met?” I asked Erik, bewildered by his smile and his easy tone.
Where was Erik’s usual apathy? Or maybe this was the real Erik, and I’d only ever seen the numb, sad side of him before.
“We met. Briefly,” he replied. “On the night when the general descended on Mazra’s little brothel like a fiery fury of vengeance to retrieve you.”
“Listen…um, about that,” I hesitated, afraid to spook his happy smile by mentioning the recent past. “Is everything okay? With you?”
