"You're sure you're good?" Jonah asks for the tenth time. As soon as I agreed to stay, Jonah and Dathid made arrangements to leave. I don't even get lunch like the last time, just up at dawn—if they had dawn here, that is—for a hasty goodbye.

"I'm going to say no if you ask me again. Then you'll be forced to stay here with me."

"She's good," Dathid says as he grabs under my chin and squeezes my cheeks. "Look at this happy face."

I step out of his grasp. "Actually now that I think about it, I'm very sad. You can go, Jonah, but I think I need a faerie here to keep me company for a few months."

Jonah nods. "Okay, good. I'm glad we've worked it out. Dathid will stay here with you and I'll head out."

"You're so cute when you try to be funny," Dathid says to me.

"And you're so funny when you try to be social."

Dathid doesn't give me a retort. Instead, he hugs me. He's getting better at it. "Don't let them get to you. You only have one job, remember that." He breaks the hug and grabs the sides of my head to turn my face up to his. "If it gets rough, call me. I mean it." Then he kisses my forehead and releases me.

I can't help but smile. I think I just got an older brother. I like it. I feel safer now, more protected. I don't know what changed, but something just did.

Jonah hugs me next. Jonah hugs are the best. It's like hugging a bear; he's all safety and warmth. "You and I are to speak at the end of every day. You need to be honest with me. If it's getting bad or too hard, you have to tell me."

We break apart. "I promise, again. I will tell you."

They mount up and I salute them, "Satisfaction in harmony be upon you."

They salute back. "Nan lapè în sül avètk," they say in unison. Watching them leave hurts just as much as it did the first time, maybe more.

Fortunately, I have five unicorns and Levise to remind me that I have plenty to keep me occupied. I try to remember that the council believes I'm good at this part, but it's grueling, and hot, and tiring.

When I'm done I wash down Topper by myself and head to Trelix. Unfortunately, Matban Tadin is waiting for me as soon as I leave the uniquestrian center.

He's still short. That's mean, I need to stop that, but I just don't like this guy. And he's not that short, it's just that his shoulders are so wide they make him look like an upside-down traffic cone. And his military bearing is so in-your-face he should be a character in a video game.

"Hello, Agatha. How was your lesson?" he says with a smile that looks genuine.

I take a deep breath, but try to hide it. I need to stop judging this elf so harshly. He's a weird guy, but who am I to judge weird? "Hey, Matban Tadin." I make sure to use his title because it would be rude not to.

He turns to walk with me. "Thank you for using my title, but I know in your culture titles are not necessary. You may call me Tadin."

That makes me pause. I call Albína by her given name, but only because we're very close. She's kind of like my grandmother. I barely know this guy. I don't know what to make of his familiarity. "Actually, humans like titles, too. Some more than others...humans, not titles. Well, I guess titles, too."

He laughs and I smile. I have no idea what I just said. I hope he understood it. He puts his arm out so that I can hold it while we walk. I don't like this elvish custom. I'm getting more comfortable with the touching, but I want to be the one who decides who I touch. I don't like being forced to touch someone because of a tradition.

I hold out my dust-covered, sweaty hands. "I don't want to get you dirty."

He must not want me to mess him up either because he lowers his arm without an argument. "I was very happy to hear you would be staying with us."

It's embarrassing that the entire city knows I had a meltdown. Of course, Tadin would know because he's way up there in the military, but still it was very selfish to put my own needs above trying to stop a war.

"I just want to make sure that you are comfortable here," he continues.

"Yes. I am. Thank you." I need to try to talk like a normal person.

He smiles even wider. "Good. I was very sorry to hear of your leaving, and we are all so grateful you decided to stay."

Great. I love being reminded that everyone knows everything I do all the time.

"Queen Ekecheiria thought it might be a good idea for you to have someone to talk to who wasn't on the council and is not one of your instructors."

"Well, that was very thoughtful of her." I'm being sarcastic but I think I might have sounded genuine. Especially when my new best friend Tadin nods at me.

"I'm sure you figured out that her Highness has chosen me for that role."

Think! my brain screams. Obviously, the Queen wants a spy. But I already have an elf confidante, Albína. Why do I need another? Does she not trust Albína? That makes a smile spread across my face. Albína must not be telling her everything anymore, or she's arguing my side of too many things. My chest feels warm. Albína really does care for me.

Tadin misunderstands my smile. "I'm happy you like the idea."

I nod. This probably is a good thing for me. I don't know why Ekecheiria believes that a thirteen-year-old human would want to be friends with an elf who has to be in his mid-thirties, but I'm curious to see how this plays out.

"I'm so happy that Prince Dathid was able to talk you into staying."

Ahh...that's how. I quit—Dathid rushes in—I stay. The Queen sends her spy to find out why. I groan softly, so Tadin doesn't hear.

"Actually, to everyone's credit, no one tried to talk me into anything. I didn't like being threatened by Kolomi, so when Jonah...and the Queen," I almost forgot to add her, "made him step down, that made me feel a lot better."

Tadin nods.

I throw a few more butt-kisses his way just to be sure the Queen knows where I stand. "Also, Queen Ekecheiria asserting that nothing like that would ever happen under her watch, really made me feel like..." I need a good lie, but I blank out.

Fortunately, he's so wrapped up in my praise for his leader that he finishes the sentence for me: "—like we take you seriously, and want you safe and protected."

"Exactly." I'm glad he said those words because I wouldn't have chosen them. But he's right, I do feel safe and protected. And after the council meeting I finally feel heard.

"What I don't understand is why you and Prince Dathid spent so much time alone together if he wasn't trying to talk you into staying? I mean, he was in your room quite a bit."

He wants me to admit to...being inappropriate with Dathid? Oh, gross! I guess Dathid was in my room a lot, and we did go to dinner. My entire body cringes. And before I think I speak. "You accused me of having something with Dathid before, and...no!"

He shakes his head but before he speaks I need to get all of this out. "I know you guys don't count your age, but he's like eight years older than me and that's just...just...disgusting! I don't know why you keep thinking that, but it's so wrong. He's my friend. He spoke very highly of Cromsmead and begged me to stay here with you guys. That's it."

Tadin puts his hands up to signal me to stop, but I'm already done. "I apologize if I gave you the impression that I implied anything was inappropriate between you and the faerie. That was not my intent. I only question how your transition came about because Sir Jonah put him in charge of convincing you to stay, and then you say you never discussed it?"

Heat rushes up my face. I can't believe I yelled at this man and then accused him of saying something that...whatever. "I'm sorry. The way you phrased it..."

He shakes his head with a laugh. "You don't need to apologize. It will take us a while to work through our communication."

I want to be done with this, but it's still another five minutes to the training grounds. "So everyone agrees that you have talents with animals," Tadin continues. "I heard there was some talk about you joining the Parade Guard."

I appreciate his change of topic, but he had to know that his Queen was just using that as an insult and not as an actual invitation. I shake my head. "I fall off less and I trot at an even pace. I am far from Parade Guard material."

"Oh," is all he says.

I smile to make him feel better, which makes me mad. Why do I care if he's upset about embarrassing me? "But thank you for thinking I'm that skilled already."

He smiles and changes the subject again, this time to food. Good choice, we finally found some common ground: we both love food. He ends the conversation by saying, "Maybe when you have some free time you could join me and Wymon for dinner. You need to try my lask hover. You'll love it."

"That would be great," I answer. We both know full well that I will never be dining with him or his husband because the one thing I will never have here is free time.