Page 58 of To Wake a Kingdom

“And you’ve been stuck with these three all this time?” I asked, and Gideon beamed.

“He works for Ronan,” Noah said. “We just tag along.”

“I’ve attended the commander since he was a young boy,” Gideon said, pride written in the shape of his straightened posture. “He’s always had trouble with life at court. It is too much scheming and plotting and half-truths for a man of his nature.”

“He’s changed, though,” Noah said. “Since coming here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean, he’s happy.” Noah frowned. “He laughs more.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Of course it is. But we can’t stay here forever.”

All this time, I’d been petitioning for them to leave, but hearing Noah voice it felt like a star crashing to the earth. Theyshouldleave. And Ronan should not be asleep in my bed, but I’d kissed him and allowed myself the luxury of my emotions, and that had changed everything.

“Something troubles you, Your Highness,” Gideon said before all eyes swung to me.

I’d gone inside myself again, thoughts leading me away from the present.“How much longer until the tincture is ready?”

“A day or two more,” Gideon replied, gathering dishes and stacking them in a pile. “I am keeping a very close eye on it. I won’t let anything happen.”

Overcome with an emotion I had no name for, I nodded, my throat suddenly too tight to speak.

“Have you tried a hag hole?” Noah asked, popping an almond into his mouth and crunching it loudly.

“A what?”

“A hag hole,” Noah said more slowly, as if that would help me understand.

“Noah, I don’t know what that is.”

He sighed. “When we were kids, and we’d get scared of evil Faeries coming to steal us, my mum would make hag holes. A wicked Faerie can’t enter a room if there’s a hag hole hanging on the door.”

Em and Gideon were both trying to hold in smiles while I indulged Noah’s story.

“How do you make one?”

“You find a bunch of stones, and you twist up some rope and tie them together until they make a wreath. Then you hang it on the door, and—” He clapped his hands together with a flourish. “—no more Faeries.”

“And does it work?”

“All I know is we saw no evil Faeries in our rooms,” he said with a nod of his head that suggested the matter was settled.

I covered my mouth as Em dropped her head into her hands.

“Noah, you’re such a dolt,” she said.

“Hey!” Noah threw an almond at her. “It worked for my mum!”

We were all laughing now, and I let out a long breath. “Honestly, I’m willing to try anything at this point.”

Gideon stood up, the stack of plates gathered in his hands. “I’ll gather the necessary supplies, Your Highness.” Before I could protest, he turned and headed for the castle.

Later that evening, I awoke to Ronan curled around me, trailing kisses along my neck and over the back of my shoulder. I’d dozed off after spending the afternoon with Noah, Em, and Gideon, making dozens of hag holes. We’d hung them all around the throne room, reasoning if one was good, then surely thirty would be better.

“You brought me to your room,” Ronan said, pressing his mouth to the curve of my throat.

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