“Go now, Lady Arlet! Go now, Lady Arlet!” the children chant.
Laughing, I raise my hands in surrender, touched, despite the use of a title I hadn’t officially earned. “Fine! I will leave.”
As I turn to leave, a small hand tugs at my skirt. I look down to see Miti, one of the cave-born enduar children, surrounded by a group of human boys and girls.
She struggles to meet others’ eyes, preferring to draw her thoughts rather than speak them.
I crouch, and she slides a piece of paper toward me.
I lift it carefully and take in the image she has drawn. In flowing lines, she’s drawn me standing before the king and queen, receiving a delicate coronet reserved for members of the court. My bright red hair is twisted atop my head, and a green dress cascades down the palace steps.
Though I had planned to wear purple to my ascension ceremony, Miti’s drawing reminds me of another gown hung in the corner of my closet.
“This is beautiful! Look at that. A green gown,” I muse.
The corner of her mouth twists.
“Do you like this gown?” I reach out, palm up, and she slips her slight hand into mine.
It takes a moment, but she nods. My heart squeezes.I am absolutely wearing this dress instead.
“May I keep this?” I ask softly.
She nods again, her smile falling and her gaze moving to my desk in the corner covered with scrolls. Lesson plans that seemed to take up more time than there were hours in a day.
“I hope to see you tonight, at the party,” I whisper. “And don’t worry. I won’t stop coming here to spend time with you, it just won’t be every day anymore.”
She smiles again—just a little—and then, with deliberate hesitation, raises her face toward mine. Her gaze hovers near my cheek, not quite meeting my eyes, before she suddenly leans in, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I hold her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’ll be back tomorrow. And maybe I’ll bring you a gift.”
Her arms tighten. It takes a moment before I can gently pry myself away, lifting her hands to my cheek in a show of affection before brushing out of the room.
My eyes burn as I glance at her drawing once more. Then, with a deep breath, I tuck it into my pocket and hurry out of the school.
Having a massive city in a series of enormous caves was a featthat only the enduares could do well. Parts that were blocked off or destroyed had been slowly rebuilt. Among the many changes the city has experienced, one of them is a new housing section for members of the royal court.
My new home has been carved alongside the palace, nestled in the newly rebuilt district with elegant dwellings reserved for council members and their families.
Lady Arlet.
I grimace. Today, I ascend, formally appointed as leader of education—both here in the caves and the human settlement above.
LadyArlet, I repeat.
I just… don’t want people to look at me differently. It would be agonizing to watch friends turn into formal acquaintances just because I wasn’tjust Arletanymore. My desire was to be approachable.
Twisting my hands, I savor the feel of the stone silk I wove and listen to a city now-bustling with people.
Lady Arlet,I say one last time.
I never imagined this future. But, above all, I am grateful for this new life under the mountain even if it has not ended up the way I would’ve hoped—mated with children. But if I cannot find a mated husband, I can still nurture. Work. I can still create.
And for the gaps my duties cannot fill… well, I have recently discovered the romance section in the royal library.
As I step outside the school, a familiar figure leans casually against the archway. Lord Vann, Advisor to the King, unofficial leader of our military, and royal pain in my ass. His silver braid gleams under the cavern’s light as he smirks, arms crossed over his broad chest.
“You do know your ascension is today, right?” he says. “It’s tradition for the newly ascended to receive a ceremonial token from a court member.”