Page 108 of The Royal Gauntlet

Essos climbs to his feet to start the shower and the bath. “Yeah, but you didn’t have to hold a blade to my neck while you did it.”

“It felt like every day I was holding a blade to your neck if I didn’t do what was expected of me. Today felt a little too real,” I confess.

Essos’s back is to me as he strips off his suit, but I can see his shoulders bow in. “For me too. There was this look in your eyes after I kissed her, an anguish that felt too real.”

“It was real. For a moment, I could imagine it, you picking her over me. I know you wouldn’t, but I was afraid of it all the same.”

“Never. Besides, apparently our baby girl has the ability to make big scary gods want to rip their eyeballs out. I’m not interested in getting on her bad side anytime soon.”

Essos helps me to my feet. He snaps his fingers for dramatic flair, and my dress is gone, hung up behind me, leaving me naked for his perusal. He kisses where Ellie punched me and both spots where I was cut, which are already healed, before hauling me into the shower so we can enjoy our very short reprieve before the next problem arises.

CHAPTER31

Xavier requests an audience with Essos and I the next day. We’re still trying to figure out how to get our message that we have Ellie to Posey without causing her to just smite us on the spot. I’m not sure it’s something she’s capable of as a Fate, but I don’t really feel like testing it. My hackles are raised that Xavier is going about meeting with us officially, but I go with it.

He asks that Essos and I meet him on the beach, but when we get there, Xavier is nowhere to be seen.

“This is fun,” I snark, looking up and down the beach.

Essos chuckles. “Give him a few minutes. He has been trying to do better.” He rubs my arms as if to warm me, but I’m not particularly cold.

“Do better? Essos, he still doesn’t have a realm to run, but has he offered to help us with ours? No. He’s the same Xavier who just punted more and more of his work to us. I’m sorry, but we both have requests that could take the rest of our lives to process. I don’t have time to wait around for whatever this is meant to be.”

“I’m sorry if I’m wasting your precious time.”

I spin around and find Xavier standing there. His face is too stony for me to tell how upset he is by my comments.

“No, Xav, I’m sorry—”

He holds up a hand to silence me. “You’re right. I’ve been lazy and it shows, and I have to be better. If I were a better man, Posey wouldn’t have been able to eviscerate me so completely when it came to our realm. Our people know who I am, and that’s why they believe her so readily.”

“This is a level of self-awareness I never expected,” Essos says, eyebrows lifted.

“Like I said, I want to be better. It’s why I got you this.” Xavier had been covering something with an illusion, but when he drops it, I stumble back in surprise. Sitting at his feet is a baby gryphon. My heart lurches at the memory of the warm blood spraying my face during the final trial, and I have to swallow hard to keep my nausea at bay.

The animal coos, rising to sit on its haunches. The wings on its grey back are too small for it to take flight, but it chirps at me, its front claws scrabbling at the air. It has little spots that cover its bottom, and it decidedly looks disappointed that I have not picked it up yet.

Essos obliges the baby gryphon, lifting it into his arms. It shakes out its wings before nudging the God of the Dead with its little head.

“She’s six months old, and I wanted to present her to you for your child.” Xavier glances anxiously between us, waiting for us to say something.

I look at the beast, happily chirping in Essos’s arms, her tail swishing. I reach a hand toward her, letting her close the distance if she so chooses. Her feathers are soft when she nudges against my hand.

Essos and I have a silent conversation about the creature that is moving her way up his chest so she can perch rather proudly on his shoulder, only to not understand her balance. She tumbles forward and Essos catches her with a groan. This only delights the beast more, so she does it again with a happy squawk, intentionally throwing herself forward to be caught.

“We might as well. What’s one more when you have an infant, three dogs, and a petulant cat?” I tease, watching Essos wince as she digs her claws into his shoulder.

“Her name is Nightwalker, and I’ll take care of her training and, of course, helping the baby with training.”

“We’re calling her Pom,” Essos interjects, releasing Nightwalker to the ground.

“If you want to change her name, I’m happy to do so–” Xavier starts, unsure of what to do as the gryphon gets a running start before flapping her tiny wings.

“Not Nightwalker, the baby. I’m tired of calling her ‘baby’ and since we can’t decide on a name, I went with what she’s the size of. Right now, it’s a pomegranate,” I tell him with a laugh.

Xavier’s eyes fall to my stomach. “May I?” he asks, gesturing toward my stomach.

I nod, guiding his hand to where she’s been kicking. I’m not sure if anyone else can feel it yet, so far Essos hasn’t, but soon I know he will. Xavier withdraws his hand just as quickly as he touched me, a look crossing his face that I can’t name. I want to question him about that look, but he speaks before I can press him on it.

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