Page 27 of Enchanted Queen

He is the queen’s formerly betrothed. Likes to throw his weight around like he is still the future king of Dra Skor.

I couldn’t say a thing out loud without outing Malachi as having talked to me.

For the next fifteen minutes, the advisors asked us questions. How our travels were. What we thought of Dra Skor.

The queen took a deep breath. Were we waiting on her to tie things up?

Prince Keiran is under the protection of the crown. If any of you make a move on him or any of his men, you will answer to me. Understood?

“Yes, My Queen,” they offered up in unison.

Likewise, if he harms a single one of our people, he answers to me.

I dipped my head in a nod of understanding.

This first meeting was just to introduce you all to each other, so let’s leave our guests be and not continue to treat them as being interrogated. We have much to learn from each other. Please help yourself to more refreshments before you leave.

She must have added something to the shifters in the room, who began moving.

“How long will these Wylan representatives be here?” Zaire asked her as everyone began shuffling for the exit, apparently not taking the clue that the meeting was wrapping up.

She answered him individually, as I never heard the answer.

As soon as they had filed out the door, Amory said to us quietly, “It could have gone far worse.”

Meeting my parents will be equally as fun,the queen added.

“Any progress on your water samples?” Amory asked.

I gave my head a shake. “No. I used quite a lot of power and tried infusing the water, but it hasn’t worked yet.”

Amory’s eyes flicked to the queen then back to mine. “Keep trying.”

“I thought you had no hope?” I whispered.

She gave me a sad smile. “My hope waxes and wanes. I lost my fiancé shortly after the disease. Like you, I’ve made it my personal mission to fix things. Whether or not we will ever succeed remains to be seen.”

“Our wills have to count for something,” I offered. “And I am also sorry for your loss.”

“It was a simple pneumonia,” she explained. “Administering medicine to our shifted forms is tricky, yes, but it still should have been fixable by our healers. It would have been had he not simply lost the will to live.” She paused. “And that is only my personal story. There are plenty more like it.”

I gave my head a shake and asked a question I just couldn’t get past. “Why am I still breathing? The queen knows my father did this.”

Amory looked to the queen who was speaking with Malachi and the winged wolf on the balcony, then back to me. “Because she knows you helped kill your father, granting her at least a little vengeance. And she knows if your Enchantment helped do this, there is the very small possibility that your Enchantment can help undo it.”

Emotion came over me in a wave. The darkness these people were forced to live day after day. For nine years. “If will alone was enough, it would already be fixed.”

CHAPTER10

“He’s Harmless.”

Malachi and I exchanged a look. We were talking about the meeting where we had met with the advisors. I had said I was most worried about Zaire causing issues and being the one to drag his feet when it became known that I needed to pour magic into the lakes.

Emric was with me today. John was back in my room working on the water. We’d had a constant stream of magic on the vials of water for the last two days. Unceasing. And they still hadn’t changed at all. It was thus becoming more and more clear that standing in the water might be needed.

As was the fact that we might need Jorah.

“And if I eventually have to ask for my queen’s help in this? If that is what it will take to fix this? Will your people, will Zaire specifically, allow her safe passage in Dra Skor?” I snapped.

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