“What’s the solution? You have no experience fighting dragons. Your faye glamour protected us briefly, but you don’t know how you called it. The deal made is that you solve our problem so we can solve yours so you can solve our bigger problem- that of the tyrannical, insane queen selling off our beloved prince to that hideous Jotunn- which really doesn’t solve much for you. Why are you here? What’s in this for you?”

  The meeting room, a lavender table in another clay-orange geometric room with several chairs around it, filled with his words. I faced the captain of the guard, whose name I had learned to be Raelyn, and sighed. “I love him.”

  The guard-lieutenant, the one with lovely eyes, laughed under her breath. I raised my eyebrows and she glanced at me, and then said, “I’m sorry- but that’s ridiculous. A half-breed? Half-human? With one of our kind? Especially a noble. Your blood would never be allowed to pollute the royal bloodline. That’s nothing personal- but Cervis is only permissibly marrying the Jotunn because she is a princess. You are a human commoner. Even if your faye magic fooled him into loving you, his royal duties would never permit him to marry you. Your motivation in this mission makes it futile for you to put in the effort.”

  “You mistake me,” I said. “I never said I believe I have a chance of a happy ending with him. I said I love him. His happiness relies on my involvement. I’ll do anything I can for him.”

  Raelyn turned to the guard-lieutenant. “Elerathis?”

  “Yes, Guard-Captain?”

  “Please see yourself out.”

  She recoiled from the words. “What?”

  “One, Aster’s involvement may well be what saves us; attempting to thwart her efforts to help us is borderline treasonous. Two, we’ve agreed as a people that ‘half-breed’ is insulting, and that blood is not as important as character. Three, a human commoner she may be, but she loves our prince and wants to help him, and I am going to scream until my body bursts if our prince marries that Jotunn. A half-faye would be preferable- the offspring may not be thoroughly royal blood, but at least they’ll be tolerable to behold, and of hearty spirit. On those counts, I found your presence here wholly unhelpful, and I ask that you leave, only so that I do not have to command you to do so and embarrass you before company. Are we understood?”

  The guard-lieutenant had reddened so much she turned purple, and gave a prim nod with pursed lips before fleeing from the room. Raelyn turned back to me. “You don’t know how to use your magic- I believe that’s a good starting point to start solving this.”

  “Guard-Captain, I appreciate your support, but I didn’t even know I had magic until an hour ago.”

  “Hmph,” came Nyx’s unwanted commentary from the corner of the room.

  I ignored him best I could. “I really think training me in some sort of combat would be a better way to start.”

  He considered, and then said, “If there is any chance of you being our queen, there are certain knowledges you must know- unarmed combat is one of them. Weapons, however, will not be allowed, since you are not of the royal bloodline.”

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  “I thought we just established blood not being that important-”

  “It’s not!” He clarified, “However, we try to choose spouses for our royals who have less chance of murdering them.”

  I sighed. “I could just as easily smother him with a pillow as stab him in the heart, and we’ve all agreed upon the reasons of that marriage being unlikely anyhow. If I’m to solve your dragon problem, I’ll need more than my fists.”

  “And more than a compassionate heart,” Nyx scoffed. “Nearly got yourself killed earlier. Say what you will, but we both know Cervis will not have a pleasant reaction if he learns he must spend eternity without you.”

  “Eternity?”

  “Well- his lifespan. I suppose not forever, though it will feel as drastic to him.”

  I sighed. “Raelyn. Come on. I need to know how to fight.”

  “You have no combat experience; you won’t learn enough to kill a full-grown dragon in a week.”

  “A week?”

  “That’s how long we have till she shows up. She’ll slaughter us all.”

  “A week.” I thought about the deadline Cervis had mentioned, but there wasn’t much I could do about that without the help of his people. But, really- why had I come here? I had survived the Palewood and the Desert of Dreams, and endless travel to get through those and back and to here. I had come here because… These were Cervis’s people, and I didn’t know what I needed, but I knew I would need all the help I could get. Now, apparently, I would need to all but sign a contract saying I wouldn’t marry the man to acquire some weaponry.

  Still- something intuitive had told me to come here, and I found his kingdom in peril, the queen absent as dragons attacked each night. He would want me to fix this before finding him. Or, perhaps, he remained the smart-mouthed stag I had first met, and would prefer I help him first. I would have to go with the noble thing- I was a heroine, after all.

  “Well. If you’ll not teach me weapon-based combat, then teach me unarmed combat. And please, bring me every book you have on dragons. Nyx- I need a favor. You won’t like it.”

  The night-fox eyed me with glowing amber reproach. “What now?”

  “Go to the Reine Chouette. Tell her Everly’s daughter needs her and all the korrigans.”

  Nyx jumped to his feet. “What! No! We are not bringing those dastardly vermin here!”

  “They’ll help-”

  “They’ll wreak havoc and chaos! Mayhem will ensue!”

  “Nyx. Are you going to fight the dragon?”

  He scoffed. “I could easily fight the dragon, but it’s your quest.”

  I met his eyes evenly. “Then do as I’m asking, and go get the Reine Chouette. Her korrigans aren’t necessary, but I know she’ll want them with her. I… Have an idea for how to solve this, but it’s something I can’t do without her.”

  Nyx sighed, and started for the door. “Idiotic human… Cursed heroine with her ridiculous tasks… Asking far too much of a poor night-fox… All I’ve wanted was a nap…”

  He left the room, and I turned to Raelyn, who had watched the exchange with widened eyes. He tilted his head slightly. “The Reine Chouette? Lady Strigga?”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s banned from these lands-”

  “You’re in charge, aren’t you?”

  “Yes- but-”

  “Lift the ban temporarily. We need her help. Now, retrieve those books, please, and formulate a training schedule- we’ve work to do.”