“I don’t believe you. What’s more, Laurel isn’t even here. Why would she summon you to her rooms if she wasn’t going to be there? Why summon you to her rooms at all?” He advances toward us, sword raised and ivy creeping with him.

“Maybe she’s just ignoring you,” I respond with a haughty air while picking lint off my tunic. I want to spear him through with lightning, like I told Laurel to do if he ever touched her without her permission again, but I hold it together, just barely.

“I don’t think so,” he snarls. “Return to your rooms. I’ll inform Her Majesty of this when she returns.”

“And what if we don’t?” I hiss, unable to stop myself from rising to his challenge.

“I think you know what will happen.” He sends a vine shooting toward me, but I block it easily with a shield of light.

“There are three of us here, Carex, and only one of you,” I growl menacingly. “We aren’t here to do anything nefarious. Laurel trusts us, and she can fill you in later. Step. Aside. I don’t want to hurt you.” I actually do want to hurt him, but only the smallest sense of how Laurel might react to that stays my hand.

“It’s Her Majesty to you,” he snaps. Carex bares his teeth, then lunges toward me with his sword. Before I can react, Fionn has ripped the blade from his hands. It throws Carex off balance, and he stumbles. Fury flashes in Carex’s eyes, and he responds by wrapping ivy around Fionn’s legs. The vines trip the warrior, and Fionn crashes to the ground. Carex plucks his sword back from Fionn.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that,” I tell Carex with a vicious smirk.

“Why, because you’re going to blind me with your light?” he asks in a mocking tone, as if my magic is nothing more than a glare that might make you want to cover your eyes. I’m losing my control, and I want to show him exactly what my power can do. Before I can respond or act, Fionn regains his footing and launches himself at Carex. Carex is better in hand-to-hand combat than I would have guessed, but after a few minutes of trading blows, Fionn has him in a headlock.

“No,” Fionn says to Carex in a bored voice. “Because I don’t like being swept off my feet.” Normally I would laugh at the unexpected joke from Fionn, but I’m too focused on Laurel to appreciate it. Carex spits at me, and I punch him in the stomach.

“Knock him out,” I instruct Fionn. Carex’s eyes widen.

Silene yells, “No” at the same time that Fionn says, “Gladly.” Fionn takes the end of Carex’s sword and knocks him in the head with it. The male slumps, and Silene sighs.