Toby said as he scrambled to his feet and let Germanà work her magic. “Okay, I’m a little weird, but there’s nothing wrong with being different, Jeremy. I think it’s actually more fun to be original and not seem like everyone else on the planet. Hmm. Maybe I should say in the realm now? I don’t know, but you know what I mean. It’s important to be yourself, and while I’m on the subject, it’s not—”
A throat cleared behind him. A very royal-sounding throat.
Toby gulped.
“She’s standing behind me, isn’t she?”
Jeremy nodded. “She’s super pretty. But she looks really mad.”
Toby sighed and turned, pasting a smile on his face. “Your Royal… oh wow. Holy… Oh wow.”
The queen scowled. “The human is broken.”
“Nah, he’s just like that,” Jeremy said. “Hi, Queen Prince Kavalan’s Mom.”
“You are…” The queen stopped speaking, her gaze glued to Jeremy.
“Mother?” Prince Kavalan stepped up to the queen’s side. His expression revealed nothing, but Toby didn’t really need the help. The queen had seen something in Jeremy. Something Toby hadn’t… or couldn’t.
She looked… well, gobsmacked was the word that came to mind. The queen moved closer to them, her robes glistening and floating around her.
Jeremy scooted closer to Toby, pressing himself against Toby’s side.
“T-Toby?”
With a gentle push, Toby moved Jeremy behind him. The queen snarled and raised her gaze. “You dare to keep one of my own from me?”
There were audible gasps around him.
Toby tried not to panic.
“I try to keep a member of my pack from being terrified of you.”
Her eyes practically crackled with anger.
Toby tried not to freak out.
“Your Majesty, he’s a little boy, and you’re scaring the crap out of him, okay? Just… can you not do that? He’s separated from his alpha and most of his pack. Please, take a moment to understand that.”
She growled.
Toby gulped.
“Child, you have nothing to fear from your queen.”
“M-my queen?” Jeremy poked his head out from behind Toby’s back.
“Come to me.”
Jeremy trembled but scooted out from behind Toby. He stopped beside him and clutched Toby’s hand. Toby glanced down and met Jeremy’s gaze. “I’ll go with you.”
Jeremy nodded and took a step closer. They walked up to the queen and paused within a couple of feet of her. “Am I supposed to bow?” Jeremy whispered. “Like they do on TV?”
“I don’t know,” Toby whispered back. “I don’t think she’ll be mad at us for not doing things right, though. We’re new here.”
“Yeah.”
Germanà hurried to Jeremy’s side and took his other hand. She moved it over his heart, then bowed her head. Jeremy mimicked her action, his hand squeezing Toby’s so hard Toby was pretty sure there might be permanent damage.
“Thank you,” the queen said softly. “I am Queen Orfhlaith.”
“My name’s Jeremy. This is Toby, my friend. You’re really pretty.”
“And you are very kind.”
“Queen Orfhlaith, can we please go home now? I want to go back to my pack. Do you know if the scary smoke monsters are gone?”
She turned to the prince. “Scary smoke monsters?”
“Erlkings. I have already sent—”
“Good. Who do we have in the human realm?”
The prince stilled.
A moment later, the queen growled again. “Puteri is no match for Erlkings.”
“Also, it appears that the Lady sent one of your Valkyrie to bring the Smith pack back to us.”
“Her name is Hildr,” Jeremy said quietly. “I like her. She’s gonna come rescue me.”
The queen returned her attention to Jeremy. “You like Hildr?”
He beamed. “I’m gonna ask her to be my mom. Alpha says we get to pick, so I decided I’m gonna pick her.”
Not a single noise could be heard in the area. Toby was pretty sure even the gentle lapping of the waves stopped.
“Am I allowed to ride on the horse, Toby?”
“Uh… I don’t know. We’ll have to ask… Hildr. And it’s a pegasus, not a horse.”
“Pegasus?”
“A pegasus is a horse with wings. They’re super special, and only the most—”
The queen growled.
“We’ll talk about this later, Jeremy.” Toby didn’t exactly want to draw the queen’s attention to him, but he didn’t want it to remain on Jeremy either.
Especially considering the fact that if eyes could growl, hers would be doing it. As if the growl coming from her mouth wasn’t terrifying enough.
“Hildr’s super special, Toby. She gets a pegasus.”
Toby chose to remain silent.
Jeremy frowned at him before returning his attention to the queen. The kid had a one-track mind, and Toby realized too late that he wasn’t going to let it go.
“Is Hildr super special, Queen Orfhlaith? I think she is. She had a sword, and she kept us