She watched him.
With Finn and Galen gone, the room seemed much larger. Asher couldn’t guess what she wanted. He had nothing to say, so he waited, trying to keep his legs still.
The Queen rose from her seat, descending three steps to the floor and approaching him. She stopped just out of arm’s reach. Asher’s heart raced. Her legs were long, putting her at about his height.
“Asher,” she said. It wasn’t a question or a call to attention. She sampled the word, tasting it like a flavor tied to some distant memory.
Asher answered anyway, stuttering. “Yes? How can I help—er, serve—you? Highness?”
“An uncommon name. Where are you from?”
“Southwind.”
“How old are you?”
Numbers became suddenly difficult. “Nearly sixteen?”
“Sixteen,” she echoed, then looked past him. “Leave us.”
Asher checked over his shoulder, perplexed. He’d forgotten about the Queen’s shrouded guard. The blue figure whisked from the room, and his heart beat faster.
The Queen’s features softened. She let her posture relax, and her fatigue became evident.
“Tell me about your father.”
The way she said it—and the way she looked saying it—conjured a fantasy in Asher’s mind. He’d heard that same tone a hundred times before, whenever Maggie Tailor spoke of her husband. It was full of warmth. For a moment—in Asher’s mind—the Queen was his mother, asking about his father.
“He’s a Farmer,” Asher said. He didn’t know what else to say. Farmer was stern, an unforgiving worker, a harsh teacher, fair and loving at times. “I left him in Southwind.”
Her chest expanded with every breath. Asher recognized the emotion rising within her. It was as though she cared, and although he knew it was a fantasy, he allowed it to grow in his mind.
“Why did you come here?” she asked.
He decided to entertain his fancy—and anyway, it was the truth. “To find my mother.”
There was no mistaking the glassy sheen that swept her brown eyes. She turned away and stepped back to the dais. Asher felt as though he had woken from a dream only to find that it was real. But when she turned back around, the royal poise had returned. She was the Queen.
“I need a servant,” she said. “Someone I can trust.”
Asher struggled to control his burning thoughts. Had he imagined her reaction? Yet here she was, offering him a life in the capital, close to her. He thought of Finn and Galen, of being a Healer. Deep down, he hadn’t expected anything more for himself, but things had suddenly changed. He never hoped to become a servant, but if there was a sliver of a chance that he could find his true family, a servant he would be.
Still, he couldn’t abandon Finn. Courage blossomed within him.
“My friend,” he said. “Finn. He came with me to join the Institute. He’s the best fighter I know.”
Queen Lilian smirked. “I can place him in the Institute but not as a student. The Lord Exemplar reserves that right.”
“Okay,” Asher said, excitement building. He had to go talk to Finn. “I’ll tell him.”
“Tell him,” she said. “And send him to the Clerk one hour after sunrise. Send yourself to Lady Keller.” Her eyes twinkled.
“Yes,” he said. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
She nodded, dismissing him. “You and I will speak again.”
★
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