The next week passes in a frenzy of cleaning, moving furniture, and hauling boxes of belongings into rooms in the palace. All three of the Velmarans are true to their word, working tirelessly alongside my advisors and me to prepare comfortable lodging for those without alternative shelter. Silene even convinces me to throw a Winter Solstice dinner and invite everyone staying in the palace. She takes on most of the planning, becoming fast friends with the advisors and servants she works with. Silene probably becomes fast friends with everyone she meets. After six days of hard work, we successfully get everyone settled.

On the morning of Winter Solstice, I wake up in my bed, the air cold even to me. As usual, Lunaria prowled outside overnight, so I left the balcony doors open, and the frigid air makes my breath come in puffs I can see. I’m covered in a multitude of blankets and furs, and I loathe the idea of getting out of bed, so I use my magic to start a fire and heat the room.

Thankfully, it’s Winter Solstice, which means I get to laze around with the rest of my kingdom and do absolutely nothing. I have complicated feelings about this day, though. I love the Thayarian tradition of rest, but each year it reminds me of my loneliness. I’ve spent a few Solstices with lovers, but usually it’s just Nemesia and me, since both of our parents died in the war and it’s incredibly uncommon for fae to have more than one child. We always build a massive fire in my room and lay in my bed together reading all day, eating whatever pastries or other sweets we can pilfer from the kitchens. I notice her absence even more deeply today as I lay alone in my bed, realizing I have no one to spend the day with. I wonder not for the first time what she’s doing. If she’s safe. If she’s happy.

Spotting Lunaria fast asleep at my feet, I channel a gust of wind that shuts the balcony doors. That startles her, and she stretches before gingerly making her way to my side and curling up next to me.

“Late night?” I ask. She only nuzzles closer to me. I grab the book on my nightstand, excited for a morning of reading about Cairn and Stella, the characters in my most recent saucy book.

An hour later, the room has warmed and Lunaria’s body heat seeps into me. I’m sweating, so I throw the blankets off, which disturbs my cat. She gives me a grumpy look before leaping from the bed to her pallet in the corner, where she falls back asleep.

“What a drama queen,” I mutter under my breath. I stretch my arms high above my head, releasing the pressure in my shoulders and back, then step out of the bed to make myself a cup of tea.