Everin had been greatly surprised by the delightful whirlwind of affection that was the infamous former princess Aino. The woman was shorter than him and plumper, but it added to her overall adorableness he thought.

  Her pastel rainbow hair was almost a match for his own and likely would have been much more impressive if she had been a voxen instead of a human with the Radipuff Aspect. It was fluffy and seemed to defy gravity as it puffed around her head.

  Apparently, that Aspect was an uncommon but not very rare one that appeared in Blomstra, and the Princess had decided as a very young child that she wanted to be just like the magical sheep she admired. When she got older, she only wanted it all the more knowing it would greatly upset her parents. She had chosen Radiant, Bounty, and Guide Aspects to go with it and managed to unlock the Radiant Shepherdess Class, stating happily that at the time she had hoped it would help shepherd her people toward a brighter future.

  Everin instantly liked the woman.

  The only thing he liked even more about her was the amazing cake she had brought out to feed them. She said it only used Emerald Caste ingredients imported from the kingdom of Pearldia to the north that the Renko duchy swore fealty under, but he wasn’t sure he believed her with how magical and fresh it tasted. He silently swore that one day he would make sure she and Uriel met to compare recipes.

  “Are you sure you want me to come with you, love?” Aino asked Helen, looking only slightly nervous as she sipped tea. “I thought we both agreed it would be safer to wait until I was Obsidian too.”

  “That was when I was worried they might try to force you to be their princess again after so long without another heir. I was starting to wonder if something had gone wrong with one of your parents and not even the fertility rituals of the Cultivator was working on one of them,” Helen replied before glancing over at Veldrix. “Now that I know what was really going on, I’m going to either make sure they make their new heir that was promised or castrate them both and toss them into the sun.”

  Everin was further pleased by both that proclamation and the fact that Aino actually snorted a laugh at the imminent demise of her own parents. The former part of her promise, however, made him feel uneasy, and he clarified, “You’re not seriously going to subject Veldrix to another night with them, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Helen retorted with a roll of her eyes. “If they even try to lay another finger on my little sibling, I’m going with option two.”

  It was Veldrix’s turn to roll their eyes. “I’m literally only two minutes younger than you, Len. You are also definitely not going to be walking in and murdering the royals. Even if we all survived, that would be a death sentence to the gemites there. The amount of chaos that would ensue as the noble houses vie for control of the throne would likely instigate a civil war that none of them are prepared for.”

  Helen gave a mischievous grin. “That’s exactly why Princess Aino needs to come with us.”

  Silence fell for a moment as they all contemplated exactly what Helen was now suggesting. An ultimatum to the crown to either fulfill the promise and unchain Veldrix from them or legitimate replacement by their own blood.

  “That will be more dangerous to her then,” Veldrix finally said, tilting their head toward Aino. “They might simply try to kill her as a traitor instead. I’m also not sure I like the idea of trading my freedom for hers. She’ll need to actually stay and be a queen when you both have spent the last three hundred years running from all of that responsibility.”

  Helen waved a hand dismissively through the air. “It’ll be fine and wouldn’t have to be for long. Aino’s been wanting babies anyways, and we’ve been talking about where to settle for that.”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of reading and visiting the Parent’s temple and most sources say that a stable environment is better for a child’s happiness. They feel more secure and can make better lifelong friends… on average at least,” Aino said, perking up at the idea.

  Everin almost laughed at how excited she seemed about having children that she was apparently forgetting about the potential death involved in this insane plan… but it wasn’t like he hadn’t tried more than his fair share of insane plans before. Glancing down at his hands covered in fine rainbow dyed fur, he wondered if he was as desperate enough to save Veldrix now as he was to save Paul all those months ago.

  “You can’t just stay for a few decades and then bail again, Len,” Veldrix said, sounding angrier than Everin normally heard them. They were usually frustratingly patient with everyone. Knowing now that they had a Talent to hide those emotions, he wondered how often those had been hidden from him too. Was this Veldrix without that carefully constructed mask of indulgence or indifference?

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Pft, when have I ever bail—”

  “My Ruby Ascension,” they immediately interjected, beginning to lay out the list. “Every anniversary our parents celebrated. Willow’s last childbirth; I’m not sure you’ve even met your newest niece. Adonis’ holiday parties that he always invites us to—”

  “I don’t have time for silly—”

  Their face hardened as they added firmly, “Alder’s funeral.”

  Helen looked pained for a moment before looking at the ground instead.

  Veldrix’s posture seemed to soften slightly as the awkward silence filled the room of the women’s sitting room. “I know you took his death hard… but we all did. Have you even visited his tree?”

  “He shouldn’t have had one to visit,” she spat, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to talk about that. It has nothing to do with this current problem and that’s to make sure you don’t end up like him.”

  “Again, I’m more worried about your wife’s safety.”

