In exactly half an hour, everyone was assembled in Kai’s study as he had ordered.

Seraiah was still tired, but at least now she was clean. She’d left her wet hair loose around her shoulders and wore a deep blue gray dress the color of storm clouds that Wisteria had selected for her. She’d tucked the vial the Summer King had given her in exchange for the scale into her bodice. It hadn’t left her person since she’d received it, and she had no intention of giving it up now.

“What happened at the Seelie Court?” Kai asked as soon as they were settled. The circlet he usually wore was discarded on his desk, and his hair was mussed like he’d run his fingers through the strands multiple times.

The question, of course, was directed to Kestrel. He hadn’t so much as looked in Seraiah’s direction since she’d arrived.

Assets only existed when they were needed.

Kestrel shifted in the chair to Seraiah’s right. The two of them had taken the seats in front of Kai’s desk while Eryx leaned against the wall behind them like a jailer. Lonan perched on a stool on Seraiah’s other side.

“We arrived, we spoke to the Summer King, a deal was struck and carried out. Now we are here,” Kestrel said. “If you want more details than that, you’ll need to ask Seraiah, since she is the one who made the bargain and got what we asked for.”

“You were the one who was supposed to make the deal,” Kai said, “that was—”

“Oh, leave her alone,” Seraiah said, cutting off whatever lecture he’d been about to give. “The Summer King was only interested in me. It was my fault, and I should have stayed in Nyrene. Is that what you want to hear, Your Highness?”

She may not have had his attention before, but she certainly did now.

Seraiah plucked the vial from her bodice and held it up for him to see. “This is the information we need to find Sterling. In exchange for retrieving a golden dragon scale for the Summer King, he gave me this.”

Kai’s eyes went from her face to the vial. “There is no gold dragon,” he said.

“So I have learned, but I completed the task anyway.”

“By yourself?”

Seraiah bristled, slightly offended at the question and the implication that she hadn’t done it on her own. “Lonan guided me through the mountain to the dragon cave. Without his assistance, I would not have found it.”

“Thank you for aiding our cause,” Kai said, inclining his head to Lonan. “You are welcome to stay in Nyrene as long as you like, though I will warn you it might be safer to return to Metrius. Eryx, would you show Lonan to some accommodations?”

It was obviously a ploy to give them privacy, but Seraiah didn’t protest. There was no reason to make Lonan sit through this, and he was likely just as tired as she was.

With a murmured thanks, Lonan and Eryx left the study.

As soon as they were gone, Kestrel leaned forward. “Did something happen while we were gone?”

An emotion Seraiah couldn’t name flitted across Kai’s face before disappearing. “No,” he responded.

He was lying—even she could see that, but she wasn’t sure why.

“Explain to me how that is information about Sterling,” he said, pointing to the vial still clasped in her hand.

“The Summer King promised he would give me a vision of Sterling in exchange for the scale. This is what he gave me when I returned,” she said.

“What were his specific words when he gave it to you?”

Seraiah pressed her lips together as she thought back on her return to the Seelie Court. She’d been so nervous about the scale, she couldn’t recall if he’d said anything or not.

“He told her to drink it,” Kestrel said, “and she will have a vision of the queen.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Mm. I don’t like this. We have no idea what it will do to you.”

“Faeries can’t lie,” Seraiah said. “If he said it will give me a vision, then it will.”

“They may not be able to lie outright, but they can certainly lie by omission,” Kai said.

His words planted a seed of doubt in her mind.

The Summer King had been none too happy she’d bested him at his own game, though his reaction had been mild compared to what she’d expected. Perhaps he had a different plan in mind for her. He could have handed over a vial of poison for all she knew.

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take,” she said.

“Well I’m not,” Kai said. “It doesn’t have to be you.”

Her face heated under his gaze. It would be so easy to believe he cared what happened to her.

“Unfortunately, I think it does,” Kestrel said. “The Summer King specifically said it was a vision for a seer and unless you picked up another seer while we were away, Seraiah is the only one we have.”

“Exactly,” Kai said. “She is the only one we have. If this were to kill her, where would we be then?”

And there was her reminder of what he truly cared about.

“I’m going to do this,” she said. “After everything I went through to get this information, I’m not going to throw it away.”

