Page 18 of Heart of the Fae King

I had no interest in rehashing my argument with Odette—or anyone else, for that matter.

“With Maren sleeping in here now, you can’t just enter and leave on a whim,” I told her, avoiding her question entirely. “I told you that before. Have a modicum of respect for the rules of the royal chambers.”

Odette turned in a full circle, her vibrant, red brows arching curiously. “And where isshe?”

The slight emphasis on “she” irked me, but given my own annoyance with Maren’s behavior, I didn’t comment on it like I normally would have.

“I didn’t send for you, Odette. You’re dismissed,” I said instead of responding to her query.

She huffed, folding her arms, but before she could vanish again, I stopped her, a thought crossing my mind.

“Hang on,” I insisted.

Her arms fell to their sides, and she ambled forward, sooty eyes brightening. “Yes?”

“Have you discovered the root source of the ebonleaf yet?”

The enchantress blinked one of her opaque eyes at me, the irises darkening again. “What?”

My scowl deepened.I hate it when she plays dumb.

“The ebonleaf that was found in Maren’s food. Where did it come from?”

Odette frowned. “I thought you had half the Royal Guards out scouring the kingdom for that answer.”

I stepped closer to her, wondering if she was purposely playing stupid or if I was just giving her too much credit. It was a question I constantly asked myself with Odette. “I do,” I growled, running my tongue over my throbbing gumline. “But I asked you to figure out the source of it. Was it grown locally, or is it from somewhere else in Mystara?”

She cleared her throat and darted her eyes away. “Oh…”

“Oh?” I repeated. “What is ‘oh’?”

“I… I didn’t think you still wanted that information.”

Dubiously, I gaped at her, unsure if she was screwing with me or not. “Are you serious right now, Odie?”

“Well, I have other matters to attend to in the castle, Nyx!” she cried indignantly, throwing up her hands for effect, but I wasn’t swayed by her proclamations of busyness. The former enchantress had handled twice her workload without a single complaint.

She can’t be the best in Steelshire. Someone messed up big time when they did the callouts for the new enchantress.

“You’re too occupied to protect the next heir to the throne?” I hissed, advancing on her. “Your literal job?”

Her eyes widened. “I keep forgetting that she’s carrying your baby,” she mumbled, paling under my ire.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” I hissed, my head throbbing full force now. Between Odette and Maren, I wasn’t going to make it through the night without a stiff drink. “I gave you an order weeks ago!” I roared. Odette began to tremble. “And you ignored it?”

“No!” she denied quickly. “I started doing it, but I got sidetracked with other things. I mean, the test just needs to be run. I’ll do it. Now.”

“Right now.” I spoke from between clenched teeth. “I want an answer in thirty minutes.”

“Okay.” She was gone before I could unload on her anymore, and once again, the thought of replacing her crossed my mind.

She’s too young, too inexperienced. The weight of her responsibilities is too much for her. She’ll need to be replaced.

But I had bigger fish to fry in that moment than Odette’s forgetfulness.

What was I going to do about Maren?

I’ll let her sleep off her anger,I decided.Tomorrow, she’ll have a clearer mind, and we can discuss this rationally.

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