“Priestess,” he called breathlessly. “My hearth warms seeing that you are all right.”
“I’m fine too, not that you care,” Rexi muttered.
Bob ignored her. “My lord ordered me to find you and confirm your safety.”
Undeterred, Rexi asked, “Why couldn’t the Lord of the Fleas come?”
I knew Bob wouldn’t answer her, so I rephrased, “Where exactly is Kato?”
“There’s been an incident. Nothing major.” Bob avoided my gaze by turning tail. Literally.
I couldn’t keep up with the chimera’s stride, so I called out, “Is he okay?”
Bob froze in his tracks. He faced me and tilted his head to one side. “You are having concerned feelings for him?”
“Yes, of course.”
Bob smiled all the way to his horns and gave a smug nod. “Good, then you will be queen after all.”
“Not those kinds of feelings.” I sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Bob nudged me and winked. “Say no more. I was a hatchling once myself. True love is like a stalactite meeting a stalagmite. Complete opposites, but with time, calcium, and a healthy drip system, they meet in the middle. Or one crushes the other. It really depends.” He continued on his path a little slower but with a happy spring in his step. “Fear not, future mistress. Your love will be fine, I’m sure. In the worst case, he’ll only have to break one talon. Seven will still be intact.”
I nearly tripped over my own feet. “Kato couldn’t be bothered to look for me because he’s having nail issues?” Stupid pox-prattled…
“Wow, and I thought you were vain.” Rexi took a bite of steaming fruit. “Or is this his solution to our problems?” Munch munch. “He’s making a claw dagger?” Munch munch. “Or does the Gray Witch have some horrible fear of bad manicures?”
Bob looked at me like, She’s your responsibility; you handle her.
Too bad, in this case, I happened to agree with the snark queen. “Yeah, what she said.”
Bob gave an exasperated sigh. “Really, do you know nothing about your true love?”
I chose not dignify that with a response, unless you counted the withering look I gave him.
“Each prince of the Beast King’s line has some natural influence over beasts. But to use that power over a great distance or to compel someone to do something against their will, he must tap directly into the source of his life magic.” Bob held up his paw.
“That’s how he called you to rescue us yesterday. He used life magic.” Life magic…What had Black Crow said about life magic? Comprehension dawned. “His life is within his fingernails? Do they grow back?”
Bob shook his head sadly. “No, Priestess. When all his nails are broken, he will die.”
A giggle escaped from Rexi. She slapped a hand over her mouth. “You can’t get a haircut, and he can’t have a manicure. Death by salon visit,” she managed to stammer out behind her hand.
It was a horribly inappropriate comment, considering the gravity of the situation. Not that I expected anything else from Rexi. So my only excuse for joining in was that laughter is terribly contagious.
Bob shook his head and shuffled away, muttering, “I don’t understand younglings these days. Follow me to your new chambers.”
“Wait.” My laughter died in an instant. “Why do we need new chambers? What happened to the old one?” My mind caught hold of that line of thought and started racing. “In fact, what sort of incident would make Kato use his life magic?”
Apparently, Bob found the ceiling fascinating, because he wouldn’t look down at me. “My lord said he had it all under control and has instructed me not to worry you so—”
“Now,” I ordered in a serious tone that demanded be obeyed.
Bob covered his eyes with one paw and pointed down a side hall with the other. “Grifflespontus caused the royal chambers to erupt in an act of mutiny.”
“What?” Rexi said while I started running.
“I knew I heard that stupid snake tail talk,” I grumbled to myself. “Minor incident my royal…”
As soon as I turned the corner, the temperature dropped below zero. Rubble already filled the corridor, but in the cold, the falling ash looked like snow. The human-sized entry was gone—and so was most of the wall and room. A miniature volcano took up most of the floor space, though there was still part of a bed lying nearby. At least I thought it used to be a bed.
Glad I went for a walk instead of coming back here for a nap.
Moving on, I headed toward a dull roar I recognized as Kato’s.
I found him in a large cavern that reminded me of the throne room at the Emerald Palace, except everything here was carved from rock and not precious metals or jewels. Mirrors, stuck in glowing embers on the wall, refracted light around the room. And Kato was ordering a few guard beasts to move a set of chimera ice sculptures.
Though ice sculptures weren’t usually that scarred and ugly—nor did they have moving eyes. In fact, I recognized one of the serpent tails frozen in mid-hiss.