As tempting as it was to imagine a life where I never had to don such fineries again, where Aderyn and I could find a modest farmhouse out here in the middle of nowhere, I didn’t actually want to leave my life.
I did, however, wish my headache might ease.
If I couldn’t escape my life, I might still return to bed, but as the sun was high in the air, and I didn’t know where Aderyn had gone, that was impossible.
Braced against the wall, I shuffled my way into a sunny kitchen.
“Madam—”
She spun around so fast it made my head swim, blinking at me owlishly.
“I’m sorry, sire. ’Fraid I’m a bit lost in the clouds. I didn’t hear you come in.”
I shook my head. “I was quiet.”
She hummed, her brow puckered. “You’ve been asleep a while.”
I frowned. “How long?”
“Couple of days. We had a hard time rousing you to eat.”
That was all a bit of a blur. I had a sense that I had seldom been alone, but no real conception of what had happened in my absence.
“I’m working on our supper,” she continued.
“Can I help?”
She tutted and shook her head. “No, no. No need for that. You’re barely back on your feet yet. If you fancy a stroll, that lad of yours is out tending the chickens. He’s got a gentle hand.”
I bit my lip against a smile. “He’s fond of birds.”
“Oh, aye, he carries in a dozen feathers every time he goes out to the coop. If you’re up to it, I’m sure he’d love to see you up and about. He’s been mighty worried over you.”
Guilt pricked at me. I loathed the idea of giving Aderyn any reason to worry at all, but perhaps I’d just have to get used to the idea of causing him stress.Maybeour relationship was worth it even when I did.
“Good idea,” I said. “Should I tell him supper’s almost finished?”
“Mm.” Even though she nodded, her brow pinched in the middle. “Don’t wander off too far now. There’s been talk of strange sorts out by the harbor. I don’t know if they’re the ones you mentioned, but no sense looking for trouble.”
“Absolutely.”
If I never saw another Destovian again, it’d be too soon.
Before I went out, I hesitated by the garden door. “I don’t suppose you have any way that I could send word to the Spires?”
I’d gotten far too used to having ravens, or being surrounded by people who could fly.
Even if Aderyn were well enough to manage the trip, I wasn’t sending him anywhere without me. If it meant I spent the rest of my reign touring Llangard on dragon back, so be it.
“My son’s coming by this evening. If you’d like to give him a letter, he can take it to town. The courier comes by every fourth day.”
Moons above, we really were out in the middle of nowhere here.
I hoped things back in Atheldinas weren’t spiraling out of control without me, but I’d have to trust in Bet and Tristram.
Well, in Tristram. Bet was probably plotting to murder the Destovians already.
“Thank you,” I said. “And your son—I’ll thank him too, when he comes.”
