Dain put his hand over his heart and bowed. "As you desire," he said without protest, then turned to me. He hesitated, then kissed me on the mouth, running his fingers down my cheek. "Don't forget we're having dinner at the garrison tonight," he said.

"I won't," I told him, my heart pounding from the shock of him abandoning me with his mother. He... he must trust her not to do anything when there would be courtiers here within fifteen minutes. Why else would he leave me alone with her, just like that?

He kissed me once more, then turned and left without another word, striding out with focused direction.

I stared at the door after him for a long moment, then tried to compose myself as I turned to the Queen again.

She had on an unreadable expression, her head tilted and her silver eyes hooded, with a slight smile touching the barest corners of her mouth. "Sit, Leah," she said. "I think, at last, you will be able to answer the questions I had for you when we first spoke."

"Yes, your majesty," I said, trying and failing to keep the waver out of my voice.

The Queen laughed as I took the seat next to her, a glittering sound that seemed to hang in the air. "Are you afraid of me, dear girl? I have no plans of injuring you."

That was... actually really comforting to hear. She was fae; she couldn't lie. If she said she didn't plan on injuring me, she meant it. Of course, there were probably ways to get around it, but at least I didn't have to worry about getting poisoned over lunch. "Your majesty's dislike for your son is common knowledge," I ventured. "You told me yourself that you'd be happy if he died. I thought you'd be displeased to see that I'm not going to be asking you for that iron blade."

"I certainly cannot imagine what you see in him," she said. She sounded almost delighted, as if this was a grand change. Maybe it was exciting for her, the way that gossip-mongers love every new shift in the lives of celebrities. "He remains what he has always been, but as there have always been women interested in discovering what it's like to have a Beast's cock thrusting inside of them, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that someone would be interested in being a wolf's mate."

I jerked in shock at the vulgarity, never having expected to hear the Queen say something like that, let alone about Dain.

She smiled at me, slow and dangerous, like a sword being drawn. "So, tell me, Dain's soulmate. What do you think of my son, and what balance do you hope to find with him?"