"Want me to brush out your tails, your highness?" I asked, batting my eyelashes at him. "I grew up with a Siberian husky, and I'm sure you can't shed worse than she did."

"Don't tempt me," Dain purred. "Given that none of the servants are willing to help me with grooming, I get tired of the endless task of brushing out all this fur."

I bit my tongue before I made any comments about how far up his fur went. I'd told him no flirting, and I'd at least attempt to hold up my end of the bargain. "Serious offer," I assured him. "I actually really like brushing out hair, and I don't see why that wouldn't translate to brushing your tails."

"Well," he said, sounding thoughtful. "If you would like to try it, I would be amenable. Perhaps I could read something to you while you did it."

"We never finished that romance novel," I chirped, exactly for the pained sound that he made in response.

"If we must."

I started laughing. "Oh, now we have to," I said through my laughter. "I expected a hard 'no', not a soft 'yes'."

Dain made another pained noise, and leaned back against the couch. "I imagine it will at least be humorous to read, though depending on how lurid the descriptions become, I may not be able to look in your direction while I do."

"They're gonna be lurid," I said with a grin. "I'll look forward to it."

He settled a little closer to me, one of his tails drifting over to lie across my foot. "Me, too."

27. The Court of Mercy

Chapter 27

The Court of Mercy

Open court had always been a strange experience for me. Stag Court had laws and jurisprudence, like any regular country, and most disputes were solved by arbitration where evidence was presented to two judges, who had to come to agreement on the judgment. But anyone – fae or human – could choose to take their dispute to open court instead, and have it ruled on by either the viceroy of their city, or by the royals at the palace. It served as escalation, too: you could appeal your judgment to the viceroy, and from the viceroy to the palace.

Anyone who came to open court at the Antlered Palace, then, had come a long way to be here, and were often desperate or angry. I'd seen tears, rages, and the dull faces of people who felt utterly defeated, and seen them turn to despair or joy. Today I would have to look into the faces of the people who had tried to kill Dain, and see what was written there.