The Promised Queen (Forgotten Empires #3)- Jeffe Kennedy Page 0,113
me on my feet, and walked away. Striding aboard the Last Resort, he pulled up the gangplank and threw down the final ropes before looking my way again, like he didn’t trust himself to see me until he’d forced their departure.
Con raised a hand and I returned the gesture. We stood there, our hands up in a frozen wave, a kind of salute to so many things between us. My remaining ladies gathered behind me, respectful in their quiet, and we all watched the yacht sail into the sunrise, my guiding currents beneath to send them on their way as far as I could reach.
They cleared the barrier reef before the sun rose high enough to heat me through. When they disappeared from sight, I finally lowered my hand, finding it had gone numb from being held aloft so long. The rest of me had gone numb, too, as if Con had taken my heart with him.
Which, I supposed, he had.
But I still had the rest of myself. Along with all that I had learned and grown into.
I turned to my four ladies, the formal distance between us bruising with its awkward edges. We were as private as we’d ever be. So, while the end of a lonely dock seemed like an odd place to have this conversation, it was also fitting in a way. New approaches to handling our changing world. Calanthe and I—and all my people—had been in stasis for so long. Living in our delicate bubble, one that depended on us not breaking it from the inside.
I studied their familiar faces, awaiting any indication of my wishes with alert eyes and carefully sweet smiles. I sighed mentally for the last. I’d like to tell them to only smile when they felt it sincerely, but that would be asking too much.
“I mentioned that I’d be asking more of you than I have before,” I said, noting the wariness creeping into their serene gazes. “You all are practiced at defending My person. I’d like you to expand your efforts to defending all of Calanthe.”
They gazed back at me, with varying levels of comprehension and confusion. Calla frowned slightly but took the initiative. “Using the same techniques, Your Highness?”
I smiled, pleased with her quickness. “Yes. If you envision Calanthe as a larger embodiment of Myself, then the magic should naturally follow.”
Orvyki’s face cleared, lighting with interest. “A violent attack on Calanthe can be reversed just as a violent attack on Your Highness would be.”
I nodded. “That’s My theory exactly.”
“Your Highness is expecting magical attacks by Anure’s wizards,” Nahua put in, not quite a question. “Ibolya told us everything.”
Good. Thank you, Ibolya. “Yes. They’ve been using various magics to test Calanthe’s wards—to Me they feel like needle jabs or splashes of hot water, other similar odd sensations—so I’d like you four to spend today attuning yourselves to that probing and being alert for escalation.”
“Do we know how to do that, Your Highness?” Zariah asked tentatively. “I want to do this, make no mistake, but…” She trailed off, her demurely interlaced fingers gripping one another tight. She clearly worried about being dismissed, but—by the way the other ladies threw her grateful glances—they all harbored the same concern.
“I’m asking you to try,” I said, trying to speak to them as the friends and companions I’d like them to be. My new team of warriors and confidants. “I’m trying new tools, too, magical techniques I’m not sure I know how to do, either. I’m hoping we can all learn together.”
They relaxed at that, smiling back at me with hesitation, then increasing warmth. Genuine smiles. They were all so young, I realized. All younger than I, except for Calla who was my same age. And look how much I’d grown in just a few weeks. We’d been frozen in time, in our seemingly eternal youth. Now it was time to grow up.
“It will be a challenge for us all,” I proclaimed. “I think we’ll be brilliant.”
“Do You intend to convene court today, Your Highness?” Calla asked, raising a brow. “If so, then I advise one of us should remain with You, while the other three practice this new task. We’ll take turns.”
“Then you’re all willing?” I asked, with some surprise.
They exchanged looks and nodded, breaking into excited smiles. “Ibolya is not the only one who’d like to do something more,” Nahua said staunchly. “But I agree with Calla: One of us should be with Your Highness at all times.”