to.”
The guard’s eyes widened, having been spoken to by his king, and quickly bowed at the waist in reverence. “Right away, my king.”
We stepped inside High Pointe, my father’s personal guards silently following us and respectfully putting distance between us and them, scattering so they blurred to the side of our vision—allowing the privacy my father always demanded.
Everywhere beams of multi-hued colors shot down through the stained glass onto the white, seamless marble floor, casting colors of light on the grand space, the area so vast our footsteps echoed inside the building. A large desk sat fifty feet in front of us, with an equally massive, steel blue ceiling structure curved over the top from the floor, shading the colorful lights for anyone who would staff the desk. An “Elf Kingdom Registration” sign hung from the edge of the desk’s quasi roof. The sides of two other desk structures, of the same make, could be viewed to the far left and right—surely, the Caster and Gorgon Kingdoms. The shifter’s registration desk was unseen—straight west of the Elf Kingdom—because of the enormous and circular, solid blue glass wall that sat in the very center of High Pointe, the sectioned off glass area reaching to the top of the domed building.
King Traevon pointed to that area. “That’s where we are going. Only staff is allowed inside on the first level. The upper level is exclusively for the royals to gather together if it is needed.”
“I read that somewhere.” I bobbed my head in awe, gawking at the majesty that surrounded me. “Father, do you think all of Fairy, above and below, looks like this?”
King Traevon placed a pointed finger under my chin, and affectionately pushed up, shutting my gaping mouth. “I imagine the dark and light Fae lands are even more breathtaking.”
“Wow,” I breathed softly.
Father waited a full minute before asking, “Are you done ogling? Queen Mikko wasn’t too far behind us. Do you still want to wash your hands before meeting her?”
I blinked hard and straightened my back, unconsciously, having been leaning in every direction where I’d been gawking. I lifted my chin and sniffed in his direction. “Yes, that sounds like a marvelous plan.”
The king’s lips twitched. “Perfect.”
His guards split into two groups, half staying where they were, the other half following us. They did so again when we entered the circular center, bypassing the staff rooms, then again, when we started climbing the stairs to the top level.
There were many, many stairs.
The last time the personal guard split their group was when my father opened the door to the royal area. He was down to two personal guards, the other two staying at the door when we walked into a large entrance area. Those same color beams of light rained down on us, the top of the domed building our ceiling, and still so far away.
I wiped the damp sweat off my forehead with the back of my clean hand. “Good Fae! There has to be a better way to reach this blasted area.”
“If there is, no one has invented it yet.” Father patted my back and pointed to a door on the right. “The bathrooms are through there. Take a right when the hallway splits; the left would take you to the royal bedchambers.”
I nodded, done catching my breath. “Should I meet you back here? Is this where everyone will be?”
It seemed so since the room was sparse on furniture, mainly made for standing and greeting one another. Only a few uncomfortable-looking chairs sat against the walls where there weren’t any doors or paintings of the five kingdoms—and there was an abundance of landscape portraits covering almost every square inch of the walls.
“Yes. Hurry back if you can, my heir.” He flicked a finger to the side, and one of his personal guards stepped forward in my peripheral. “He will be going with you anywhere you wander without me. Royals are allowed one guard with them.”
I stared. “Father, I’m going to the bathroom.”
He peered down his nose at me. “I know.”
“Is it far away or something?” I asked in exasperation.
“Well…no.”
“Will you be able to hear me if I scream?”
Father cleared his throat. “Yes.”
The king still didn’t back down, even if I had a point.
“Do I need to tell you that I’m not going to the bathroom to simply wash my hands? I figured you would understand this, with your problem as of late.” I shook my head. “I’d like some privacy without someone standing outside the door.”
King Traevon’s