The other ladies curtsied and filed toward the door, but Mae remained.
“Are you certain you’re alright?” She pitched the question low, meaning it only for me.
The concern in her voice made my throat swell. Mae had lost Leo, had stood beside me through Addie’s supposed death, and had watched me break under my father’s expectations and still found a way to show she would protect me.
“I am.”
Before she could leave, I caught her hand and pulled her into a hug.
She went rigid before softening, her arms coming around me. “Princess?”
“You can trust them,” I whispered against her ear. “I promise you, Mae. They’re here to help.”
She pulled back, her gaze cutting to Trew, then Lexie, her assessment sharp and thorough. Whatever she saw must have satisfied her because she nodded.
“I’m fine.” I covered her hand with mine. “But I’m hungry. Could you bring lunch? Something substantial, with plenty of honey cakes if there are any left.”
She hesitated, doubt flickering across her features.
“Please, Mae. I trust you.”
The words hung between us, carrying more weight than she could fully understand. I was asking her to trust me in return, to leave me alone with strangers without demanding explanations I couldn’t give.
Finally, she nodded, though reluctance showed in every line of her body. “I’ll return shortly.”
The door closed behind her with a sharp snick.
Trew moved immediately, weaving wards. The air in the room shifted, pressure building and releasing as layers of them snapped into place. The temperature dropped, then warmed again. He checked the corners and tested the windows, his magic flaring at each contact point, double-checking every detail until he was satisfied. Only then did his shoulders drop a fraction, his hands loosening from the fists they’d formed.
I crossed to Lexie and pulled her into my arms, half-jumping because I was so excited to see her.
She hugged me back with the same fierce joy, her laugh bright against my cheek. “I missed you, you absolute fool.”
“I missed you too.” Emotion caught in my throat.
Pherin swooped from her perch by the window, landing on Lexie’s shoulder with a peep. She rubbed her tiny head against Lexie’s cheek, preening with all the self-importance of a creature who knew she could transform into a firecat and devour anyone who threatened her chosen people.
“Hello to you too, beautiful.” Lexie scratched under Pherin’s chin, earning a trill.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“It was quite easy, actually. We flew, of course, though we had to leave the dragons some distance away.” Her grin rose. “We’re all here. Well, Kerralyn and Derren, that is.”
My heart stuttered. “Why?”
“Did you really think we’d let you do this alone?” She gestured broadly, encompassing the castle beyond my chambers. “We shook hands, remember? We’re your court advisors now. You don’t get to sneak off on wild missions without us.”
“Where are the others?” I glanced toward the window, half expecting to see them pop their heads through the opening.
“Oh, around.” Lexie’s eyes sparkled with mischief, though it faded fast. “We didn’t dare bring our companions with us. It would be much too dangerous. They weren’t happy to be left behind, but what else could we do?”
Trew cleared his throat.
Lexie spun and threw her arms around him.
He went absolutely still.
So did she.