Page 74 of Crownless King

“Sauria, I should go,” I said softly.

“But where will you go, girl?”

That was a very good question, the one I had no answer for.

She turned to Bavius, gesturing animatedly. “She got kicked out of her home. She has no one to help her and nowhere to go.”

He shrugged his wide shoulders. “Youkeep her, then.”

“I can’t have her in my hut. There’s barely enough space for one person. Besides, she has no magic. When I’m not around, she won’t even be able to turn the lights on or keep it warm.”

“Why does she have no magic?” he thundered, his brow furrowing with menace. “Who is she?”

Sauria pursed her lips, realizing she’d said more than she should have. I appreciated her talking for me, but if I were to stay under the same roof with this man, I would have to build a rapport with him on my own. I had to be honest.

I took a step closer to the table and pulled my hood off.

“Greetings, Bavius. My name is Sparrow.”

“The human!” Tossing the spoon on the table, he jumped to his hooves. “The royal pet. What the fuck, Sauria? Why did you bring her here? What were you thinking? Who’s the father of her baby? The king? One of the High Lords? Does she even know who the father is? Or did she just fuck them all, the way they do in Elaros?”

For someone who didn’t talk much, he sure said a lot just now.

I hated to be the cause of anyone’s distress, but could he wait a little before forming his lame opinion about me? He knew me for all of two seconds and already thought the worst of me.

“Well, I’m sorry, but—” I started.

He rubbed his forehead, stomping around the room agitatedly. “The next thing you know, this place will be swarming with all those snooty highborn coming from Elaros in search of her.”

“No one will come for me,” I said firmly. “Aside from you and Sauria, no one even knows I’m still in Nerifir.”

“Sova stole her from under their noses,” Sauria explained. “As far as Elaros Court is concerned, Sparrow has gone back to the human realm. She’s as good as dead to them.”

“So, she was sentenced to leave, but she didn’t? You want me to break the law for her?”

“There is no law involving humans. None,” Sauria argued. “No one knows Sparrow is in Nerifir. She’s content to keep it that way. She just needs a quiet place to hide until we figure out what else is out there for her and her child. I’ll stick around, too.” She slapped the table resolutely. “For as long as she lives here, you can have my services for free.”

“For free?” He squinted at her, looking intrigued.

“Yes. Next time you sprain an ankle or any of your mares need help with foaling, I won’t charge you anything, not even a favor.”

He folded his burly arms across his broad chest, chewing on his thick bottom lip.

“I want a dog, too.”

Sauria’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“A huge, vicious dog that barks at everyone who enters my property. So that the next time you come anywhere near my house, the dog would warn me in time to lock the doors.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no. I’m not getting you a dog. It’d be doing a disservice to the poor animal. But I’ll tell you what, you can choose whatever you want from Sova’s collection. She doesn’t need it anymore, but you can sell it on the market and buy yourself another horse.”

He stared out the window, pondering her offer.

“Can she cook?”

I understood he was talking about me, even as he wasn’t looking in my direction.

“I can make a meringue,” I said.

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