I looked down at my hands. "You'd think she'd be more hesitant to hate him," I said, almost in a whisper. "He's the only heir she's got."

"There's always an heir," Zhiolas said, nudging my food with his. "Unless she's willing to pour her blood into another, she won't get to choose, but the power of the Court will settle onto whoever is most closely related to her by blood. A Court only falls if the palace does, but I doubt our Queen would sacrifice Stag Court merely to get rid of our prince."

"Not necessary if she can just leave a gate open on her morning ride and let assassins right in as a happy side effect," I pointed out.

Zhiolas slung an arm around my shoulder. "Don't be afraid, Leah," he said. "Your guards have been with you for months, and they are good soldiers. Not to mention that killing you while Dain will have no idea about it defeats the entire purpose of such a thing."

With a snort, I leaned back against his arm, choosing not to dwell. "How delightful, Commander," I said in my driest voice. "I shall be sure to cast prayers of gratitude up to the gods tonight. Who's the patron of the Court of Mercy?"

"Ithronel," he said cheerfully. "To my knowledge, she's not been seen in three centuries, but the last time she showed up, she came in the form of a woman with tresses of weeping willow that dragged on the ground, with tears running down her face. You can leave offerings of bound hair or tears on her altar, and hope for an answer."

"What about Faerqen?" I asked. "What're some good offerings for him?"

"Hoping he'll assist our prince?" Alluin asked, with an amused expression.

"He's directly responsible for Dain's existence," I pointed out. "Seems like the least he can do."

"The god left Dain well-equipped," Zhiolas said. "In... quite a few ways."

"If you're talking about his dick, I think he'd rather you didn't," I said, laughing. It seemed like the sort of thing Zhiolas would bring up, especially when Dain wasn't physically present to make his displeasure known.

"Why, do you have an interest in how well-endowed our prince is?" he asked with laughter in his voice, ruffling my hair with one long-fingered hand. "If you ask him nicely, I suspect he'll be willing to share."

"Even if you don't ask nicely," Alluin replied, his eyes mischievous. "Just do that perky thing you do and chirp at him to get undressed, and I think he'll be helpless to resist."

"Oh, my God, you two," I said, my cheeks feeling tight from how hard I was blushing. "You're incorrigible."