Kai frowned. “You would throw away your life instead?”

“What does it matter to you? It’s not like you care what happens to me.”

“Of course I care about you!”

“No,” she corrected him, “you care about what my talents can do for you. “

Understanding dawned on his face. Understanding of what, Seraiah didn’t know, nor did she care to ask.

Before anyone could say anything else, she uncorked the vial and poured the liquid into her mouth. The taste was vile, but she forced herself to swallow.

Then she waited.

Seraiah had expected it to be similar to the last time. She’d barely swallowed that potion when it had taken effect.

Kai was staring at her in horror.

“What have you done?” he whispered. He rose from his chair and came around the side of his desk.

“What I needed to do, but it seems whatever the Summer King gave me does nothing after all. If you’ll excuse me, I think I would like to take a nap now.” She pushed her chair back and stood.

The world swung around her, and the vial slipped from her fingers to shatter on the floor.

The last thing Seraiah remembered was Kai shouting and lunging to grab her before she hit the ground.

----------------------------------------

“She seems perfectly healthy as far as I can tell, Your Highness,” Neorah said after she’d finished examining Seraiah.

He thanked the healer and dismissed her.

“You heard her,” Kestrel said, coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Seraiah is fine.”

Kai shook his head. “How can she be fine? Look at her.” He gestured to where Seraiah lay tucked in his bed. Her hair fanned out over his pillow.

When she’d collapsed, he brought her to the closest room, which happened to be his own since it adjoined his study.

“She’s asleep.”

“If she were asleep, we’d be able to wake her,” he argued.

“That’s not how magic works,” Kestrel said.

Kai shrugged her hand away. “I never should have let her go.”

Kestrel snorted. “You and I both know how it would have gone if you’d tried to stop her. She would have hated you for it and found a way to go anyway.”

“She already hates me. What difference would it make?” He turned away from the bed.

“What? What gave you that idea?”

“You were there. You heard what she said. She thinks I only care about her talents,” he spat the word the way Seraiah had.

“That doesn’t mean she hates you. Besides, is she wrong? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you say otherwise,” Kestrel said. “Not to her, at least.”

Kai grimaced. It may have been true at first. The only reason he’d agreed to take her with them was because she was a seer and could help with his search.

Then somewhere along the way things had changed—somewhere along the way, he’d started to like her. He was the one who had dragged her away from her home, so it was his responsibility to protect her.

And he was doing a terrible job of it.

“I know it wasn’t me you were concerned about when we were late coming back,” Kestrel said quietly. “You should tell her the truth.”

“I can’t,” he said.

“Won’t,” Kestrel countered.

He ignored her.

“I’ll ask you again. What happened while we were away?”

Kai stalked over to a plush chair, pushed into the corner next to the fireplace, and dropped onto it. He stared into the empty hearth.

“Kai?” Kestrel prompted.

He sighed. “There are rumors about removing me from the throne.”

“That’s nothing new. There have always been dissenters—”

“Its different this time. I’ve tried to speak with Gavaran about presenting a united front with the council, but most of the time, he isn’t even here.”

Kestrel’s brow furrowed. “Where else would he be?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. I’ve tried to have him followed, but no one has been successful. Then there’s the warning Virelai gave me.”

“She can’t be trusted,” Kestrel said. “She’s always had her own agenda.”

“Maybe. However, despite Gavaran ignoring my summons, he has sent one to me.”

Kestrel’s eyes narrowed.

“It arrived in the time between when I left the stable yard and when all of you came to my office.”

“And what did he want?”

“He wanted to hold a council meeting to discuss your findings. You told Eryx you ran into scouts on your way back. I wasn’t the one who sent them.”

“Hmm.”

“Explain to me why he is sending scouts out to find you and the moment you and Seraiah appear with possible information about Sterling’s whereabouts, suddenly he’s interested in speaking.”

“It could be nothing. For all we know, he’s been off visiting a mistress, and now he wants to know if he is about to be pushed out of his comfy position by a new queen.”

“It’s more than that. It has to be.”

“Kai,” Kestrel said gently. “You’re under a lot of pressure, what with the search for Sterling and reclaiming the running of the kingdom and all that entails—”

“I’m not making it up, Kes. There is a connection here, and I will find it.”