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“She didn’t want you to worry,” Matitus says answering my thoughts. “Come you should see the stables, Pluto cleaned them right up, he also caught and broke in three more,” he says excitedly tugging me toward them.

Matitus opens the huge doors to let me squeeze inside. The smell of hay and dirt hit my nose along with the smell of lacquered wood.

Matitus was right, there are more horses, all in their nice clean stalls. I walk past a black one and find Pluto brushing it. He looks up a smile gracing his face that now didn’t look so gaunt, his eyes no longer sunken into his face as he had gained weight and looked healthier than he had when I last saw him.

“My Queen,” he says, bowing his head.

“You don’t need to call me that,” I tell him. He shakes his head.

“You will always be my Queen. I will only take a knee for you,” he says.

Matitus’s hand touches the back of my neck making me look up and he nods toward the back. I follow him to find Dragus completely covered in sawdust, the ground coated in it as well, it was sticking in his hair, which has turned the same color.

He looks up as we enter and does a double take.

“You got her out of the room,” he says, smiling at Matitus and putting down some tools he has in his hand.

He goes to hug me but then stops, realizing he is coated in dust. Instead, he pecks my head and steps back. I look at the table he was working at, finding little wooden figurines. I pick one up. It looks like a fairy.

“What is this?” I ask, wondering why he is making fairy ornaments when I notice another three ornaments, but they are two Dragons and a Werewolf instead. They are incredibly detailed; they even have eyes and facial features, the Werewolf even has fur detail in it.

“Did you make all these?” I ask, looking up at him.

“I was making a mobile to hang above the cradle. Do you want to see it?” he asks excitedly.

I nod, following him over to the far wall. He removes a sheet and I see a cradle. The top of the cradle has blossoms carved into the wood. The sides, instead of straight wood, were twisted and carved like vines, just like my Fae marking that covered my side. “You did all this by yourself?” I ask, shocked at the craftsmanship.

“You like it?” he asks, and I can tell now he was worried I didn’t.

“Love it, I just can’t believe you made it,” I tell him, running my fingers over the smooth wood.

“It should be finished in a few more days,” he says, covering it back over.

“I would hug you but you’re covered in dust,” I tell him, the particles in the air making me want to sneeze.

The doors open at the front of the stables making me look down toward the front. To my horror, Silas walks in with Dakari carrying tools. They had been chatting together, before going silent at the sight of me.

“You said he wouldn’t be here,” I tell Matitus, Silas starts walking toward us, the feeling through the bond of his made me nervous when I realize it isn’t my nerves but his. He stops, staring down at me, his eyes trailing over my body stopping on my belly. He steps forward and I step back away from him, and he drops his hand. His jaw clenches before his eyes dart to mine.

“You look good,” he says but I look away, moving over to Dragus and away from him. “Elora,” he says.

“Save it Silas I don’t want to hear it, just leave please,” I tell him. His eyes flicker and he looks to Matitus, who nods toward the door. Silas looks back at me, turns on his heel and walks out. Matitus walks over, draping his arm over my shoulder. He kisses my head.

“He meant you no harm Lora.”

“I don’t care, I hate him,” I tell him. And I mean every word, how can they expect anything less after what he has done?

“I want to go back,” I tell them, walking toward the doors heading back to the castle.