When she showed up in his study, he greeted her with a hesitant smile. She insisted on another writing lesson, to which Ariel agreed. He had little choice in the matter, but Laya had caught a glint of eagerness behind his spectacles when he saw her standing in his doorway. Perhaps he was growing fond of her as well.

The lesson carried on with surprising ease, until Laya spilled ink across the table. They both reached for the same crumpled piece of paper to mop up the mess. Their fingers touched. Foolishly, Laya met his gaze instead of pulling her hand away. She was used to people staring, but Ariel was different. Even behind those stupid spectacles, his eyes sent the familiar spark buzzing beneath her skin.

To stop the spark from spreading, she demanded, “Tell me the truth, Ariel. Why did my father invite you here? Or, better yet, what is your business with the queen?”

If Ariel was taken aback by Laya’s candor, he didn’t show it. He merely shrugged and said, “My business is with you and your sisters, Dayang. If the queen wished for me to serve as anything other than a language tutor, I’m sure she would have told you. You are her heir, after all.”

Laya sputtered out a laugh. “I may be Hara Duja’s heir, but she hasn’t spared me a word. Sometimes, I don’t think she even wants me to be queen.”

“Do you want to be queen?” Ariel asked.

She frowned at him. “What kind of question is that? Of course I want to be queen.”

“I suppose ‘What kind of queen do you want to be?’ is the better question.” Ariel leaned back in his seat, rubbing his chin as he pondered the question himself.

“I want to be the best queen Maynara has ever seen,” Laya replied. It was the only honest answer she could give, but not even she could deny how childish it sounded coming out of her own mouth.

“Ah, but what does the best queen look like to you?” Ariel asked, eyeing her with curiosity.

Laya kept her mouth shut. She didn’t know what the best queen looked like or the legacy she wanted to leave. Maybe it was petty and shallow. But Laya wanted it more than anything in the world⁠—to be a greater queen than her mother. Greater than any Gatdula before her.

When she didn’t answer right away, Ariel went on. “Perhaps Hara Duja sees this as a lack of intention, and that is why she might be so reticent,” he said, shocking Laya once again with his perceptiveness. “But I imagine you’ll figure that out with time, Dayang. You are so young.”