“Nah. I think it’s come in quite handy. Humans now believe they can have magic. Since you’re the Lucin Queen’s mother, they’ve been on their best behavior. As for the Faeries, they, too, have been behaving but that has more to do with fear than eagerness. They’re a little worried you’ll come and lick them next.”
I snort. “What about Taytah? Is she angry?”
“Just remember that all she feels and shouts stems from love.”
“That doesn’t sound ominous,” I mumble, suddenly unsure whether I should leave the comfort of my palace wing. I rub my arms, then frown when I notice the golden glint of a bargain. Didn’t I already collect Erwin’s?
Asha rolls up and off the bed, then stretches her arms over her head once more as though she, too, has been slumbering for days. “A present from the Lucin general.”
Right away, my mind goes to Cathal.
“A thank you for having saved his daughter.”
Of course. Whyever did I imagine Cathal would’ve given me a favor? After all, there’s nothing I’ve done for the man that would warrant his gratitude. I’m tempted to ask Asha if he went home. He must’ve. Perhaps he visited, though?
“I’ve yet to hear you apologize,” she says.
“For?”
“For leaving me withoutanywarning.” She dips her head and gives me a stern look that makes me want to grin more than apologize. “I’ve gone upanotherdress size.”
Where Taytah can be downright frightening when she’s angry, my guard cannot. “I’m sorry, Asha.”
“You swear to never leave Shabbe without me again?”
“Yes.”
“Say it.”
I sigh and roll up. I must move too fast because my vision spins. I knead my temples.
“Drink this”—she shoves a glass full of bright green juice into my hands—“and then say, I swear, Asha amNeema, that I, Zendaya amMeriam, will never leave the queendom without you.”
I take a few sips, then lower the glass and lick the sweet nectar off my lips. “How come I never knew that your mother’s name was Neema?”
“Daya…”
“I’m not going to speak any more vows out loud, but I am sorry to have distressed you.”
She huffs.
I take another sip as I get to my feet. “Now that we’re three, should I launch my own facial tattoo? A little serpent around one eyebrow?”
“I think that thing in the middle of your forehead is branding enough.”
“Fair point.”
She trails me to my bathing chamber and leans against the wall as I go about my business. While I wash my hands, I twist my face this way and that. My hair has acquired a lot of volume while I slept but is surprisingly not salt-hardened.
“I washed it so your sheets wouldn’t smell like the inside of a conch shell.” Asha nods to my outfit. “I also changed you, even though your favorite Crow desperately offered to assist me.”
“Why wouldn’t you let Fallon help?”
“That’s not the Crow I was referring to,” she singsongs.
My blood warms. “He’s not my favorite.” I splash my face, then pat it dry and rub coconut-honeysuckle oil onto my pulse points.
She sidles back against the door as I traipse into my closet. “Well, just in case you were wondering, he’s been flying over on the regular to check if you’d roused.”
