Page 42 of The Elf King's Sacrifice

“You could’ve just ordered that it stay.”

I nodded as I turned back to the team. The arguments had transitioned to active planning. “But people value being heard even if their words change nothing.”

The three of us stood there in silence for a few moments. I was distantly aware of Elinor playing with Sable off to the side. Then Master Bower broke the silence.

“Why is the maze so important?”

A myriad of answers flooded through my head. Everything from saying that Emrys had ordered it to the fact I liked it. “Emrys and I met in the maze.” My face warmed at the memory. “Both of us wish to keep it.”

“Hmm…” Then Master Bower nodded with a measured finality. “Should’ve said that in the first place.” With that, he whistled, cutting through the conversations of his staff. “Clear it up. Her Majesty doesn’t need to listen to you all bicker all morning.” He turned to me and offered me a deep bow. “Might we request your presence here tomorrow morning so we can discuss the progress of the project?”

“I would be delighted.”

After a second deep bow, he marched away, shooing the others ahead of him.

“Strange,” I muttered as I watched them go.

“What, Your Majesty?” Theisi asked as she pulled out my calendar.

“I thought he would scoff at our sentimentality.”

“Never. Most of us are thrilled that our king has a mate at last.” She smiled brightly. “It gives us hope for stability and further generations.”

A flush swept through me. Emrys’ stipulation about children rushed to mind. As annoyed as I was about his high-handedness, I also understood his reasons, especially when healing would solve the issue. As much as I hated the idea of another doctor poking me and giving me horridly painful treatments, I could endure it if children were the result. Wrapping my arms around my middle, I sucked in a deep breath.

“Are you well, Your Majesty?” Theisi’s concerned query pulled me from my thoughts.

“I am. How would I be able to get word to the royal healer?”

Theisi tilted her head and considered me with a frown. “One doesn’t summon a healer if one is well, Your Majesty.”

“One does if one has questions. Do I go to him, or does he come to me?”

My assistant paused in her rifling through pages to frown at me again. “He comes to you, of course!”

She fussed over my schedule with a soft sound of satisfaction. After scribbling a note in the corner, she consulted the other notations. “Next, you meet with the dance instructor.”

I grimaced, but she didn’t see it.

“Then another meeting with some applicants for your ladies-in-waiting before language lessons.”

I brushed off my skirts and called for Sable. Then, taking one last deep breath of fresh air, I motioned for Theisi to lead the way. At least I had language lessons to look forward to.

~~~~~

Emrys

“Casimir proposed a plan.” Illeron, my spymaster and the source of all my intelligence, frowned grimly at the bookcases in my study. His brother, Casimir, was his chief general, overseeing his hordes of shadow elves. Between the two, they commanded a larger and more powerful army than the ranks of light elven warriors at my beck and call. Thankfully, the Whispier brothers were not just cousins and loyal subjects but also friends.

“Explain.” I paced as he talked.

“He suggested a change in tactics. Instead of chasing the magus down, why not draw him out?”

I paused at the window that looked out over the eastern lawn. Among the topiaries and statues, an army of gardeners worked fervently. Kate had somehow persuaded them to leave the maze alone and focus all of their efforts on preparing for the festival night. “But to do that, we would have to know what he desires.”

“That is easy.” Illeron came to a halt next to me. “He wants your power. Although he has cut off your connection with the land, he hasn’t been able to access the magic infused in it. The observed decay has been consistent with natural attrition.”

“So, he has only had access to Alora’s magic.” Casimir’s account of his own torture at the hands of a magus jumped to mind. The thought of Alora suffered such pain horrified me, and she had endured even longer than Casimir’s imprisonment. I groaned and rested my forehead against the cool glass. Over a year was too long, far too long.

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