4

The next morning, Enet and Khainan departed for Askon as the sun rose over the horizon. The day itself was busy with the responsibilities of running the court: patrolling the borders, hearing grievances, and preparing my study in the library for reviewing Enet’s maps. I had no time to sink into my research, however, as there was yet another important dinner planned for the evening.

“You know,” I said to my handmaiden Amity, in the quiet of my private dressing room, “I do wonder if most of my life will be centered around fancy dinners.”

“Your Highness, you are the only Queen I know who could spend weeks kidnapped by dragons and Fae, and still lament the amount of dinners you must attend.” Amity cinched the lace of my rich purple dress a bit tighter, then fastened them.

“Well, the Fae Queen required me to attend a lot of dinners, too,” I said. “Granted, I was in my wolf form, and I didn’t really have to say much at those…”

Amity laughed and shook her head. “True, you have to do a bit more hostessing at these events.” She brushed out my blonde hair, then quickly and expertly braided it into a single plait that ran towards the center of my back. “But, after hearing about what happened in Daybreak, I’m glad to know the Courts are working together to try to fix things.”

“Has there been much talk?” I asked. In the back of my mind, guilt chewed at me that I hadn’t spoken to my handmaidens Amity and Rue about the takeover more clearly. Truth and rumor both traveled quickly through the kitchens and servants’ quarters — surely, they’d heard whispers from the other workers.

“Mm, nothing too interesting,” Amity said. “I just hope everyone is okay back in Daybreak.”

“Me too,” I murmured. I’d speak to Barion before the dinner. He’d remained in Efra since the attempted coup, carefully rebuilding trust with Kodan and our other advisors.

“There you are, milady.” Amity wrapped a bit of ribbon around the end of my plait. “I believe you’re ready for dinner, as much as you may dread it.”

Laughing, I thanked her, and then stepped back into the bedroom. Elias looked up from where he was seated at the edge of our bed and smiled. “You look beautiful as ever.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I teased. Elias had his dark hair pulled back and was dressed in a plain white linen shirt and dark slacks. He was barefoot, as per usual, but the wolves we were dining with tonight were used to seeing him dress as such. At this point, it was considered less a quirk, and more a reflection of how connected he was with his wolf. His bare feet on the floor were similar to the animal’s paws on the earth. “Shall we?”

Together, we walked down to the main dining hall, where a large table was set up for members of the various courts. There was already a vast spread of food: suckling pig and braised pheasant, fresh bread, roasted vegetables, and flagons of wine. Wine was poured first, and before we took our seats at the head of the table, I caught Barion’s wrist and apologetically pulled him away from what looked to be a fairly one-sided conversation with Giles from Dawnguard.

“Thanks for that,” Barion muttered as a servant topped off his wine glass. “That man sure loves to relive his training days.”

“Before we start,” I said, “I wanted to ask you how things are back in Daybreak.”

Barion fixed me with a soft, curious gaze. “In what way?”

“You’ve replaced Duke Rodthar on the council,” I said.

“Your father,” Barion said. “Yes. Is that a problem?” He tipped his chin down, peering at me, slightly unsure.

“No, no.” I waved a hand. “It’s not that. It’s just…you’re keeping abreast of the goings-on in Daybreak, are you not?”

“Of course I am,” Barion said. “The messaging isn’t as fast as I would like, but I’m in regular contact with the court at home. Is there something wrong?”

“Are things okay?” I asked. “With my father gone, has there been any unrest in the court? Are there still loyalists to Rodthar?”

“Not that I know of,” Barion said. “Hard to say for certain, while I’m still here with Nightfall. But I assure you, Your Highness, things are under control at Daybreak.”

“Don’t call me that,” I huffed, and took a sip of my wine. “From what I know of my father, it won’t be so easy to eliminate his influence within the court.”

“It’s possible,” Barion said, “but the wolves of Daybreak aren’t controlled by old loyalties like that. The court is loyal to the wolves that protect them — and Rodthar had done the opposite.”

“But they would have remained loyal to him had the coup succeeded.”

Barion paused, then exhaled slowly. “Likely so.”

“I worry his influence lingers,” I said. “And that someone in the court will be encouraged to pick up where he left off. To try again.”

Barion nodded. His expression hardened. “I understand why that may worry you.”

“I’m not trying to say that will happen,” I said. “Or that I don’t trust you to manage it.”

“Do you trust me to manage it?”

“I do. But I know how difficult that can be while you’re here in Efra, and not in Daybreak.” I took another drink of wine. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Of course,” Barion said. His voice was still blankly serious, more like a guest of the royals than my former tutor and trainer.

“Just tell me if there’s any discord in the court, please?” I asked. “I just want to be aware, so Nightfall can give you any support you need. I’m as involved with this as you are.”

That made the furrow in Barion’s brow smooth out. He nodded again, then offered me a small, familiar smile. “Looks like my student is now the one taking the lead.”

“It’s a part of my job now, I suppose,” I said with a small shrug. “Being Queen requires me to keep these things in mind.”

“Not sure I envy that at all,” Barion joked.