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Rydekar didn’t hesitate. "Everyone."

Finally, they reached two doors, leading to yet another hall. That one was emptier. Rissa stiffened, seeing exactly what she'd expected all along: gentries. Perfect specimens of delicate fairy beauty and brutal high-born strength. Eyes filled with malice and mischief. Her stomach tightened, unsettled.

As much asRissa missed her father, she was glad that he had gone wandering again. When he was home, she felt compelled to visit every other month, and suffer the uneasiness each time. The feeling of not belonging, along with the clear knowledge that everyone around her delighted in finding innovative ways to make her suffer.

"Especially her."

Before Rissa could ask who he meant, the most stunning female she'd ever had the pleasure of seeing stepped into view. Flushed cheeks, pale hair, soft mouth, luminous eyes.

In her youth, Rissa hadn't quite taken the measure of Siobhe. Now she gazed upon every inch of her magnificence, draped in a gossamer gown, translucent in the morning light.

She walked right to them, the first to have approached them since the puck. As she fell into an elegant curtsy, Rissa grinned, imagining Rydekar treating his former wife in the same manner as the drunken commoner.

Wishful thinking.

Especially her.Rydekar didn’t trust Siobhe—or at least, he didn’t think Rissa should.

Rydekar glanced at her with the ghost of a smile. Rissa would have sworn he knew how she'd uncharitably amused herself. And he didn't seem to disapprove.

The lady rose before the king gestured permission.

"When I heard you were bringing a seelie queen to us, I had to see it with my own eyes." Her voice was as sweet, mellifluous, and beautiful as one would expect of her.

Rissa finally understood. She knew why Rydekar had persisted in throwing a title over her. It was a shield and a weapon. The only one that she possessed against the likes of Siobhe, and the great lords and ladies within these halls. The only one they'd respect and fear.

"Siobhe, you remember Serissa, Queen Mab's granddaughter." He wasn't talking of any throne or crown this time. Trust him to respect her wishes the one time she didn't want him to. "Rissa, you were perhaps too young to remember Siobhe when we met at your father's court."

"I was fifteen, hardly a cub." She managed a smile. "You're still beautiful as the dawn."

Siobhe was well bred. She blushed, thanked Rissa, and batted her long lashes, before turning to Rydekar again, firmly intent on keeping his attention. "Do you remember the Court of Sunlight, Rye? It was a delight. Its king was the most gallant…"

Rydekar moved around the woman, not indulging her with a reply. "The queen and I have much to discuss, and little time to do so."

Rissa managed to hide her smile, and shrugged apologetically before following Rydekar. They rushed out of that chamber, finally reaching a tower, with a long, curved stair leading up into the light and down in the darkness.

"Beautiful as the dawn," he echoed derisively.

Rissa shrugged. "What? She is." She wouldn't have been able to form the words if Siobhe hadn't been the measure of the praise.

Rydekar started to climb the stairs in silence. They'd passed seven floors before he finally took a door into a dark corridor.

There were arches just as grand here, but they were covered by thick velvet curtains.

“I’m partial to darkness," he told her, somewhat unnecessarily.

"So I see. Are we in your quarters?"

"We're in the royal quarters. Mab used to have her own rooms at the heart of the keep. When she wed your grandfather, he stayed in another apartment on this floor. I suppose they liked their freedom. Then came her lover Ovleron, my ancestor, and she had another set of rooms arranged for him. Mab's rooms are sealed, but I use Ovleron’s. You may take Alder’s. I had them dusted and aired before setting out to find you."

"You were confident I'd return with you." She didn't like his assumption.

He shrugged, leading the way again. "You're here, are you not?"

Smug bastard.

"You should learn to keep your thoughts guarded. A royal can't afford an open mind."

"Youshould learn to stay out of my head," she countered. He was right, she had to work on shielding herself here. Another reason why she preferred the woods to the company of high fae.