Page 7 of The Shadowed Throne (Midlife Fairy Tale #4)

T he kitchen had brought up a platter of meat sandwiches, salad, pickled vegetables, fruit, and small cakes, along with a pitcher of cider. Ro and Gabriel sat in her private dining room to eat.

Because of the hour, JT and Aunt Violet, whose apartments adjoined Ro’s, were already asleep. She hoped to be doing the same thing very shortly. Benny was passed out on her bed. No doubt Mrs. Wigglesworth was in her room in JT’s apartment.

Ro swallowed the bite she’d just taken, then took a sip of cider. “I’m sorry, I can’t stop thinking about the poem and the neph and what it’s all supposed to mean.”

He nodded. “I know. I have been, too. The dream didn’t come to you to be ignored. Those dreams are your gift. They’re given to you for a reason. But the neph…” He sighed.

She ate a slice of pickled carrot. “Are you sure they’re that dangerous?”

“I’m not sure of anything when it comes to them. No kingdom I know has anything to do with them, because they’re such an unknown and generally considered to be untrustworthy.”

“The hill people are a great example of how perception and reality are two different things.”

“You’re right about that. But the neph were shunned for a reason.

Deception. Double-crossings. Broken truces.

Nothing I know of them leads me to believe reaching out to them will end well.

I’m not saying they might not help us against Malveaux, but at what price?

They may want more than is reasonable. And if you don’t give it them, then what? Summerton has a new enemy?”

She nodded. “All good points. I think the most reasonable thing to do is send them a letter.”

“That’s opening a dialogue with them.”

“Exactly. How else am I supposed to know what could be?”

“But I worry that sending them a letter is putting us on their map.”

“I get that, but again, how else am I supposed to react to this dream? That poem reads like the neph, who you say were once called the wild court, are the answer to dealing with Anyka once and for all. Or at least a part of the answer.”

“I don’t mean to argue with you, I truly don’t. My only wish is to protect you and the kingdom. This is an untenable situation to be in.”

She reached over and took his hand. “I know you want to keep me safe, and for that you have my eternal gratitude. But there are things I have to do as queen, things any ruler would have to do, that are going to put me in tricky spots. I can’t not do those things because staying safe is easier.”

There was pain in his eyes as he looked at her. “I know. Just like I know that caring for you has made me see things differently. You aren’t just an assignment to me. I … that is, my …” He took a deep breath and stared at the tabletop. “Sparrow, I have to be honest about what I’m feeling.”

She braced herself.

“I have fallen in love with you.”

She almost laughed, her heart overflowing with happiness. “Gabriel, I love you, too.”

“You do?”

“Did you doubt that I’d return your feelings?

Of course I love you. You’re my greatest supporter, my staunch defender.

You make me laugh, you explain things patiently, you never make me feel like an idiot, and you’ve been right beside me from the very beginning.

You believed in me when a lot of others didn’t.

If you didn’t want me to fall in love with you, you should have done things a lot differently. ”

He laughed. “I promise, it wasn’t my plan.”

“If we’re confessing things, there’s something I should probably tell you.”

His amusement disappeared. “Oh?”

“I gave you the Starfall estate because you saved my life, but there was more to it than that. You deserve the title. I know there are still some in this kingdom who don’t think a Grym should hold the kind of position you do.

I wanted it made plain that I have no issues with where you came from or what you were born as. ”

He nodded. “Thank you for that.”

“There was one more reason. Now that you’re Lord of Starfall, there’s nothing keeping us apart. You’re nobility. A peer. No one can say anything about us having a relationship.”

His brows rose slightly.

She suddenly wondered if this was too much for him. “If that’s something that interests you.”

“ If it interests me?” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I can think of nothing I’d like more. But perhaps now is not the time to add another distraction.”

She frowned, tempted to pull her hand back. “You think us being in a relationship would be a distraction?”

He quickly shook his head. “Not for us, but your citizens might have all they can handle with this potential war. They’re still settling into the idea that we’ve become allies with the Wyvern.”

