“Nuts and seeds!” Rat repeated.
Bylur stopped walking. “I do not know what you mean by ‘nuts and seeds.’”
I rolled my eyes at Rat. “Sorry. They’re Rat’s favorite things. Nuts and seeds. Basically, everything is great.”
“You call the bird ‘Rat?’” Bylur always sounded upset, but I imagined a bit of humor in that question.A bear’s voice couldn’t sound very entertained, after all.
Rat took that moment to let out a loud squawk. “Raaaaaaak.”
I shoved a sunflower seed in his mouth. “Yes. Because he does that.”
The bear huffed a cloud of warm air, and I realized how very much colder this forest was than the park with the humans. The cliff must have distracted me from it when we first arrived.
Bylur walked around another pile of boulders. “Your summary was mostly correct. However,Ican look at your face. Ifyousee my face, as a fae, then I will belong to the queen. Also, the curse did not require me to marry. That was a complication I had to add because I will not invite a woman into my bed without marrying her. It is another reason why the queen was sure I would fail.”
“Oh.” I rubbed my cooling arms. “I don’t like her.”
The bear’s shoulders vibrated. “Nobody does. She is cruel and unpleasant.” He finished rounding the boulders and stopped again, facing a massive castle. The setting sun outlined it, so it stood out like a silhouette against a blend of dark blues and purples behind the ominous building. Enough light remained that I could make out several towers, a wall, and a huge gate in front of us.
Bylur’s bear voice cut through the evening. “Welcome to the Winter Palace of Kalshana.”
Chapter 7: Auria
It did not feel welcoming, no matter what Bylur said. But I didn’t say that out loud. It didn’t seem very polite.
“You will need to go in by yourself,” Bylur rumbled. “I am trying to organize a ruling body for our kingdom with the noble families. There are many fae lords and ladies in the palace who do not know about my condition. Most of my own people do not know either.”
I slid off his back. “So you’ve been hiding during the day for a month? And then coming out at night and meeting with nobles?”
He sighed, and the unconquerable bear actually looked tired for a moment. “Yes. But my steward, Parcival, does know. He will meet you at the door. He meets everyone. You can tell him we are married, and he is to take you to my rooms. Nobody should bother you there. I will shift out here, confirm what you told Parcival, deal with the fae nobles, and then join you. You… do not need to wait up for me. I won’t touch you when I lay down.”
I shook my head. I was married to a husband I couldn’t look at for a year. How was this my life?
But I’d promised him I’d break his curse. And I would do that. And in the meantime, I had a whole palace to live in.
“So,” I summarized, “go in. Meet Parcival. Go to bed.”
He rumbled a low growl that I recognized as a sign of displeasure more than an angry growl.
“What?” I asked.
“I do not want you to feel confined to the bedroom,” he rumbled, “but I think at night it would be best so you do not accidentally see me.”
I patted his leg. “Don’t worry. We can sort out more details tomorrow. I’m pretty tired tonight anyway.”
“Go then,” he said, “before I shift.”
Right.
I marched toward the gate, but then paused. I should have asked him how fae felt about humans. Were they biased like elves? Or birds! Was his temptation to smash Rat typical or was he just annoyed earlier? I clenched my skirts and tipped my head up to the sky. Stars had appeared in the darkest parts of the night. Stars! I didn’t dare turn around now.
I gripped my skirts tighter. “No fear, Rat.”
“No fear,” he repeated back. I reached in a pocket, gave him a sunflower seed, and marched toward the gate.
No fear. This was Bylur’s home, and I was married to him. Married! If he was the lord of this castle, what did that make me? Something fancier than “thief” and “scurrymaid.” I slowed my march but didn’t stop until I was close enough to touch the soldier blocking the gate.
He was huge. More than a head taller than me and full of muscles that could toss me over the gate as easily as a bag of sugar. But if he was Bylur’s guard, that meant that he was my guard now. He just didn’t know it.
