I walked down the hall of the private wing of the palace. It was going to take some getting used to, calling this place home. I still felt a little bit like an intruder here unless Sven was with me. Not that anyone else particularly made me feel that I was. Apparently, now that everyone knew I was of the Original Bloodline and Sven and I were in a public relationship, people had decided maybe alienating me wasn't the best idea. At least in the palace.

They were still talking about me. I wasn't that naive. But at least they were now doing me the courtesy of gossiping behind my back instead of in front of me. Baby steps.

I sighed as I continued walking. I'd gone through all of my messages, responded to everything I could, even taken a few meetings with some flock chieftains.

That had been fun. They didn't know quite where to look or how to treat me. It kind of gave me the upper hand in a way I hadn't experienced before. Which was nice. Though I could also see it growing old.

But after all of that, I was still confined to the palace due to obvious safety issues. It was starting to itch a little, this self-imposed prison. But I couldn't argue with the reasoning. It would be much too easy to grab me off the street in a crowd. Maybe after things died down a little...

I reached the public part of the palace and walked out to the audience chamber. Everyone I passed gave me respectful nods. Maybe they stared at me a little longer than strictly necessary, but I'd take that over screaming and running away any day.

I nodded at Igna who was standing at his usual post. He nodded back, opening the door for me.

"Thank you," I murmured, smiling at him.

He smiled back.

"Of course."

We'd come to more than an understanding at this point. I'd almost venture to say we were friendly. The world worked oddly sometimes. Though odd really was an understatement these days. When I walked into the chamber, I immediately felt like walking right back out, but this concerned me, which was why I'd made the effort to come.

"You cannot simply keep her closeted away in the private wing," Mishal said in exasperation. "It gives the impression that you are attempting to hide her. That perhaps something is wrong with her or you are ashamed."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Sven growled, pushing a chair out for me as I drew near. "String up a flag adorned with her face surrounded by hearts?"

"That would be nice," I murmured under my breath as I sat.

Sven's lips twitched, but gave no other sign that he'd heard me.

"We've spoken about this and we think...we think a public speech—a public explanation with Adara there by your side—would be a good step to take," Joash suggested, nodding at me.

"Perhaps a social event," Blaise added.

"To turn Adara's resurrection into a celebration. Set the tone," Arie chimed in. "We don't want people to be afraid."

Sven's jaw tightened as he looked up at the ceiling. That wasn't a positive sign.

"You want me to have another giant party?" he finally said silkily, turning his head back down to meet their eyes. "After what happened at the last one?"

That had them stirring uncomfortably. Way to bring the mood of the room down, honey.

But I could see what the advisers were saying. The people needed to get used to me again. See that nothing had changed. Though that wasn't completely true. Sometimes, I felt like a different person altogether. Like the rebirth had not only reset my body, but my mind. It had started to fade now, that feeling of not fitting quite perfectly in my own skin, so maybe it was all in my head. Or maybe the effects were only short-term. I had no idea. Maybe it was time to research this in more depth.

In the meantime, maybe I could help smooth this over for everyone.

"Perhaps we could just do the speech," I suggested, before things devolved further. "I agree with Sven about another feast—that would be a no go. Not only would it be a nightmare to guard, it would immediately make people think about the last feast." I let that sink in. "Not the best memory to bring up if you want to set an optimistic tone."

Sven looked over at me, moving his hand to cover mine on the table.

"Are you sure?" he asked, searching my face. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

That caused another stir among the others at the table, but I ignored it. He was asking me, not them.

"I can't hide in here forever," I said in a low voice, turning my hand to grip his. "And if we wait too long, it will seem like an even bigger deal than it will now. Might as well get it over with."

He sighed.

"Maybe," he admitted grudgingly. "All right." Raising my hand, he kissed it before turning to the others.

I resisted the urge to blush. Our relationship was no secret. Not anymore. Not that anyone was really surprised after the way Sven had apparently reacted after I...

After I died. It was still difficult to wrap my head around that fact. I died. I'd always been told I had the Original Bloodline coursing through my veins. But it was one thing to be told about something, and quite another to experience it like I had.

"We'll do the public address," Sven confirmed. "But only the public address."

"Wonderful," Arie said, relief clear on her face. "Now, we just need to discuss the details of what you're going to say, the tone you'll want to take..."

I listened with one ear as I looked down at our entwined hands, Sven's bigger one holding mine safely.

There were going to be a lot more decisions we'd have to make, ones more difficult than this one. I had no idea how they were going to be handled. The future was an indistinct blur as of yet. One that felt malleable, changeable, but I felt hopeful. I covered Sven's hand with mine and he smiled at me as he continued to listen to Arie.

Hand in hand with Sven, I was happy to take one day at a time.

We'd figure it out.

Together.

* * *