A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

Dee and I joined in, helping, offering suggestions, and taking over more of the faerie workstations. It wasn’t that we’d been welcomed, it was that they’d acclimated to our presence. We just were, like they were. We worked there now, simple as that. Finley had forced a place for us, and they didn’t think to be affronted.

I’d never heard of such a thing. I’d never heard of faeries being this open with outsiders. Not ever.

By the time we left, our stations had been declared ours for the duration of our stay, and we were told they’d be left open for us on future visits.

“If I hadn’t lived it, I wouldn’t believe it,” Dee whispered as we made our way back to the castle, tired but enthused. It was time to get ready for dinner. We hung back from Finley a little so we could talk. “I would not believe it.”

“I know. I knew Finley would weasel her way in, but that…”

“She loves it. She loves all that. It’s her calling. They saw it in her just like we did.”

“Yes, true.”

“She’s going to make Wyvern a lot of money.” Dee sucked her teeth. “We just have to figure out how to get some of those faerie plants on the shadow market.”

“Only a few kingdoms allow the shadow markets, and they are all less prestigious. I doubt my son will want to visit them for the purpose of his mother’s questionable dealings. We’ll need to be clever about how we make the request.”

I watched with a smile as Sable and Dash ran in and out of the bushes, playing tag. Hannon walked next to Finley, listening to her chatter away about the new plants she was excited about.

Hannon had stayed the whole time, of course, wanting to be with his family. He’d stood idly and watched over the kids, or wandered the tents with Finley, giving her a sounding board that didn’t actually sound. He’d had zero purpose, since we weren’t sharing about his special ability with the everlass. He couldn’t help with the plants like Dash, running to and fro to collect, and he couldn’t sing like Sable. He didn’t tell hilarious stories and jokes like Hadriel, giving people something to do when they took a break, or offer charismatic anecdotes like Vemar, who played off Hadriel in a way that had most people bending over laughing, wiping tears from their eyes. And maybe if he hadn’t been such a calm, sure presence, or maybe if he’d been less broad and handsome, or less…whatever it was that seemed to draw a person in and make them want to stay forever, he would’ve stood out. As it was, he blended in. He was part of the beautiful tableau Finley had painted within the faerie garden, and I knew in my bones that she’d go back home and immediately create the same sort of work area and inject her sense of family into it.

Under her steady leadership, we’d have the best plant-working operation in the world.

And after I got home, we’d also return to having the best library. The faeries had really upped their game in that department. They’d had sixteen years to expand and collect more volumes.

I hated to be outdone when it came to my library.

Plants and books, that was where our kingdom would shine above all else.

The first day had gotten off to an amazing start. It was better than anything I could’ve expected.

Dinner started off well too. King Starvos wanted to hear from the various people who’d been kept in the dungeons.

I understood what he was after—he wanted to see what kind of a case we had against the demon king. While Calia had a lot of power in his court, she was essentially a spy. Her grievance against Dolion would be easy for the demon king to swat away. She’d been trespassing, after all, in and out of dungeons all through the world. She couldn’t be trusted.

Then there was Nyfain. His father had bartered with the demon king. Sure, Dolion had treated the kingdom abominably and taken far more than a creature of worth and merit ever would, but…they were demons. That was what they did. That was why no respectable party would deal with them. Finley, though certainly a gem, had found her way into the dungeon to save Nyfain. It could be claimed she didn’t have a legitimate grievance either. That she’d put herself into the situation.

Hence Starvos’s dilemma, but it was a dilemma that was soon laid to rest.

Micah was strong and powerful, well mannered, educated, and attractive. He was a shining example of a capable dragon. He spoke eloquently, sharing his story, and Weston addressed the king next. The epitome of an alpha wolf, he nonetheless spoke to the king with respect and even subservience, his manners impeccable. He shared his story about why he’d left the Red Lupine court, focusing on the family angle, and spoke of his time in the dungeons.