Page 68 of Made

Only when Vaxingthe’s form began to fade did Evie realize she’d never said thank you. “Wait. I need to…” But she was gone.

Vidar stood in a far corner of the room, his cloaked presence undetected by the queen, the unicorn, or even the distilled essence of a late Cardinal. He was impressed by the queen’s connections. He knew unicorns were a historical fact, not a fantasy, but evenhehad thought them extinct. Perhaps the Cardinals had been hiding this one in their realm, which was one of the places he couldn’t access without invitation.

The little dragon was aware it was receiving instructions. It didn’t resist because it sensed no danger to itself or the princess. That being the case, it simply absorbed compulsions which would be triggered by any one or combination of events related to the impending party.

When Vidar left the room, Thorn felt a shift in energy. He scanned the environment, but finding nothing out of place, went back to gazing adoringly at the infant in the bassinette. Rhiannon opened her eyes, looked him over, and smiled. And just like that, the unicorn was no longer a soldier on a mission. He was a celestial guardian in love with his tiny mistress.

At the last minute before his exit, Vidar remembered to find Niall and wake him up. Forgetting could’ve been an oversight that gave alarm. Niall would’ve eventually been discovered. If no one was able to wake him, they would suspect foul play and would probably contract a top-notch investigator.

“How did I get in here?” Niall asked, looking around with a yawn.

“I don’t know,” Vidar lied. “I looked around, and you were gone. I hunted around and finally found you in here.”

“Oh.” The prince looked confused, but accepted the explanation.

“Thanks for the tour. I’ll see you around.”

Niall didn’t want the association to end so abruptly. After all, he had no friends. But in the span of a brief hesitation, trying to decide what to say, Vidar was gone.

As he emerged from the room where Vidar had supposedly found him, a butler carrying two huge vases of flowers almost ran into him.

“Pardon my clumsiness, Your Highness.”

“Watch yourself,” said Niall, feeling even more surly than usual after the disappearance of his new friend.

CHAPTER FOURTEENMADE

Ilmr was trying to keep from falling asleep during the court session she called the Wednesday Whine, when a slight movement in the back of the throne room caught her eye. And her interest.

Vidar!

The appeal of sleep receded as a smile spread across her face. The current petitioner, seeing that reaction, was confused and stopped speaking.

Her Secretary of the Interior addressed the man without hiding his irritation. “Why’ve you stopped mid-sentence? You have limited time with Her Majesty, you know.”

The petitioner recovered quickly. “Ah, yes. I beg Your Majesty’s pardon. I didn’t, ah, know how to interpret your smile.”

Ilmr rolled her eyes. “The smile wasn’t for you. I suggest you resume with your prepared remarks while you still have time.”

He continued, but unfortunately, his audience allotment ended before he’d fully stated all the details of his grievance.

“Yes. Fine. That will do,” Ilmr said in dismissal. She concluded the hearing with her most often used response. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

The Secretary then said. “If action is to be taken, you’ll be advised. If we need further clarification, you’ll be advised. Next.”

He wiggled two fingers at the next person in line.

“Let’s put a hold on that, shall we?” Ilmr overruled him. “And break for lunch.”

“Lunch?” the Secretary asked since it was barely mid-morning. A glare from the queen had him backpedaling fast. “Lunch it is. We will reconvene in…” He looked at Ilmr. “An hour?”

“Two hours,” she said. Then added over her shoulder as she walked, “Make sure they remember where they were in line. We don’t want another incident like the last brawl.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She winked as she passed Vidar. “Join me for lunch?”

Vidar treated her to a suggestive grin that sparked a red-hot smolder from breast to thigh. “Delighted. If it takes longer than two hours, will I be scolded by the Referee of the Interior?”