You’re making me sound like a puppy or something. Mercy laughed, and Jude joined her. I’m guessing right about now his lordship is wondering what the hell he’s gotten himself into. I would be. I just left him there.
Actually, he’s here in the room with me. I’ve not told him that we’re speaking. I’m just watching him pace. He does that just like his mother did too. Oh, have you heard his laughter? I nearly fell over when he laughed earlier. She told Mercy she’d figured out who he was by it. I don’t think I’d point that out to him just yet. He’s worried he screwed up with you and doesn’t know what to do. Miley is about to tell him to fucking find you, by the way. He hasn’t been able to fly until now. I think she’s also giving him tips on flying. She had to learn a lot, and she’s giving him little bits of what she had to learn. I love that kid.
I do, as well. She’s come a long way. Both of you have. Mercy thanked her. What am I to do? Mercy, I’m not sure I can be a queen to anything or anyone. Do you understand?
I do, but do you understand that there couldn’t have been a better pick to be the queen than you? You’re exactly what Dante wasn’t. She needed to be who she was to make sure things got done. That we were safe. You don’t have to do that. You can rule any way you want and not have to be concerned that the people you rule are going to die from dysentery or starvation. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it’ll be much less dangerous than it was back when we were made. Yes, there was that, she supposed. And here is a nice thought you can take to your heart while you’re thinking about what to do. He’s a generous, handsome man who is exactly like his mother in so many other ways it’s almost like he has her spirit within him.
Jude thought about all the things Mercy had told her. All the things she remembered from when Dante had been alive. She had been a hard ruler, but she’d had to be. Without her making sure everyone pulled their weight and did their jobs, they all would have died.
The trenches around the castle, bringing in water and taking away the waste, were cleaned daily. The water was always fresh when it seeped through the small inlets she had dug for just that reason. She’d been very much in fashion by today’s standards, Jude thought. Recycling and up-cycling was a way of life for them all even back then.
Houses would be torn down when it got to the point it was more repaired than new. The wood was put to other homes if it could be used. What wasn’t reusable was burned in fireplaces to keep the homeowners warm. Gardens were recycled in a way that even the left over bushes from the growth would be reused in a way that would thatch roofs, or be dried for pretties to sell. Also, there was the way Dante always knew just how to treat wounds that had festered, how to treat sicknesses that would have killed. Jude now wondered just how much of the future Dante had seen. Obviously enough so she could keep not just the people healthy, but the animals they all depended on as well.
As she sat there, a shadow fell across her, and Jude looked to the sky. At first, she thought it was one of her sisters, but realized it could only be the king. His bird, an eagle like hers, was having trouble staying up. Laughing when a current caught him unawares, she shifted to her bird and joined him in the sky.
I could do this every day. I might be better at it if I did, but this is so lovely. I’ve never seen the lands as I am right now. No wonder Mother didn’t allow her fear of heights to keep her from sailing through the sky like this. Jude told him she had been terrified of falling. Yes, I still have the harness she wore on one of the birds. Mercy wants to be able to take the children of the village on rides. I told her we couldn’t take the children coming on Christmas. I have had enough trouble with the children’s home in just getting them out here. Is there anything I can do to convince you that what my mother has done is real?
I will come around. Eventually. Right now, I’d like to just fly a bit, and not think of the things she might well have done in anticipation of us. She soared high up, then came down at a slow fall, riding the currents as they blew cold wind over the mountain. The things I love to do as a bird cannot be done in the town where we have all lived. This is a freedom I’ve not had since we all left here. I can be my original size and not be noticed, but this, right here, this is what I have so enjoyed.
The two of them flew for what seemed like days. She knew it had been hours since she joined him—the sun setting over the water was a clear sign they’d been out here for so long. Duncan, as he asked her to call him, didn’t bring up the fact she was his mate. Thankful for that reprieve, she told him about herself in bits and pieces, as he did the same for her. It was, she supposed, like what had been planned for so long was finally paying off. Or something akin to that.
When they finally landed in the back land of the castle, she shifted to herself almost before
