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“T his is ridiculous. I can walk.”

Samuin kept flying, like a good little servant. With my emotions conflicting and my thoughts shifting between what I’d learned and what was to come, I barely paid attention to the rooms we passed through.

When I was finally placed back on my feet, my scattered thoughts suddenly coalesced into a single one: that bed is massive .

Looming in front of me was a four-poster masterpiece of richly carved wood, exquisite blue curtains, and a coverlet of dark-green velvet begging to be touched. Louis XIV of France could have slept in this bed and felt like home.

No wonder Xaniban called his bedroom a bedchamber . It was too vast and lavishly furnished to be called anything else.

“This way, my lady.”

I turned to face Samuin. He was gesturing with both hand and tail toward a door at the far end of the bedchamber.

I followed him but kept taking in my surroundings.

The bed was to the left of the entrance; to the right lay a working desk with rolled-up scrolls placed neatly on top.

A large tapestry depicting a breathtaking panorama hung on the right wall, while the left was decorated with an impressive collection of swords and shields from different time periods.

A small section of that wall was bare and looked paler blue than the rest of the walls here. Cloudier, too, if that made sense.

“My lady, please.”

I had stopped walking without realizing it. I continued after Samuin along the plush carpet, but had to know. “What is that?”

“A balcony door,” he replied without looking back to see what I was pointing at.

Apparently, the bare wall was what most women asked about. Since Xaniban claimed he hadn’t brought anyone from the ground for three years, this meant Samuin had been a servant to the king for longer than that.

“How old are you?”

That won me a glance over his shoulder.

Ha! I’d managed to surprise the stoic servant.

“I will reach maturity in a year, my lady,” he answered as evenly as before.

“Is that 18?” I persisted. Scientific research mode: activated.

“Twenty.”

“Will you still be a servant after that?” I asked in a hurry, since we were already at the mystery door.

His hand froze on the golden doorknob. He turned to face me completely before saying with a hardened expression, “I am not a servant, my lady. I am King Xaniban’s Chamberlain.”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

He studied me for a moment before bowing lightly. “No offence taken. You are new to the homecloud; it is understandable.” He reached for the doorknob again.

“Chamberlain!”

He froze again.

“Is that the highest position in the palace?” Okay, I was curious but also grasping for straws. I had to postpone the next stage of whatever awaited me tonight.

“It is an honorable position that prepares me the best for the path I’ve chosen in life.

” To my expectant expression, Samuin elaborated.

“Every gargoyle is free to choose any profession upon reaching maturity. The only exception is warrior and homecloud guard; those positions are reserved for males. Females are too few to risk exposing them to danger daily.”

He straightened slightly before adding, “As the son of King Kaxin, I wish to follow in my father’s footsteps. For such a position, I had to begin studies at 15.”

“Wait, there is more than one king?”

“Sixty-three, to the best of my knowledge. But the number could have dropped since the start of the war for the ground. No one knows for sure how many homeclouds have been destroyed by our flying enemy already.”

Ah, so this homecloud was a single kingdom, not the Gargoyles’ entire world. And there was no complete safety even here, thanks to those damn aliens.

“So, if your father is a king, why aren’t you studying how to be a good ruler under his guidance?”

Samuin straightened further. “A good king is made away from the pampering of parents. Here I watch, listen, and learn every single day. My liege is a great gargoyle, and his homecloud and mine have been allies since the dawn of time. That is why even when I reach maturity, I will remain here for the next stage of my studies. Now, my lady needs to–”

“What is the next stage?”

His wings extended then folded in what I interpreted as impatience, but he indulged me.

“I have learned how to be a king in a palace: from battle planning through alliance-making to claiming a female. Next, I must learn how to be a king in the field: as a commander on the homecloud and on the ground.”

He reached for the doorknob a third time, but stopped himself and turned to me once more. There was pride in his voice when he said, “I will finally be allowed to step on the ground. If the Gods favor me, perhaps I will find a willing human female to claim. Find my mate, even.”

“Ah.” Huh? What was it with this claiming and mating I kept hearing about? Clearly, it was an important part of Gargoyles’ culture if they studied it alongside military strategy.

Then again, in this society where women were few in number, it wasn’t surprising that finding a partner was considered a serious matter. The big question was, what would a male in such a society do if the only available woman from the ground wasn’t willing to be claimed ?

