Page 58 of The Witch Queen

“What? I just gave her a few romance books from my collection,” I deflect.

“Saucy?” he asks, eyebrow raised.

“They’re just really… exciting,” I respond, and Silene and Thorne both break out laughing again.

“What will the people in the merchant district do?” Fionn asks, and the mood sobers. I take a swallow of wine before answering.

“We have a little less than a week to get them into temporary shelters,” I explain. “Once Winter Solstice and Abscission arrive, it’ll be too cold to do much else in the district. My advisors’ number one priority is finding them a place to stay until we can rebuild their homes.”

“Where will they go if they don’t have family to stay with?” Fionn’s eyes are bright as he listens intently to my words.

“Here. The palace is deceptively large. There are entire wings under the mountain that aren’t in use. We have more than enough rooms for displaced families. The real challenge is getting them cleaned and properly set up in time.”

Fionn looks thoughtful. “You’ll house them here? What if there are rebels among them? It could be another trick, to sneak inside so they can launch another attack.”

“That’s a risk we’ll have to take,” I say somberly. I considered the very question, worried we’d have another attack inside the palace. “It’s the best option with the timeline we have. I have to trust that the rebels will honor this kingdom’s most sacred tradition and rest for the next few weeks. Besides, I won’t leave my people without shelter, no matter the risk.” Fionn gazes at me with a look of newfound respect, and the approval of this warrior lifts something inside of me.

“We’ll help prepare rooms,” Silene says cheerfully. “I can sweep dust with my air channeling. And Fionn can help move any furniture with metal in it. Thorne, well, I’m not exactly sure how he’ll be able to help, since light doesn’t really do much and he hates any kind of physical labor or cleaning…”

Thorne scoffs and looks offended. “One—may I remind you I’m also a water channeler, and water is typically very useful whencleaning.Two—I don’t hate physical labor or cleaning. I just prefer not to do it if I don’t have to. With the number of servants always swarming me in Velmara, setting them a cleaning task was sometimes the only way to get a moment of peace and quiet.”

We all laugh at his expense, Thorne included. The dinner passes in camaraderie and laughter, and I find myself more excited for an Abscission than I have been in a long time.

The next week passes in a frenzy of cleaning, moving furniture, and hauling boxes of belongings into rooms in the palace. All three of the Velmarans are true to their word, working tirelessly alongside my advisors and me to prepare comfortable lodging for those without alternative shelter. Silene even convinces me to throw a Winter Solstice dinner and invite everyone staying in the palace. She takes on most of the planning, becoming fast friends with the advisors and servants she works with. Silene probably becomes fast friends with everyone she meets. After six days of hard work, we successfully get everyone settled.

On the morning of Winter Solstice, I wake up in my bed, the air cold even to me. As usual, Lunaria prowled outside overnight, so I left the balcony doors open, and the frigid air makes my breath come in puffs I can see. I’m covered in a multitude of blankets and furs, and I loathe the idea of getting out of bed, so I use my magic to start a fire and heat the room.

Thankfully, it’s Winter Solstice, which means I get to laze around with the rest of my kingdom and do absolutely nothing. I have complicated feelings about this day, though. I love the Thayarian tradition of rest, but each year it reminds me of my loneliness. I’ve spent a few Solstices with lovers, but usually it’s just Nemesia and me, since both of our parents died in the war and it’s incredibly uncommon for fae to have more than one child. We always build a massive fire in my room and lay in my bed together reading all day, eating whatever pastries or other sweets we can pilfer from the kitchens. I notice her absence even more deeply today as I lay alone in my bed, realizing I have no one to spend the day with. I wonder not for the first time what she’s doing. If she’s safe. If she’s happy.

Spotting Lunaria fast asleep at my feet, I channel a gust of wind that shuts the balcony doors. That startles her, and she stretches before gingerly making her way to my side and curling up next to me.

“Late night?” I ask. She only nuzzles closer to me. I grab the book on my nightstand, excited for a morning of reading about Cairn and Stella, the characters in my most recent saucy book.

An hour later, the room has warmed and Lunaria’s body heat seeps into me. I’m sweating, so I throw the blankets off, which disturbs my cat. She gives me a grumpy look before leaping from the bed to her pallet in the corner, where she falls back asleep.

“What a drama queen,” I mutter under my breath. I stretch my arms high above my head, releasing the pressure in my shoulders and back, then step out of the bed to make myself a cup of tea.

Just as I’m settling onto the couch in my sitting room, there’s a knock at my door. I’m not expecting anyone, so I step cautiously toward it. I pool light in my hand, then open it a crack. Thorne stands there, alone, grinning from ear to ear. He notices the light in my hand.

“I’m glad you’re taking precautions to defend yourself with what I taught you,” he says.

“Why are you here?” I ask, opening the door fully. Thorne’s eyes widen, and his gaze tracks up and down my body. Heat builds in his expression, his jaw going slack and his eyes dilating. “Hello? What are you doing?” I snap.

Thorne startles. “Well—uh—” He coughs, and I cross my arms over my chest in impatience, which only makes his gaze darken. “Uh, in Velmara, the Winter Solstice…” He moves his eyes to stare at something over my shoulder. “We celebrate by exchanging gifts. Silene has sent here me on strict orders to bring you with me.”

It finally hits me—I opened the door in my chemise, a short length of gauzy and nearly transparent fabric. I want to hide myself in shame. My mortification forces me to wave Thorne in before quickly turning and grabbing a robe draped over the couch. Thorne says nothing, though his gaze returns to my face now that my body is covered.

“In true Silene fashion,” he continues, “she’s somehow managed to organize a dinner for hundreds of people while also finding time to shop for gifts and help move said people into the palace. I’m merely a messenger, witchling. But I fear if I return without you, Silene may lose that chipper personality she’s so known for and rip my still-beating heart out from my chest. She’s learned a thing or two from the Witch Queen while in Thayaria.” He winks in that classic Thorne way.

Panic grips my gut. “But, I don’t have gifts for any of you. I—I didn’t know. It’s not something we do here in Thayaria,” I confess.

“You’ve already given us our gift.” When I look confused, he continues. “The greenhouse. It’s the best gift we could’ve asked for in this arctic wasteland. You weren’t kidding when you said it would get cold.”

“The cold gets worse,” I tell him absentmindedly, my mind racing. The greenhouse, while a gift of sorts, is not sufficient. “Come in and sit down for a moment,” I tell him before racing off.

I gather the things I need, stuffing them into a bag, then rush to my closet. I dress in warm trousers and a long-sleeved tunic, buttoning it up over my cleavage to make up for what he previously saw. Grabbing my bag, I motion for us to leave, then follow Thorne down the endless staircases.

“I can aerstep us,” I say grumpily. “I hate these stairs. I never take them.”

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