“And there is no magic in this production?” I asked, stopping at the edge of the vast gardens and bracing my hands on my hips. I didn’t want to go to the workstation yet. I wanted to peruse the natural offerings.
Calia gave me a sly smile and then laughed. “Since there are none of my people within earshot, and your handler isn’t here…” Her eyes glinted at me. “I will be blunt, shall I?”
“Please.”
“I know that you were told our guests are prohibited from examining the castle’s more robust magical operations. I also know you were told that yes, there is some magic employed in these particular operations, and it won’t be explained. So then, what was the real point in asking? I don’t understand plants like you do.”
I turned my face away to hide my smile. “I don’t know how to be clever with my words. Hopefully that won’t bite me in the ass. Want me to be honest?”
Her smile had slipped, but she nodded. “Yes, I’d like that.”
“I want to study some of these potions, the ones that use magic, to see if I can devise something like them.”
“Ah. Yes, I thought it might be something like that.” She looked behind us at my people waiting. “Let’s take a walk, shall we?”
Unease niggling at me, I followed her into the rows of plants, aiming away from anyone who might overhear.
“Listen, Finley,” she said, slowing way down, her voice a low murmur. “I have a duty to my people. As do you. In time you’ll learn to navigate that. Until then, please know that I am rooting for you. My desire to be with you and yours isn’t just about repaying the service you rendered my people and family. It isn’t just about monitoring your kingdom to see if we might want to align with you. I do, genuinely, enjoy your company. Dessia has latched on to Hadriel. She feels comfortable with him in a way she hasn’t felt comfortable with anyone in a long time. One day I hope we can be friendly, if not friends. I have so few friends. I know all that might take a while, though.”
“Not as long as you might think if you’re just up-front with me until I learn all Arleth’s annoying lessons about subtlety.”
She laughed. “Yes, of course. Well, then. I will tell you this, and you will see how much I am willing to bend my duty to support a friend.” She bent and plucked a little yellow flower from a plant I didn’t recognize. “I have set you up with a workstation at the back of the tent. Some might think it a slight, but there are benefits to the situation. Mainly that no one will be working in either of the stations between you and a snarl-toothed woman with a surly disposition two tables away in the corner. You might notice her…work habits and special skills. You might also find that if someone has information she wants, she will grudgingly trade for it. Often she will reveal things she really oughtn’t.”
“I don’t think you’re quite clear on what I meant by up-front, but I think I catch your drift.”
She laughed as we continued on our way. “She’s the magical one.”
“Yes, I got that.”
“I would get in grave trouble if it came out that I’d told you that.”
My heart felt a little squishy. Nyfain had said that in order to even partially trust, it was often necessary to hold one another’s secrets. She was offering me an olive branch. She was trying to find a way to be friends, and trusting I’d do right by her.
“Thanks,” I said softly. “Hopefully one day I’ll get the hang of all this, and I’ll be much less awkward. In the meantime, you’re safe in knowing I’m shit at politics without my handler.”
“I like awkward, and I hate politics. I much prefer your court, where everything is about hard work and unity. It feels more…genuine. But…” She shrugged and looked around. “I’m a faerie with a prized role in a prestigious court. Things could be worse.”
I chuckled. “I’m a commoner queen with zero idea how to function in a court and even less inclination to try. I know things could be worse.”
She huffed. “Now you’re just feeling sorry for yourself.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, good luck. Oh, and please, where is Hadriel? My sister went off to stalk him around the castle. I thought he was going to end up here by now or I wouldn’t have let her.”
“Why?”
A shadow crossed her expression but cleared in a moment. “She has a habit of getting into mischief.”
“And you think Hadriel is going to save her from that?” I asked.
“No. It’s only that Vemar was with Hadriel, and he won’t let anything happen to either of them. There are worse things than a dragon bodyguard.”