Page 45 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

The dragon only nodded.

The massive door opened and Furintag entered. Executing a precise bow that somehow included me, he said, “You summoned, Your Majesty?”

“The lady requires appropriate attire for the day,” Ghost responded as Azulin continued clearing and straightening. “Also, please fetch a selection of books in Common from the library.”

“Any particular genres or requests, my lady?” Furintag asked.

I blinked at him in surprise. Although I could read, I had never had the leisure to read for entertainment. Reading had always been done out of necessity or to educate myself about something. “What do you recommend?”

“In that case, I shall bring a selection of books for you to browse.”

“And a comfortable chair,” Azulin added from where he was adjusting books on a shelf. “She is still recovering from her ordeal.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “By the looks of things, I have recovered more than you. I don’t have dark circles under my eyes.”

Azulin ignored me and continued fussing with the shelf.

Ghost cleared his throat. “A privacy screen would be helpful as well. Please have them all brought with great haste, Furintag. The king’s appointments are waiting.”

“Very well. Sire, my lady, Enforcer.” Upon executing a series of precise bows in each of our directions, the servant left.

I waited until the door closed before opening my mouth. “Az—Your Majesty, should I be bowing to any of your guests? What is the protocol?”

Azulin dragged a huge ledger off a shelf and carried it over to his desk. “You bow to no one except me. As my companion, you outrank all others at court.”

My eyebrows rose. “Do they know that?”

“They will learn.” Azulin chose a leather bookmark trailing from the bottom of the ledger and then opened the book to the page. “As my companion, you only need to genuflect to sovereigns of other nations. Now where did Soren put my pens?”

“What about the curse? How and when will we begin figuring out what to do about it?”

His attention snapped up then. “What about it?”

“It isn’t broken,” I pointed out.

He continued to stare expectantly at me. The familiar expression of indifference masked what was really going on in his thoughts, but it couldn’t hide the tension in his posture or the exhaustion in the lines of his features. Despite his activities, I suspected Azulin was struggling to focus and think, clear signs of exhaustion.

“Aren’t we going to investigate why it hasn’t broken completely? Why has it weakened? How can we end it permanently?”

“Those questions will have to wait until I deal with the crises at hand.” He frowned. “Ghost, tell Soren I wish to speak with the delegate from the elves in a half hour. I assume you wish for meto be present for your meeting with the dragon representative after that. Then the consultation with healer.”

“I do.” Ghost grimaced. “Best we settle dragon’s question once and for all.”

“I doubt that will be possible.”

Ghost snorted. “Not for lack of trying. They won’t be appeased until I take a mate and disqualify myself from their games.” The dragon eyed me consideringly.

“Not me.” I lifted my right arm where the tattoo coiled. “Taken, apparently.”

Azulin growled in apparent frustration and slammed the ledger closed, making me jump. “Go, Ghost. Best notify them of the plan. The less time this takes the better.”

The dragon flashed me a mischievous smile and winked before bowing. “At once, sire.” With that, he left.

Azulin continued rearranging things on the desk and shelves and ignoring me. I watched him as I finished the food on the plate. Then, suddenly, he stopped and turned to study me, his eyes glinting in the sunlight coming through the windows.

“It couldn’t be that simple,” he declared.

“What?” I popped the last bite of meat into my mouth and chewed while I watched him warily.

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