Page 30 of Lily of the Valley

One step at a time. As her familiar servants arrived, crying and sobbing, hugging her and speaking over each other, Lily got them calmed down and soothed, then called for a bath and food. Little things first, while she waited, and then the real work would begin.

She'd been working at sorting everything out for a few hours that felt like long, exhausting days when a familiar, desperately missed voice called her name. Weakly, hesitantly, but there all the same.

Lily snapped around, and it took every shred of her training not to scream. "Clarissa!" Lily bolted across the room and swept her up into a hug, holding her tightly as Clarissa cried into her shoulder. She'd looked so haggard, like she hadn't seen sunlight or people or even food for days. "Are you all right? I mean obviously not, but should I summon a healer?"

"No, no, I'm all right," Clarissa managed. "These past many days have not been pleasant, but I was ecstatic to hear you were alive and here. I thought Ferdinand's goons must be lying to me, some new way of tormenting me into finally breaking and doing their bidding, signing their damnable papers."

Servants came up then to attend them, helping Clarissa over to a seat, another bringing over some tea from the tray on the table where Lily had been working. "Maybe some broth?" Lily asked one of them. "Where have you been, Clarissa?"

"Dungeon," Clarissa replied with a dry, sour laugh. "I think he would have killed me outright—he very much wanted to—but I own the rights that were pivotal to some of his plans for expansion. Killing me would not have gotten him those rights, not without even more time and trouble."

"Of course," Lily said softly, feeling stupid she hadn't thought of it. Clarissa was powerful in her own right, wholly separate from the considerable weight and authority of her family. Money was power, and money came from land, and Clarissa owned some crucial pieces of land, including the only access to a natural land bridge across a canyon that shaved entire weeks off journeys to the north. Normally such a powerful tract would be the property of the throne, but a long series of fortunate timing and wild chance had given the property to a man who, upon his death, had bequeathed it to Clarissa. "I should have realized. I just assumed…well, the worst."

"We all did," Alice said as she joined them. "Penelope is with Leigh, who seems to be recovering nicely and requests you come see her whenever you have the time, Your Majesty."

Lily barely held back tears as it really struck her that all her friends were alive. She had feared all of the dead, and then resigned herself that at least one, possibly two, were dead. Now they were all alive and well, her handmaidens reunited. A little worse for wear, but infinitely better than dead. "Of course. We'll have dinner together tonight; I don't think anyone will begrudge me that. Tomorrow I'll have a larger banquet for the whole palace. It will take at least that long to get everything ready, anyway."

After Clarissa had finished her tea, Lily hugged her one last time then sent her off to bathe and rest.

Where the hell had Clarissa's parents been in all of this? Her brothers were abroad, but her parents were fixtures of the court. "Alice, set someone on her parents and why they left her to rot."

"Of course."

Lily returned to work, allotting funds, scheduling interviews, approving various plans and arrangements for all the funerals that would be taking place, approving a temporary location to hold the excess of prisoners that the palace dungeons did not have room for, scheduling times for all the people who wanted to speak to her—cozy up to her, more like, but she'd have her handmaidens and Josiah present for all that nonsense, sort out the riff from the raff.

She was listening to the master engineer listing off rough estimates for repairs that needed to be made after all the senseless, drunken damage mercenaries and wolves had done when an abrupt lull in conversation drew her attention.

Lily turned to see what was causing the disturbance—and stopped, breath seizing, heart jumping into her throat.

Scout, but dressed…dressed like a queen herself, but a queen of the wild. Of wolves. She wore black head to toe, wool, linen, and leather, with gleaming silver hardware on the armor and boots. There was an enormous silvery gray fur draped over her shoulders, secured in place with a large, handsome broach. It was black at the base, round and trimmed in gold. Most of the space was taken up by a craggy brown and gray mountain, against a blood red sky that, instead of moon or sun, had only three black stars made from black pearl. Where had it come from? She didn't remember that creep who'd led them before wearing; no, he'd had some shitty fake-gold broach.

"Leave us, please," Lily said to the room, and in the blink of an eye the room was empty save her and Scout. "You look every stitch the Alpha, I must say. I'm sorry, I know this is not what you wanted."

Scout scoffed. "I was always going to return to the wolves, one way or another, Your Majesty. We can't hide in forests avoiding our problems forever. That's why I came to see you, actually."

Realization dropped into her stomach like a stone. She'd known this was coming, of course Scout had never been going to stay, but she'd hoped she'd get a few days at least. She hadn't thought it would happen this soon. "You're returning to the Highlands."

"Yes, I have to sort out Rothenberg once and for all. I reclaimed my position as Alpha, rightfully and properly according to all the laws of our people, and now I must sort out the festering mess created by my father. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I'll be as quick as I can. Hopefully not more than a few months, at worst a year."

"You'll come back?" Lily asked.

Shock filled Scout's face, followed by hurt. "You thought I would just leave and never return?"

"You're a wolf of the Highlands, you have a clan to lead and care for. How can you do that from here?" Lily asked. "Nevermind I sort of just inserted myself into your life and ripped you from it."

"Nobody makes me do what I don't want to do," Scout said, face softening. "It's true that a couple of busybody ghosts interrupted me in the middle of my work day to rescue some helpless maiden who'd collapsed in the woods, but I could have done many things from that point on. I chose my path, Your Majesty—"

"Stop calling me that!"

Smirking like an absolute wretch, Scout stepped in close and lifted one gloved hand to cup the side of her face, leather warm and soft against Lily's skin. She couldn't repress a shiver as Scout's thumb stroked her cheekbone. "I'm where I want to be, my queen, if you're inclined to tolerate me. I must leave for a time, but by your leave I will return."

Lily swallowed, gaze locked helplessly with Scout's, captured by those eyes, mostly honey-brown but blue on the inside, a blue that spread and glowed when she transformed or was more wolfish than usual. "I don't generally go bossing around wolves, Lady Farahild. If I recall correctly, you're usually the one giving orders."

Something flashed, bright and hot, in Scout's eyes, and that damnable smirk just grew sharper. "Not that you ever listened."

"I've been told I'm a little too stubborn for my own good. Once or twice. A day."

"You're a lot too stubborn for your own good," Scout said, and then closed the remaining space between them to kiss her.

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