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Naiads, nymphs, and sprites all shared a common ancestry to the lesser water goddess Beatha. Legends claimed she was small in stature but mighty in the magick she wielded over nature.
Hava helped me out of my shift and lifted a silver silken robe for me to slip my arms into while we waited for the handmaidens to finish preparing the bath and setting out cloths and more oils.
“I think you’re lovely, Hava,” I told her truthfully. “And very kind.”
Her eyes and mouth widened into pure joy. “It means so much to me to hear you say that, my mistress. Plus, I’m a zypher. I inherited the power of feyfire from my father. That’s another reason I believe my king assigned me to you. I can protect you if needed.”
My pulse tripped faster at her mention of herking. “He assigned you to me?”
“He did,” she said proudly, then she held out a palm and whispered a word, which caused a ball of orange fire to appear in her palm. She grinned at me. “I can keep you safe.”
“So, Gollaya has now been crowned King of Northgall?”
Since none of my guards had told me anything, I had no idea what had happened beyond what I’d seen in the throne room.
Hava shooed the chambermaids with buckets away. Once they’d left the room, the door closed and locked behind them, I slipped off my robe and stepped into the bath.
After I slid into the warm bath, sighing with contentment, Hava smiled. “My lord has not been crowned yet, but he will be.”
She wetted a cloth and began scrubbing my shoulders and upper back.
“When will he be crowned?” I asked in earnest.
“That, I am not sure of. But he has won favor with his father’s soldiers. Well, the ones he let live. Would you like me to wash your hair?”
A little overwhelmed by Hava’s extreme turn of conversation, I nodded. I lowered, dipped my head back, and then sat up again.
She lathered some soap into my hair and continued on. “After what they said happened at the front, I dare say he’ll be crowned any day.”
“What happened at the front?” I snapped quickly.
“Oh, I’m sorry. How rude of me. I keep forgetting you are a moon fae.”
I wasn’t sure how she could possibly forget. I didn’t look anything like her kind. She became unnaturally silent for a while as she dipped a small pitcher into the water and then poured it over my hair.
“Won’t you tell me, Hava?” I implored after wiping the water from my face.
“I’m not supposed to talk too much.”
“Did your sire tell you that?”
“He did. He knows I am loyal and trusts me very much.” She began putting vials of oils back on a table where they were kept. “But I must tell you this,” she added excitedly, holding out a large toweling for me as I stepped out of the tub.
“Tell me anything, Hava. No one has even spoken to me since I’ve been here.”
While I patted my body dry, she fetched my robe and helped me slide into it.
“Come and sit by the fire and eat and I’ll tell you how Prince Gollaya won his father’s soldiers.”
I followed her though I hadn’t been able to eat since I’d been imprisoned here. But when Hava lifted the domed lid, revealinga tray of herbed fowl, a round of cheese, and buttery bread, I found that I was hungry.
Perhaps it was because of her company. While the guards hadn’t been cruel, they certainly hadn’t been overtly kind. Their wariness of me was obvious since I was the daughter of their enemy. And so, I’d been steeped in anxiety since my capture.
Now, sitting on a settee by the fire—the blue-coal burning brightly—I felt at ease for the first time.
She served me a plate from the tray of steaming food then sat back while I tucked a napkin on my lap and the plate on top of it.
“I apologize we can’t go to the great hall for your meals.” She frowned. “I’ll have Pullo bring in a proper dining table for you.”