“True.” She gave it a moment of thought. “I guess us being a thing can wait. At least the part where we make it public. But in private?”

He kissed her hand again and smiled. “In private, we can be however we’d like to be.”

“Good. Now that we’ve settled that, let’s go back to the neph. I want to send them a letter. Introduce myself as the new queen of Summerton and let them gently know I’m open to diplomatic relations.”

He sat back. “Who will you send with this letter? Because they will be at risk. There’s no telling how the neph might respond.”

She pursed her lips. “Maybe Uldamar could send it magically?”

“Maybe,” Gabriel said.

“I have to find a way. If I don’t, and Anyka does, it could be to our detriment.”

He took a cake from the plate. “They do seem like the type to be swayed by Anyka’s aura of dark magic, but my belief is that they’d want nothing to do with either of you.”

“Not even with war threatening?”

“The neph live in the caves of the Charred Forest. Nothing threatens them. In fact, you should be glad they live at such a distance.”

She grimaced. “Okay, I get it, the neph aren’t the warm, fuzzy type. Do you really think I shouldn’t send a letter? What if the worst happens and Anyka decides to go after them in some way? Don’t you think we’d at least get some points for having tried to warn them?”

He shook his head. “Anyka won’t go after them, no matter what happens. I don’t think even she’s that crazy.” He caught her gaze and smiled. “Let’s talk to Uldamar in the morning and have him weigh in. As much as I would like you to have nothing to do with the neph, your magic shouldn’t be denied.”

“Thank you.” She took a cake, too. One that looked like lemon. “Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Maybe we can have breakfast here with JT and Aunt Violet and Uldamar. Talk everything out with them. About the dream and the power and the neph.”

Gabriel nodded. “Then we can go right to the meeting with the Wyvern.”

“The sooner that treaty is signed, the better. And afterwards, I can let Denwood know about reaching out to the neph.”

“Prepare yourself. I think he’ll react much like I did.”

“It’s all right. I understand the reluctance.” She took a bite of the cake. It was lemon and it was delicious. “I also need to speak to him about what we should be doing defensively. I do not want to be surprised by anything Anyka might do.”

“Agreed.”

She brushed the crumbs from the table and slouched back in her chair, tired from the day and the weight of so much responsibility. “I hope … I hope there’s no bloodshed. That all of this can be resolved peacefully. But that’s probably not going to be possible, is it?”

He hesitated, mirroring her posture. “I won’t lie to you, Ro. I see no way forward that doesn’t involved conflict and, most likely, bloodshed. It won’t be on you, though. It will be on Anyka. And because of her.”

“That’s not much consolation.” Her heart ached at the thought of the suffering Anyka would undoubtedly cause both the Grym and the Radiant.

Gabriel got up and embraced Ro, kissing the top of her head. “I should go. You need your rest.” Even so, he held on to her.

She leaned into him, welcoming the comfort of his arms and the constant support he offered her. “Yeah, I should go to bed. Tomorrow will be here before we know it.”

He helped her with her chair.

She walked him to the door, a heaviness on her that felt like a nearly permanent thing.

He opened the door, then turned. “I pray your sleep is dreamless, my lady.”

She smiled, knowing his words had been for the guards at her door as much as they’d been for her. “Thank you, Lord Nightborne. I’ll see you in the morning.”

With a wink, he bowed and was gone.

She closed the door and went back to the dining room, where she got the book of poetry and took it with her into her bedroom. Benny was sprawled on the bed. Dreamless sleep would be wonderful.

Unless her dreams had some new wisdom to impart. Something that maybe didn’t involve engaging with a potentially dangerous race.

She set the book on the nightstand before rubbing Benny’s belly, making him roll over and stretch. What a life he had, unaware of the trouble and turmoil that raged beyond these castle walls.

Then a smile crept onto her face. Gabriel loved her. No matter what came next, she had that to hold on to.

Love, at her age, was something special. But then, so was Gabriel. And for all the issues she was dealing with, so was this new life of hers.

The smile stayed with her until she fell asleep.