Page 34 of A Kingdom of Monsters

“Oh, you misunderstand,” Idris said jovially. “I didn’t mean sending the Slúagh anywhere unpleasant. No, I simply meant that perhaps everyone would be happier with more clear separation. Them included.”

“You’ve certainly thought a lot about it in a very short period of time,” I said coldly. “If we were to implement something like that, which settlement would you send me to?”

Idris’s benign smile returned at once. “As I said, I wouldn’t presume to think I know everything. You wear the crown, after all.”

I wrinkled my nose in distaste, and stood up from the table. “I do,” I snapped. “And I killed the last king to get it. So, if you’ll excuse me I’ll be outside training to kill the next prick who thinks he can run this country better than we can.”

A full hour later,I was still angry about breakfast.

I shouldn’t have yelled at Idris–not least because I’d essentially proved his point, painting myself as just as rash and violent as I’d ever accused the Everlast family of being. I couldn’teven explain to myself exactly what it was that bothered me about Idris. He was clearly prejudiced against humans, but unfortunately that was hardly unusual. In fact, he’d been more polite than most high Fae typically were when discussing the Slúagh.

Maybe it was that the entire conversation brought me back to another time, when I’d had absolutely no agency in my own life and was far too afraid to speak up in my own or anyone else’s defense.

Maybe it was that Idris had made me feel helpless. Like nothing we were doing mattered.

I felt like I’d betrayed the version of me who had stolen golden candle sticks to hand out to starving villagers. I’d been in the castle for months now, but we weren’t doing anything to help anyone but ourselves. Perhaps we should take a greater hand in governing the cities and improving the lives of the people, but as I’d come to realize over these last months, it was much harder than it appeared from the outside. I could give candlesticks to every citizen of elsewhere and it still wouldn’t matter. Real change–real progress–was never so simple.

Letting my anger fuel me, I stood with my legs wide and my shoulders back, facing the same red and white painted targets as last week. The targets remained untouched except by the recent rain and wind, however the patches of dead burnt grass surrounding them were growing gradually closer. It was a nice warm morning, yet the rain from the last several days still clung to the grass. At least that might make it harder for me to light the lawn on fire.

I rolled my shoulders and took a deep breath, before allowing the warmth from within me to travel down my arm to my hand.Instantly, a warm ball of glittering, dancing flames appeared, just barely tickling my flesh as I eyed the center of the target.

“Well done,” someone said behind me. “You’ve really gotten the hang of that.”

I whirled around, startled, and had let the fire fly from my hand before my brain was able to register that I recognized the voice.

I gasped, as I beheld Ambrose sauntering toward me across the lawn. He jumped out of the way of the fire, just barely avoiding it. Instead, one of the damp thorny bushes dotting the lawn began to smoke.

“I’m sorry,” I said a bit peevishly. “You startled me.”

“My fault,” Ambrose said, “I should know better than to sneak up on a pretty girl holding a weapon.”

I flushed in spite of myself. “Why should it matter if I’m pretty or not?”

“Because the most dangerous things are often the most tempting.”

The heat in my cheeks burned hotter and I glanced down, having no idea what to say to that. He really shouldn’t have been flirting with me at all, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to stop. Indeed, my thoughts immediately drifted to our last night in Underneath, and I had to yank my mind back with brutal force.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked tonelessly. “Don’t you have more research to do?”

He ran a hand over the shaved side of his head and down the back of his neck. “You left so abruptly, I wanted to make sure you were alright. That meal was…” he looked at a loss for words.

I found the words for him. “That meal was far better than many I’ve experienced in the palace. Idris is tame compared with your aunt Raewyn, or–” I broke off.

“Or any of us, at one point or another.” Ambrose looked uncomfortable. “Believe me, I know, but people can learn and change their minds. You’ve certainly done more to change the perception of humans than likely anyone else in the history of Elsewhere.”

“Right,” I said bitterly. “But that’s only because I’m not truly human. If I were, I would have died ten times over long before I ever had the chance to influence anyone.”

He said nothing, which I took to mean he grasped my point. Somehow, that helped. It wasn’t a pleasant topic for any one of us, but at least Ambrose wasn’t trying to gloss over my past experiences just because now things had changed.

Making a valiant effort to change the subject, Ambrose nodded toward the target. “Are you going to try again?”

“Yes.” I turned away from him, meanwhile conjuring another ball in my hand.

Feeling his eyes on my back, I threw the fire toward the target with as much force as I could manage. For a few seconds it sailed straight at the target. Then, at the last moment the flaming orb spun wildly out of control, arching sideways and very nearly hurtling back in our direction before it plowed into the damp grass. I groaned. “By the fucking Source. I give up!”

Ambrose made a humming sound like he was thinking. “Do you always miss the targets?”

I scowled over my shoulder. “Yes. The grass could tell you that much.”

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