“I don’t know his name!” he screamed. But then hecrumbled and hugged himself. “He died for me,” he whispered, “and I don’t know hisname.”
I wanted him to get it all out, so I didn’t approach him or say anything now because he was shaking his head and starting to pace.
“I’ve seen hundreds of them die,” he said with agony in his voice, “and I just made more of them. I refilled their ranks like they were nothing but weapons for me to wield. One broke, and I made a new one. And I never knew any of their names!”
He screamed that again and then it was like his knees buckled because he hit the floor. Hunched over and overcome, he sobbed, the sound heartbreaking.
I ran to him and pulled him into my arms. “So change,” I said. “Change how you treat them, learn their names, talk to them, stop making more… Do whatever is necessary for you to see them as important as they see you.”
“They’re more important,” he mumbled into my shoulder. “More.”
“No, now, come on.” I made him look at me, snowflakes tumbling down his face. “Everyone here can be equally important. You’re all fae. They just need someone in charge of this crazy place, right? And you’ve got the skills, so it’s you.”
I swiped his snowflake tears away and then hugged him close as I stood up and took him with me. There was a big wingback chair by the fire, so I took us over there and sat down with him facing me on my lap. I tucked his face under my chin and hoped I could get him to understand.
“I saw today that your people trust you. They came to you for help because they knew you’d help them. All of them left with the solutions they needed, even if it wasn’t the exact thing they came in wanting. And they were satisfied.”
“Not him,” Flurry whispered.
“I’m pretty sure all that guy wanted was a fight, so yeah, he got what he wanted from you, too. He just wasn’t thinking there’d be any consequences to his actions. And right now other guards are investigating what happened, building a case, or doing whatever they’re supposed to do when one of their own is murdered.”
“They are?”
“They are. I gave your gown to a guard who said there was a team working on things. Your gown might be evidence, so they have it now.” I caressed up and down his back from wings to waistband. “If you want to know his name, we can find out what it was. We can find out what all their names were. Make a memorial and carve their names on it. We can make sure none of them are ever forgotten.”
Flurry sat up a bit to look at me. “I want to, but we’ve never done anything like that.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re changing for the better. Seeing the error of you ways, right?”
He flopped back against my chest with a groan.
“Oh, stop. That’s a good thing.”
And it might just help break the curse. That was right there in my mind, but I did not want to say it out loud.
“Listen,” I said and jostled him to get his eyes on meagain. “Are the guards or soldiers or whatever compelled to protect you, fight for you, or die for you? Like they can’t refuse even if they wanted to? It’s built into their bones to do that?”
“No,” he said, horrified. But then his face smoothed out and it looked like something had dawned on him. “Oh.”
“Has anyone said no? They won’t serve or fight or whatever?”
“Yes, some.”
“And what happened to them? Did you have them killed?”
He looked affronted. “Absolutely not. They were relieved of duty and sent home.”
“They made their choices. All of them.”
Flurry sighed. “Even this one.”
“Even this one.”
Relief washed through me because I knew he understood now. Maybe he’d been a heartless tyrant before, someone who didn’t see the worth in the lives around him. But he wasn’t anymore. He’d grown and changed.
Even if folks like Lorne were out there calling for Flurry’s head, I couldn’t believe they were in the majority. Flurry and all his lordly advisors were worried about their people and doing what they could to make life better. Did the general public throughout the land know? Maybe they needed some kind of outreach program. I could help with that.
For now, I wrapped my arms around my prince above and below his wings and just held him.
