Part 7 (1/2)

Lottius just grinned, her canines elongating.

”Ask her parents to hire him, so she can have a little fun with him. They are not toys, Lottie. They have feelings and their situation is so sad. Besides, you are mated.”

”But minions are fun. They're usually so eager to please.”

I glanced at where the guy was, but he'd disappeared. The idea of Lottius toying with one of them bugged me. Or maybe it was the thought of her with him.

A little girl won a small stuffed Pegasus and in her excitement, tripped and fell right by my feet. She whimpered. I bent down to help her up.

”Are you okay?” I asked. She didn't respond, just stared at me with big eyes. Then I saw her knee. She had a nasty bruise. ”You're bleeding.” I brushed off the dirt near the wound.

A tingling warmth shot up my spine and then down my arm. Then everything happened fast. Strange markings appeared on my skin. Before I could react, my hand glowed briefly and then dimmed.

”Look, Mommy,” the little girl called out. ”The nice lady healed my knee.”

I stared at her knee and was surprised to see that the wound was healed. Stares and whispers followed. Those nearby moved away.

What? I wasn't supposed to heal her? I didn't know how I had done it, but I didn't regret it. Lottius and Katia didn't say anything either, but they couldn't hide their shock. I stepped forward and smiled at the woman running the game.

”You don't have to play to win,” she said. ”Choose any stuffed animal and it's yours.”

”But I, uh, want to play,” I said.

”Of course.” She eagerly gave me five darts.

Ignoring the crowd that had gathered, I aimed and threw them one dart after another, and missed the target. I shrugged. ”Thank you.”

She held a huge teddy bear. ”Please, take it.”

I shook my head. ”I didn't win it.”

”You don't understand,” she whispered. ”That was a minion child you healed, Princess Lilith.”

I blinked, surprised she recognized me. ”That's okay. I didn't mind.”

”You're not supposed to heal them, Princess. They have their own healers. Some people believe they're cursed. Not worthy. And that's why they have no special powers.”

What a stupid, senseless logic. None of the clairvoyant crystals I'd watched mentioned such weird beliefs. From the woman's tone, she didn't buy it, either. I turned and looked at the child, who was clinging to her mother and holding on to her puny Pegasus like it was the most precious thing in the world. Both looked scared.

”She's a child. Harmless. I'll take that, please.” I pointed at the largest stuffed Pegasus. I took it to the little girl. ”What's your name?”

The child stuck her thumb in her mouth and burrowed in the crook of her mother's neck.

”Seraph,” the mother whispered. ”I'm so sorry she bothered you, Princess Lilith. She didn't know who you are. We didn't know.”

”She didn't bother me, and I'm happy to meet you, Seraph.” I touched her arm and she cringed. My hand dropped to my side. ”She didn't bother me, and if anyone says you did, ask your mommy to bring you to the castle and tell me about it. Do you know why, Seraph?”

The little girl shook her head, her eyes wide.

”Because you are my friend and friends look out for each other. This is for you.” I gave her the stuffed animal. At first, she was reluctant to take it. When she did, I turned and smiled at the crowd that had gathered. Some of them wore security uniforms. They all stared at me as though I had grown two heads. Their telepathic conversations said just as much, so I tuned them out. I couldn't explain how I did it. Must be instinctive or something.

I looked up and my gaze met Green Eyes's. He smiled with approval and heat crawled up my face. I turned to Lottius and Katia. ”Let's go.”

Katia took my arm and giggled. ”Oh, you are going to cause waves across this island. No, across the entire Hermonite Nation. I'll be honored to work with you, be your right hand woman”-she punched the air-”the enforcer of your will.”

”She's going to cause nothing but trouble,” Lottius said.

”With who? The king? Everyone knows she's his favorite.” Katia looked at me and winced. ”I heard he searched for you all over the world and never gave up.”

I didn't want to discuss my father. ”Come on, let's go have some fun.”

But news spread fast. Minion children and their parents started to follow us wherever we went. When I smiled at them, the bold ones showed me their cuts, which I healed, and scars, which I couldn't. More and more joined us. One gave me flowers. I plucked one and tucked it in my hair. More arrived with flowers. By the time we reached the end of the gaming tents, Katia and I had our arms full of flowers and nearly two dozen children with their parents trailed us.

Lottius turned and raised her hands. ”Okay, enough. Princess Lilith is here to have fun too, so leave her alone.”

”Diplomatic, isn't she?” Katia asked. ”I'll take care of this.” She turned and faced the kids. ”Lady Lottius meant to say the princess is happy to meet you, but right now, she needs to go on the rides.” She pointed at the trolleys hurtling past us so fast they were a blur.

I squatted so I was at the children's eye level, then reached out and touched a cheek here and an arm there. ”I will come and visit you as soon as I can, okay?”

Nods followed.

”Good. Now go to your mommies and daddies.” I stood and waved to the parents. A few took their children and left. Others stayed and watched us walk away.

”You don't want to visit their homes,” Lottius said, throwing me a sideways glance.

”Why?” I asked.

”Yeah, Lottie. Why?” Katia jumped in. ”Doesn't she deserve to know that some of our people live in burrows? That they're illiterate and stuck here because they're scared of living among humans? The power-that-is doesn't care-” Then her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. ”I, uh, I'm so sorry, Lilith. I didn't mean to imply that your father is a mean or a bad ruler-”

”It's okay.” Minions were stuck here? The way my father and Lady Nemea talked and from what I'd watched on the CCs, I thought this place was paradise for our people.

”Would you like to see where they live?” Katia asked.

I didn't know if that was a good idea. What could I do to change their lives? I'd barely woken up from a coma and I didn't know what lines to cross or if I should even cross them. Besides, the minions in the castle didn't seem unhappy.

”Okay,” I said weakly.

”Good. Now I want to go on a ride,” Katia said, and ran ahead to get in line, the conversation we were having seconds ago forgotten.

”You don't have to visit the minions, Lilith. There's not much you can do for them. The caste system was set by Queen Coronis thousands of years ago. Each Hermonite plays his and her role, the hierarchy never changing. You have the dukes, the lords, the knights, the guards, and the workers. Katia has a good heart, but she is too impulsive. She thinks we can change the system. It takes decades for changes to occur, and even if they happen, they are usually small and insignificant.”

I didn't know how to respond, so I just shrugged. We moved from ride to ride. We were leaving one when I saw Lord Gavyn with two men standing behind him like bodyguards. My heart skipped and started to pound.

He flashed a smile and walked toward us. Wariness washed over me. Was he here for me?

”Katia,” he said softly, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.