I glanced back at the vast choice of swords on the wall. I then followed Samuin inside what turned out to be a spacious bathroom.

At the sight of a medieval-looking toilet in the left corner, all thoughts of how to stop Xaniban’s advances evaporated. I was entirely consumed by the need to pee. The seat, dark-blue like the cloudy tiles around me, had my undivided attention.

“I shall leave as soon as I fill the bathtub for you, my lady.”

Yeah, my need for privacy was that obvious. “Thank you, Samuin,” I said as I went to take a peek down the small hole at the center of the toilet seat. I could see stars twinkling down there. No plumbing in the clouds, apparently.

I turned in time to see Samuin pulling a thick rope that was hanging from the ceiling.

Which, in turn, was as cloudy and pinkish as the war room’s ceiling, with glowing spots to provide light in the windowless room.

Mere seconds later, the section of the ceiling above the oversized bathtub of golden porcelain turned blue. Then it started raining over the tub.

“Holy crap.”

“Do not worry, the water is quite warm,” I was duly informed. “The shower is powered by a tropical storm cloud.”

“Sure, of course.” Incredible. “You know, I don’t care what the water temperature is,” I admitted with a longing look at the quickly filling tub. “I haven’t taken a bath in half a year.”

We did have electricity at the bunker, but the water reserves were limited, so showers had to be rare and quick.

Before finding shelter there after the third apocalypse, I had tried washing up in a river, only to emerge bloody and terrified.

And with a new entry for my Worst Ways to Die in an Apocalypse list: death by mermaid.

“I have heard stories of how bad the situation on the ground is,” Samuin told me. His tone remained cooly polite, but there was sympathy in his gaze my way. “You are safe here, my lady. Try to relax the way you did before the war. Here, the view will help.”

Two tugs at the rope, and the pink cloud above my head started getting paler and paler until it became transparent. Overhead lay the night sky, stars glittering all over. With the blue walls around me and the dark above me, it was as if I were floating among the stars.

“Holy crap, yes?”

I looked Samuin’s way. A slight smile was playing on his lips.

Finally! I had broken his icy exterior, and by teaching him swear words. I grinned and nodded. Now I knew what Xaniban had meant by saying women were impressed by the view of the night sky from his homecloud. I could stay in this bathroom forever.

Shortly after, Samuin announced that my bath was ready. The tropical cloud above the tub was now replaced by a view of the starry sky.

“Enjoy yourself free of concern, my lady. The patrols above cannot see you as the ceiling is transparent only from this side.”

“Good to know,” I mumbled, acting as if I had always known there were gargoyles flying over my head. As dark-blue as they were, they blended into the night completely.

“I shall leave you to your preparations.” Samuin headed for the door. “Your new attire will be waiting for you on the chaise lounge.” He stopped at the exit, looking as if he was contemplating whether to say something more or not.

“Yes, Samuin?”

That did it. “Please, put the robe on,” he spoke softly. “My liege prefers to take it off personally–not be welcomed by a naked female in his bed. Just some advice, my lady, because I–I approve of you.”

“Um, thanks.” It was kind of him to help me win his king over, but what I really needed was help pushing Xaniban away.

Actually, Samuin still might be of assistance. “Did your liege throw out those women, displeased by their nudity? I wouldn’t want to make a mistake that gets me rejected–er, unclaimed.”

“My liege chooses his females carefully,” Samuin said reassuringly. “He does not bring every compatible and willing person to his bedchamber. If a female is here, she is special.”

That was not what I needed to hear.

“He is not displeased by such overeager females,” Samuin specified, “but he does not claim them more than once. Consequently, I have had to escort some very angry humans beyond the palace walls to keep them at bay. Thankfully, those who chose to stay on the homecloud quickly found claiming partners or even their mates, so they did not cause trouble for long.”

I was close to bursting into laughter. I was picturing a mob of crazed women scaling the defensive wall for one more night with Xaniban. For just one more ride on his magical gargoyle dick, or whatever hid under his loincloth. Come on now.

“I hope I do not have to escort you off the premises,” Samuin added. “I’d prefer you stay and teach me modern ground words.”

I smiled at him. Behind the cool, detached exterior might hide a sweetheart. “I’ll see what I can do,” I said cryptically.

“My lady.” He bowed and closed the bathroom door behind him.