“Really?” Alistair said, sounding delighted. “I assume you brought her back with you.”
Drystan nodded. “I brought her to Targon Temple first, to introduce her to the temple staff. We ended up staying the night with the acolytes, because there was so much work to do there.” A scowl drew over his face. “The lesser priests abandoned their posts after the imposter was taken, and though the acolytes did their best to keep things running, much was in disarray. Rofana will have quite a bit of work to do when she returns.”
“Rofana,” Dareena repeated, testing out the name. “What is she like?”
“A headstrong redhead, like a tamer version of Tariana,” Drystan said with a smile. “She’s a healer as well. I think you’ll like her very much. I’m bringing her before the council today. You should come and meet her.”
“I shall,” Dareena decided. “Did you learn anything else when you visited the dragon god?”
“Not much more than what he already told Lucyan,” Drystan admitted. “I did ask him about the warlock god, Rumas, and he believes that King Wulorian has alienated his patron god by slaying his predecessor, as we suspected. He said he would reach out to the warlock god and try to speak to him, but that he could make no promises.” A curious look crossed Drystan’s face. “It would seem the gods are not on speaking terms, or at least not regularly. The dragon god seemed upset about that.”
“I wonder if the dragon god is not lonely,” Alistair said thoughtfully. He tightened his arms around Dareena from behind, pulling her against his warm body. “He may watch us from afar, but it isn’t as if he speaks to us regularly, and if he doesn’t speak with his sibling deities either, I wonder who he interacts with.”
“The dead, probably,” Dareena said. “The dragon god watches over us in both life and death, after all.” She turned in Alistair’s arms to face him. “Tell me about your raid,” she said.
Alistair gave her a brief overview of the attack on the temple. “Aside from that mishap with the ward, everything went smoothly,” he said. “I feel terrible about what happened to Tinor. The amulets we gave the soldiers to counteract warlock magic can do nothing against the elements, so he was very badly burned.”
Dareena smoothed Alistair’s hair back from his forehead so she could kiss it. “I’m glad you stayed with him. It is never a bad thing to want to remain by the side of your friend, especially in times of trouble.”
Alistair smiled. “Part of me worried you would be angry, but I should have known better. You’ve always been patient and understanding. I still remember the day I was late for our date because I was helping the wounded, and instead of scolding me you rolled up your sleeves and pitched in.”
“And afterward, you brought in musicians to serenade me with the most wonderful music,” Dareena said. She sighed, remembering how her heart had fluttered when Alistair had taken her in his arms and danced with her for the first time. “I wish I could roll up my sleeves more often,” she admitted. “I hate standing on the sidelines and doing nothing.”
“You are not doing nothing,” Drystan admonished her. “You are growing the heir to our kingdom, and the one who will finally break the curse. Besides, you tried your hand at politics yesterday, and did quite well. I am sure we can find similar things for you to do that don’t involve physically taxing yourself or putting you in harm’s way. It’s about time you became more involved in the operations of the Keep, anyway.”
Dareena smiled. “I would like that, though I have stayed busy with the wedding preparations. I am very happy you found the oracle—having her perform the ceremony, once the people accept her, will go a long way toward validating our union.”
“I imagine the council is going to balk at the idea of a female oracle,” Alistair said dryly. “Then again, they’ve been balking at everything recently.”
“The dragon god assured me he would leave no doubt in the people’s minds that Rofana is the chosen one,” Drystan said. “I am quite looking forward to seeing what he will do.”
“How are you settling in with your new ladies-in-waiting?” Alistair asked. “If I’m not mistaken, it seems like you are warming up to them. Have they been helping you with the wedding preparations?”
“Yes,” Dareena admitted. “Though I am not certain I agree with their sensibilities. They think many of the things I like to do, such as sitting in the kitchen to eat my meals, or personally overseeing the redecorating, are beneath someone of my station. They also think that I am being too modest with the wedding. I initially wanted a large wedding to prove those naysayers wrong. But now that I have had time to think on it, I am not certain it is wise, in such difficult times, to have a lavish ceremony. I would prefer something smaller.”
Dareena thought Drystan, the pragmatic one, would agree, but to her surprise, he shook his head. “In this case, I agree with your ladies,” he said. “The public will expect us to have a great big to-do—these ceremonies are just as much, if not more so, about pleasing them than us. They will be disappointed if we try to minimize what is to be a grand affair.”
“I agree,” Alistair said. “Besides, it’s not every day a woman gets to marry three dashing princes,” he added with a wink. “You should make the most of it, and spare no expense.”
Dareena laughed. “Yes, how very lucky I am to have to deal with three husbands.” She was lucky to have them, she knew, and she wouldn’t trade any of them for all the riches in the world.
They snuggled for a little bit longer, then rose to meet with Shadley. Dareena hoped to hear news from him on Lucyan and Ryolas—they had expected to hear from them by now, but no letters had been received.
“Lucyan and Ryolas are fine,” Shadley said once they were settled in. “According to the latest report, Ryolas is still searching for his sister, but has found some promising leads. Lucyan has infiltrated the enemy—he tried out for a special position being advertised in the paper, and is in training at what we believe to be some kind of warlock spy school. It is too dangerous for him to send any missive, but my operatives assure me he is perfectly safe.”
“Spy school?” Alistair laughed. “Of course Lucyan would get himself mixed up in something like that.”
“I hope he’s being careful,” Drystan said, looking worried. “It would be all too easy for the enemy to discover his disguise, and then they would have a dragon hostage.”