Page 9 of Knowing Trust

She laughed too but then looked at me. “How come you came here before food? And then showered first?”

I sighed and hurried to throw on clothes before we rushed out the door to breakfast. Now that she brought up food, my bottomless pit was too low on empty.

I told her what happened in our minds on the way there and she couldn’t hide her shock either, simply blinking at me a few times. I completely understood.

And caught her when she tripped over something.

We sat down and thanked the hobgoblins who brought us food. As was the new protocol, my security checked the food magically in the way of fairies and with something Lageos invented before they actually ate off the platter before I did. I hated that part.

I hated it… But I understood it. I did.

It was time to accept that I had to be protected for the survival of Faerie. I was their shield, and while I would do everything I could to protect them, there were times I had to let them protect me too.

This was one of them.

But I was going to make damn sure we did it right and as safely as possible. So because of that, the person who ate before me wore crystals tied to two royal healers and Lageos. If there was ever a problem, they would flare and let them know we needed them.

Plus, I was their best option to be saved. That was the only reason I agreed.

And I had demanded to have a class on advanced healing next semester. I wanted the best of the best to teach me every type of healing known in every race, species, and planet. If I was to be a shield and the strongest, I needed to be the fucking strongest then.

Professor Sontar and Rossi agreed and had spent the semester scouring archives and libraries in Faerie to find every ancient and recorded everything they could. And I doubted they were the only ones.

I also planned on using this as leverage for something I desperately wanted.

But fairies needed to accept that I had my way of handling things as well. It was no longer just any hobgoblin or fairy who cooked for me. There were other security procedures in place, and once a week they were questioned with runes. People had balked at that, but when Irma immediately yelled at them for being stupid, people quickly changed their tune.

She had gone on the record that she was proud that I was such a smart leader and was also protecting her so she was never implicated in something bad. That everything blew up when there was a problem, and she always felt safe working for me and being near me because I took things so seriously and that was to be praised, not chastised.

People had accepted it then…. And more had spoken up. People were understanding that more had to side with me first before too many took the opportunity to disagree. It made it sound like people were just sheep, but that wasn’t true.

We were just all too busy. We all had too much on our plates, and when you heard a logical argument, you tended to nod in agreement… Even if it wasn’t the full story or picture. We were all too busy to get into everything.

And we were quick to judge. I did all the time without even meaning to, and it was time just be honest.

People also gave suggestions. Most of which we were already doing, but it made it clear that the public was with me from what I saw last night. Awesome.

Really. I was glad people were finally having some faith in me.

People were used to us talking with my telepathy, so that gave us cover as I practically unhinged my jaw and shoveled in too much food.

“I can’t tell you what to do with Neldor,” Izzy started once she was tucking into her breakfast as well. “You have to follow your heart on that. I know what you want. We both do, and I think you’ve already admitted that to yourself.”

I sighed and nodded. It was time to be honest—way past time even. It was just… Five men? Seriously?

Like seriously?

“But I think what keeps you apart won’t always be an issue,” she said, nodding when I froze in taking my next bite. “Everything has changed, Tams. It’s still changing. Fairies love you. They’re on your team. They want you as the boss. Yes, there will always be jerks and sexist supes but… Look how far the change is from a couple of years ago. What could it be in ten years?”

I blinked at her for a full minute until she chuckled and said that she couldn’t believe that was what it took to make my mind explode.

“Part of it is—you guys are right that I’m always at the eye of the storm, Izzy. I’m always drowning. I think even trying to think about what my life will be like in ten years is enough to just make my head explode too. I just keep—”

“Yeah, it’s too much and—I get stressed for you, boo. Seriously. You’re fixing a whole world. You’ve taken down three corrupt councils and redone them. Two huge dragon leaders. Your ancients and nobles. I’m exhausted just thinking of the list.” She reached over and patted my hand. “That’s why I want you to listen to me on this.”

I flipped over my hand and held hers. “Always. I came right to you once I was done trying to process what he’d said after the press conference. I needed my sister to set me straight.”

“Even if I’m not straight at all,” she teased, both of us chuckling. “I think fairies will finally pull their heads out of their asses and accept the way Faerie should be—the way it probably started. I think you and Neldor can be together as you want without the crazy—that crazy at least. Yes, some supes, but they’re still going to say shit. You’re never going to get rid of that completely.”

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