  “How about I stay with Aino at the Sacred City while you go and incite this marvelous little coup?” Everin offered. “We’ll be rather hidden and protected there. The Fae had sent quite a few more protectors there before we left, if you’ll recall. Did you ever inform the royals about that, by the way? You mentioned it might cause the queen to be more concerned about its management if the Fae started moving en masse and threatened her own control over the area.”

  Veldrix looked toward him blankly for a moment before giving a tiny smirk. “It may have slipped my mind when they were so insistent on not letting me speak during our time together.”

  “Wow, you are honestly blowing my mind over here, V,” Helen said, apparently trying to get back to her more light-hearted state. “Both with the idea that my oddly prudish sibling was actually being wild with the royals all this time and that you would ever shirk your knightly obligations to protect the crown’s interests.”

  Veldrix rolled their eyes again. “Honestly, they are probably quite aware by this point. With the PPS sending messages again, I’m sure my replacement has been busy spilling everything she’s learned since arriving. I warned Duke Tul not to trust her with as much as he trusted me with, but I’m not sure how much that will matter.”

  “Do you think the queen will try to replace House Wayland’s control over it? That seems like an unwise move to me, but if I’ve learned anything about pretentious royals, it’s that they’re not always wise,” Everin pointed out. “If she has even a whisper of a doubt as to House Wayland’s loyalty toward her, she may make a drastic move to seize that area and replace it with either loyalists or herself before it will be beyond her ability to control in a couple of decades.”

  “The nation’s capital currently sits in the highest Caste point of the nation,” Aino said. “My parents always seemed quite proud of that fact. I’m almost positive that if that point shifts, they’ll want to make a new capital.”

  A tenser silence fell that time as they all played out the upcoming civil war that would likely ensue even without their intervention. That was what made up Everin’s mind.

  “I’d rather see Aino on the throne and have her handing it off to one of her children after three decades than watch the Sacred City get overrun by Queen Mairea’s greed,” he quietly said to the group.

  Everin noticed Veldrix’s entire body tense at that. They turned to look at him and asked, “Are you truly asking me to turn on my vows… betray the nation I’ve sworn to protect—”

  “Queen Mairea is the one who betrayed her people, Vel,” Everin interrupted. He was well familiar with this hesitant sentiment that Veldrix was expressing. He had needed to convince people to join rebellions before. “She betrayed her own duty the moment she traded her heir for your body. She keeps her nation in a state of uncertainty and fear for her own personal greed and lust. The Garnet Gemites should be treated as her people, just like any other within her borders, but instead, she uses them as hostages. She is undeserving of the crown upon her head.”

  “Spoken like a true insurrectionist,” Helen said with a wide grin, wrapping an arm around her wife on the sofa they shared. “So, we’ll stop by the Sacred City first. I can take a look at this frozen Baron Paladin you talked about. Then you two and Aino can stay there while I go murder—I mean, negotiate with the royals in Blomstra. If they go with option two, I’ll come back to retrieve you both, and Aino gets a pretty new crown. Good plan? Any objection should be spoken now ‘cause I don’t like stopping ‘til the plan is complete. That's why I usually hate making plans.”

  Veldrix grimaced like they wanted to make a retort but held their tongue.

  Everin glanced at Aino, who simply smiled cheerfully back at him.

  Helen clapped her hands together and announced, “We’re in agreement then. Long live queen Aino!”

  “Negotiations first,” Veldrix interjected. “If they choose option one, which is much more likely, then I’ll need to worry more about making sure my new child doesn’t become as corrupt as their other parents and make other plans to hopefully prevent a war over the Sacred City.”

  Everin felt his heart stutter at the idea of Veldrix having a child with either of those corrupt royals. Children could be used as their own form of cage, which is yet another reason he had never desired any himself…

  He glanced at Veldrix again and realized that they would definitely want children with any partner they truly got serious about. Would he be willing to make that kind of commitment to his lover? Would Veldrix even ask him? Why was he even contemplating this right now? He shook his head to refocus on the conversation.

  “Can’t we just pick option two for them?” Helen asked as though contemplating a Winter’s Break gift instead of murder. “It’ll make everything so much simpler.”

  “No, Len,” Veldrix firmly stated. “I will have no part in that and will have to move to protect them. You might not care about breaking vows, but I do.”

  Helen gave an annoyed huff. “Alright, fine. I’m still going to insist they use the Cultivator’s rituals, though, instead of taking you to bed again. You should have read the fine print before agreeing to their ridiculous trade agreement.”

  Veldrix frowned slightly before the emotion completely vanished, and they softly said, “It wasn’t a contract… I made an Oathbond as I begged for your lives on my knees. If they don’t agree to your terms and release me from it, my life is the price.”

  Helen actually looked horrified for a moment before she groaned, “Oh, you stupid little—”