“It doesn’t bother you?” Dorian asked.

“Nah,” I said as we finally reached the food. “He’s a good kid, and at least he’s relatively close to her age. Besides, now that I’ve claimed the honor, I don’t have to worry about her getting pregnant first.” When I’d first met Jasmine, she’d been involved with a gentry king named Aeson and dead-set on fulfilling our father’s prophecy. She, like Rurik, was someone who’d undergone a change for the better.

I meant to ask Dorian about the Yew Land, but the opportunity never really presented itself. Aside from being distracted by those constantly coming up to talk to us, we were also just caught up in the festivities themselves. Both of my kingdoms, as well as Dorian’s, had been living in a tense state these last few months, and it was nice to have a break from that. I laughed and cheered with the others when Rurik brought Shaya out onto the dance floor and spun her around. I watched Jasmine and Pagiel flirt with youthful innocence. I even drank some sort of sweet nectar, which the chef had sworn to me wasn’t alcoholic. It was served in goblets constructed from tulips, reminding me not for the first time that my life really was a fairy tale—just not always a happy one.

Dorian admired the happy, dancing couples and then gave me a knowing look. “I suppose I’d be wasting my time asking you to dance?”

“You’d have more luck with one of the horses,” I said.

He chuckled. “You’re smaller than you think, and besides, you keep forgetting how beautiful fertility is to us—not like humans, who seem ashamed of it. You’ve spent too much time among them.”

“That’s an understatement,” I teased. “I’ve spent most of my life with them. I can’t help but think like a human.”

“I know,” he said with mock sadness. “It’s a habit I keep hoping you’ll shake.”

I refused Dorian’s further invitations to dance, but later, in watching him twirl around with other women, I realized the recent tension wasn’t just between our kingdoms. Whether it was my resentment over how he’d tricked me into winning the Iron Crown or simply disputes over how best to protect my twins, it seemed that Dorian and I had been bickering nonstop. It was nice to have just one evening where we were at peace with each other. I was reminded—almost—of how things used to be, back when we were a couple.

It was after midnight when I finally retired from the celebration. Enchanted fireflies had replaced the cherry petals, illuminating those revelers who were still going strong. I slipped away without any big good-byes because I’d learned a long time ago that once you started with one, many more would follow, and it’d be hours before I’d actually get to bed. So, really, only my guards noticed my exit, several of them detaching and following me inside the castle.

When I reached my rooms, I saw that some helpful servant had placed Ilania’s statues in there, maybe in case I wanted to decorate with them. Along with the unicorn statue I’d seen earlier, there was also one comprised of five fish balanced gracefully on top of each other. I would have that one sent off to the Thorn Land, since it seemed ironic for a desert kingdom. Tomorrow would be soon enough to put the other statue in storage here, as well as give me the chance to ask Dorian about the Yew Land since I was certain he was staying over tonight. I’d also have to make sure Varia got her token gifts. So much to do, but I was too exhausted to deal with any of it just yet.