“I went because I thought I missed her,” she says in a hushed voice. “I missed having a mom, someone who’d share in my happiness when I told them about you. Someone who’d remember to get Lysander a fresh deer carcass for his birthday and that sort of thing. But when I got there, I realized she’s never been that person, and she’s not about to start now. It just made me so sad, but I’m going to speak to her again. I need to keep trying. I have to have...”
As her voice fades, I search for the right word for her. “Hope. You have to hope. I understand.” I press my cheek to hers, wishing I knew some better way to comfort her. But never having had a mothermyself, I’m at a loss. Absently, I begin to hum the song that’s stuck in my head to fill the silence.
“What’s that?” Meredy asks after listening a while, a smile in her voice. “Something new for us to dance to?”
I blink, surprised at myself. Simeon’s song has been drifting through my mind all day, but with so much else to occupy me, I hadn’t really noticed.
“Should’ve stuck to dancing, and combing his hair,” I sing for her.
I don’t remember all the words, but the few that I do, combined with the catchy melody, earn a peal of laughter from Meredy. The sound warms me all over.
“I’ve always thought Simeon would be an excellent musician,” Meredy says, shaking her head and smiling. “He should try his hand as a playwright, while he’s—”
“Do you want to stay here with me?” I blurt, unable to hold the words in any longer. “I mean, live here, and share this space every day? Maybe it’s too soon for me to be asking. It’s not like we’ve been dating that long. You can say no,” I add quickly, over the sound of my heart clamoring in my ears. “It won’t change how I feel about you. I promise.”
She answers me with a kiss. And that’s enough.
***
A sharp knock wakes us just before sunup, after only a few hours’ sleep.
At first, I assume I’ve somehow overslept and missed a patrol shift and that Jax has come to find me, but I quickly realize the knocker isn’t nearly as heavy-handed as him.
Blinking grit from my eyes, I hurry to the door before Lysander’s growling chases the poor visitor away. I only open it a crack, but I stillhave to push Nipper back as she tries to shove her scaly head through my legs to lick the guard waiting outside.
“Her Majesty requests your presence on the training grounds in an hour,” the guard says, her green eyes widening as she gazes down at the dragon struggling to get past me. “The first volunteers for our new army have arrived.”
Yawning, I nod. As soon as the guard is out of sight though, I grumble, “Someone should really tell Valoria that even an army needs time to do ordinary things likesleep.”
Still, knowing the Ezorans are out there, and who knows how many other armies like theirs, starting to train our own forces now could be the difference between life and death.
After a hasty breakfast, Meredy and I make our way to the expansive grounds behind the palace, where archery targets, straw dummies, and weapons sheds loom like menacing shadows in the morning mist.
“I’m going to take it as a bad sign that we’re the first ones here.”
I’ve barely finished speaking when Valoria appears, mist swirling around her ankles like a devoted pet. She’s followed by Danial, her two ladies-in-waiting, and about forty people. They range from one who’s still losing her baby teeth to a gray-haired man with a ruddy, almost purplish complexion warning of imminent sickness.
I vow to avoid him on the very slim chance he’s carrying the black fever. It’s nearly outbreak season for the one illness healers can’t cure.
“These are the first volunteers, all from Grenwyr,” Valoria says cheerfully, like she’s been awake for hours already. “Of course, many more will be joining them soon, both from our province and others.”
“Seems we’ve got our work cut out for us this morning,” Danial whispers to me. “Valoria especially—she won’t admit it, but she’s in constant pain.”
“The Shade that attacked her—?” I ask.
“Tore her leg off just below the knee when she tried to escape,” he says grimly. Softer, he adds, “Even though I was able to reattach it and heal her, the scar seems to go much deeper than her skin—for one, there’s the pain. The limping. And something more, too.”
I know what that’s like. Danial must be thinking along the same lines, as he reaches over and squeezes my hand.
Not wanting to slip into my darkest memories, I take a moment to look over each volunteer in turn. With the exception of a couple farmers who bear the marks of years of hard labor, none of them strike me as naturally inclined fighters, especially compared to the strength and skill of the Ezorans.
I really hope Valoria wasn’t just wishing aloud when she said more volunteers are coming soon.
Meredy and I exchange a glance, and it’s clear from the crease between her brows that she doesn’t want to hand any of these hesitant-looking people a weapon, even a wooden one designed for practice.
“Well, no point standing around all morning,” Danial whispers to Meredy and me. “If I can learn to wield a blade while scared for my life, these fine citizens can learn in a safe, controlled situation.” Taking a deep breath, he claps his hands together, and everyone else’s chatter ceases.
After making introductions, Danial calls them forward to assess them one by one, deciding who he thinks can handle close combat. Meredy moves alongside him, confident and focused as she chooses people to train with a bow and arrow. I could watch her work all day, if there wasn’t someone nearby who I’ve really missed talking to: Valoria.
