Page 38

Morgana

S trong hands catch me before I fall. “You’re alright, Ana, I’ve got you. Healer Yanda, get us some water please.”

A cup is held to my lips, and I find the strength to grab it, drinking down the cool liquid. Leon lowers me into a chair, and Dots pushes his head into my lap, emitting a little whine.

“Sorry,” I say eventually, when my head stops spinning. “That took a lot out of me.”

I look up to see the healers helping Fairon out of his bed. He’s a little wobbly on his legs, but he gently pushes their hands away until he’s standing on his own.

“Well, it’s been a long time since I saw things from this angle,” Fairon says, looking around at us.

There are physical similarities in their faces, but the differences between Leon and his brother are immediately obvious.

Even without his weight loss, Fairon is much more slender, and his voice is soft and measured.

If Leon is a storm, then Fairon reminds me of a breeze blowing through the leaves: subtle, but still alive with a bright energy.

He turns that energy toward his brother first. The men embrace, and I suddenly wonder if I shouldn’t give them a moment alone. I can see on Leon’s face that there’s so much he wants to say. But as I rise to slip out of the room, they both turn to me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Leon asks, wearing a grin so wide I’m dazzled by it. I’ve never seen him wear an expression like that before. It’s joy. Unmistakable, beaming joy.

Fairon steps toward me, bowing low. “I must ask for the name of the lady who saved my life.”

“Erm, Morgana Angevire, Your Highness,” I say. “Princess Morgana,” I add hastily, forgetting my title momentarily.

His eyes brighten with curiosity. “I see I have missed a lot.”

I know what he’s thinking. The last time he checked, Trova didn’t have a princess. But I can leave all that to Leon to explain. Right now, I need to rest.

“If you’ll forgive me, I think it’s best I return to the palace,” I say. “It’s possible I might actually faint if I don’t lie down soon.”

“Of course,” Fairon says, his tone clipped. “Leonidas, we mustn’t neglect the princess like this. Let us see her back to the palace.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Leon says, and I smother a smile at his long-suffering tone.

Within minutes, they’ve slipped into what I suspect is a familiar, bickering brotherly dynamic.

“You’re staying here though,” Leon says, as if he’ll brook no argument.

“The healers still need to check you over.”

Healer Yanda steps forward. “Yes, Your Highness, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Very well,” says Fairon. “But let me at least escort you out.” He gestures for me to take the lead out of the chamber. We walk slowly to the entrance of the Sanctuary, and I blink in the bright sunlight, squinting after being in the dim interior.

As my vision clears, I see Respen on the shore with Velrir and more armored fae climbing out of a boat behind him.

Some of Respen’s spies must have let him know I’d gone to the Sanctuary this morning.

I glare at Velrir. Clearly the mustached fae hasn’t been punished too harshly for his attempt to sabotage my test.

Leon must read my mind, because he leans forward to mutter to me.

“He’s been demoted. I already checked. My grandfather likes keeping him around for his sensic abilities, but he’s not head of his personal guard anymore.”

I still narrow my eyes at the disgraced fae, not sure that’s enough punishment to satisfy me. However, I’m distracted by the sight of Respen clapping eyes on Fairon, who’s appeared in the Sanctuary’s doorway.

“Fairon,” the king says like he’s releasing a deep sigh. A smile plays on his lips as he approaches his grandson, reaching his hand out to him. Fairon takes it, and while they don’t hug, Respen clasps Fairon’s fingers with unexpected warmth.

“How good to see you up again, my boy,” Respen says.

“It’s been too long, Your Majesty,” Fairon replies.

“It has indeed,” Respen says, nodding enthusiastically. “Your absence has been felt by us all. But now Filusia has its heir back, and we can make a fresh start.”

For once, Respen sounds sincere. The pleasure in his face at seeing Fairon would be hard to fake. Yet he seems cautious too, examining his grandson as if some uncertainty lingers in him. I wonder if he’s not entirely convinced Fairon is cured. Maybe he’s worried the prince might relapse.

“The sickness that plagued His Highness is completely gone, Your Majesty,” I say, trying to reassure him. “I’m certain of it, but the healers are also going to examine him to confirm it.”

Respen turns to me, his pale eyes examining my face.

“Ah, Princess Morgana. Let me express my gratitude for your help here today.”

It’s not very effusive, but I’ll take it.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I was glad to be of use.”

Not that you made it easy for me , I think wryly.

There’s movement by my hip, and I look down to see Dots at my side. The korigos sniffs, looks up at Respen, and releases a long, low growl that makes the fae king take a step back.

“Apologies, Your Majesty,” I say. “He’s a little sensitive.”

Respen examines Dots’s proximity to me, and his eyes flash with envy.

“Yes, well, you’re certainly turning out to be most impressive, Princess Morgana,” he says.

I smile at the king. Stepping in, Leon explains about me needing rest, then steers me toward the boat. As he rows Dots and me back across the lake with Eryx and Hyllus, my exhaustion properly hits me. But my fatigue doesn’t stop me turning Respen’s final words around in my head.

I can’t help thinking about how they sounded less like a compliment and more like the fae king was taking proper stock of me at last.

When I wake, the sun is low in the sky. I must’ve slept most of the day away, but I feel rejuvenated, stretching out across my bed with a satisfied sigh. I did what I came here to do: I healed Fairon, and I allow myself a rare moment of peace to celebrate my victory.

A peace which is immediately broken by a scratching at the door. I look over to see Dots pawing at it, and I’m reminded of his size—when he stands on his back legs, he can reach up right past the doorknob, his claws leaving deep grooves in the wood.

“You want to go out?” I climb out of bed before he decimates the fancy palace carpentry. When I pull the door open for him, the korigos simply pads out of the room and down the hallway without looking back.

“You’re up.” Leon rises from a chair positioned by my door. I glance after Dots.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“You heard Healer Yanda. Korigos are smart. He’s probably just going to stretch his legs in the grounds. My grandfather’s staff knows he’s yours, I wouldn’t worry.”

I don’t think the korigos belongs to anyone, really, but I don’t argue with Leon.

“Have you been sitting here the whole time?” I ask, my eyebrows raised.

“I spent some time with Fairon of course, making sure the healers examined him properly,” Leon says, a slightly defensive note in his voice.

“There’s no sign of the sickness at all, by the way—not that I thought there would be.

And then yes, I came here. I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay after the healing. ”

I hold the door open, letting him follow me inside as I return to my bedroom. There are some things I want to discuss now that Fairon is cured, and it won’t do to have that conversation out in the open.

“Your grandfather seemed pleased about Fairon,” I say off-handedly as I settle down on the couch. I’d fallen straight into my bed when I’d gotten in, not even bothering to change out of my day dress. I straighten out the wrinkles in the skirts as Leon takes an armchair opposite.

“He is. I know he’s not the warmest or kindest man, but Fairon has always been a priority of the king’s.”

“Because he’s the heir,” I guess.

Leon shrugs. “Yes, and a better heir than I’d make. You’ve saved my grandfather from the unenviable task of trying to mold me into something I can’t be.”

“And what’s that?” I ask.

“A king. Fairon is diplomatic. Cautious. Practical. Everything a ruler needs to be. That’s not the skill set my grandfather ever bothered to have me develop.

He’s been kicking himself over the last few years, thinking he’d profoundly messed up when he chose such different paths for Fairon and me.

But then you came along and turned the world the right way up again. ”

His tone is dry until he mentions me, then that same look shines through that I saw in the Sanctuary—unfettered joy. Once again, I’m dazzled by it, blinking for a moment as I try to remember the question I wanted to ask.

“When you say the path he chose for you…do you mean soldiering?”

“Yes. After I proved myself in the war, he decided that was my calling.” He says the word “proved” with heavy irony.

“He thought what happened at Mistwell was a good thing?” I ask softly.

Leon looks away, and I realize I might’ve made a misstep bringing it up again. Who wants to be reminded of their darkest day? To my surprise, he keeps talking, opening up to me.

“No, he was angry about Mistwell. But more about my loss of control than the loss of life. And in the end, it worked out for us strategically. My name might’ve been blackened, but we secured Palquir’s allegiance about as firmly as anyone could.

He couldn’t say no to us after we handed him the throne on a platter.

And here in Filusia, my grandfather’s position looked stronger than ever when he had such a deadly weapon at his disposal,” Leon says.

There’s a note of irony in his voice when he talks about himself as a weapon.

“And so your grandfather thought you should keep doing that kind of thing, even though you didn’t like it?”

“It didn’t matter what I wanted,” Leon says, sounding matter-of-fact. “By the time I returned from Trova, he’d already named me the King’s Sword.”

“What’s that?”