"Where are you going to next?"

"Ray's," I said. "His flock isn't the worst off, but I want to make sure everything is given out fairly."

Sven frowned at that.

"You think that may not be the case?" he asked, disturbed by the implication.

"I think it's my job to make sure it is," I answered obliquely.

Ray was one of the Chieftains I categorized in the gray region. He wasn't all good or all bad. It depended on the situation. I doubted I'd find any discrepancies when I arrived in his territory. Even if there had been anything to find at some point, the news that I was coming to do an inspection would have sent him scrambling to fix whatever might look suspicious. I was sure of that.

The point of my visits wasn’t always the same. Sometimes it was to ensure everything was received. Sometimes it was to make sure everything was being dealt with competently. Sometimes it was to double-check there was no favoritism being played with what we'd allocated to each flock. But I'd found that simply the threat of an inspection was usually enough to fix any problem that had reached my ears before I even arrived. Which I was fine with. As long as everything fell where it was supposed to in the end, I didn't care how it got there.

"I think I'll come with you," Sven murmured.

"What?" I asked, jerking my head up to meet his eyes.

He smiled at my surprise as he stood up.

"I think I'll come with you for this inspection," he repeated. "Are you leaving right now?"

I nodded dumbly.

He wanted to come?

"Yes," I said, my mind scrambling to get ahold of itself at this wrench in the works. "You don't have to come with me," I tried.

Spending more time with him was not my plan.

"I don't want people to think I'm a hands-off kind of king," he replied, coming around the desk. "And what better way to keep people on their toes than to visit the flocks unannounced?" he added, smirking. "It would most likely cut down on issues for you."

I didn't know about that, but it wasn't as if I could tell him not to come and create a scene. So I didn't say anything as we walked out of the chamber and into the hall.

Igna looked over, and his eyes almost bugged right out of his head. I could relate.

"Where are you going, my king?" he asked, falling into step beside us.

"I'm going with Adara to Ray's."

"You'll need to take a contingent with you," Igna pointed out, his demeanor and voice rigid.

"Do I need guards?" Sven asked glancing over at me.

"Yes," I said firmly. "You need guards."

I definitely didn't want anything happening to him while he was with me. His ascension to the throne hadn't exactly been a smooth one. Even kings beloved by all were vulnerable to threats. Better to have a few guards on hand. Sven sighed, nodding reluctantly.

"It's going to take some time adjusting to this aspect of the throne," he muttered. Raising his voice, he continued. "Go gather a few other guards and meet us in the courtyard," he ordered Igna.

"I will be there shortly."

He immediately peeled away to do just that. This was not at all how I expected today to go. I really needed to stop expecting Sven to act a certain way. Or maybe I needed to start expecting the unexpected.

When we got out to the colorful, mosaic tile of the courtyard which was where groups tended to fly out from, we only had to wait another two minutes before Igna arrived with five more guards in tow. I was so glad we had guards, though it was going to be a whole production now rather than just my flying in solo. I was willing to take the trade off in this case.

Sven let out a silent breath when he saw the guards, but he didn't argue with the number. I could understand that it chafed. I wouldn't like not being able to just fly off alone when I wanted to. Even he had to admit that having guards was a good idea.

We spread out without speaking, arranging ourselves so we all had room to change. I felt self-consciousness taking hold in a way it hadn't since my first change, which was ridiculous. Being naked and seeing get other people naked was a fact of life, something we all got used to quickly as phoenixes. But that logic didn't matter right now.

As Sven quickly shed his clothes without fuss and packed them away in the carrier he could bring along in his phoenix form, I couldn't help but stare at him out of the corner of my eye. It was rude, breaking the etiquette we all learned early. It wasn't as though I hadn't seen him before, but it was different now somehow.

I couldn't help but notice the breadth of his shoulders, the lean muscle roping his body, how utterly masculine he looked completely bare. The way the sunlight highlighted the ridges of his muscles. The smoothness of his skin.

Oh, man.

I forced myself to look away and take my clothes off quickly, packing them away. The quicker I got this done, the better. I glanced over at Sven again, unable to resist that last peek, only to see him looking over at me as well.

Our gazes clashed. But he didn't immediately look away. And neither did I.

He grinned and changed into his phoenix form. That smile was like a teasing caress over my entire body. Wow. I had to force myself to focus so I could change.

Closing my eyes, I urged the change to start. It took me a second. One could say I was just a touch distracted. But eventually, I felt the change ripple through me as I grew into my phoenix form, the familiar sting focusing me. Nothing cleared the mind like a change. When I was done, I shook out my feathers, feeling renewed and ready to fly.

I looked over at Sven. He stood in all his massive glory, the orange and yellow plumage marking him distinctly.

I spread out my wings, the pink in my feathers hitting the periphery of my vision.

Sven took off first, followed by me, and then the guards behind us.

As soon as we leveled out above the barren land, they arrange themselves in a semicircle just behind us. Sven deliberately kept abreast of me, both of us carrying our belongings in the bags specifically designed to be easy to carry with our feet in phoenix form.

Ray's flock was about a half a day's flight out. It wasn't a short distance, but I took the time to clear my head and just let myself be. Traveling from flock to flock, I'd started thinking of the time in the air as my place to meditate. The place where I couldn't do anything but fly. It always managed to center me and settle my internal self.

But I had to admit, I wasn't quite as level as I usually was while flying. I knew it had to do with the phoenix at my side. Sven had a way of throwing me off my equilibrium by his mere presence alone.

I glanced over to see him at riding the current expertly, his large wingspan holding him aloft easily. I'd seen him in action during battles.

He was fast. Maybe one of the fastest I'd ever seen. But he didn't rush now. He kept to my sedate pace. Long distance was better at a more measured speed in any case, but I had the feeling his measured speed was faster than this. It was...sweet of him. I didn't like arriving at my destination feeling too tired to do my job.

We passed over the boundary of Ray's territory, which coincided with a deep crevice in the earth below. Spread out below us was a sprawling city, about a third of which was leveled, with another third severely damaged. The white tents were set up just outside the city's edge, near the section that was still intact. I could see people walking the streets and business open there, which was good.

We landed just outside the area with the tents, where Ray was already there to meet us with a few of his advisers. I had to admit, it was a little funny seeing the shock on their faces as Sven and the guards landed with me.

"My king!" Ray exclaimed, bowing. "What a surprise!" he cried out, covering up the dismay I saw just behind his faux-welcoming expression.

He looked over at me, frowning.

"You did not tell me you were going to bring the king," he muttered accusingly through clenched teeth.

"It was a last-minute decision," I replied smoothly, not reacting to the censure in his voice. I understood not enjoying feeling as though you'd been blind. On the other hand, it wasn't a reason for panic if you had nothing to hide.

"It was my suggestion," Sven interrupted, drawing Ray's attention back to him, his eyes sharp on the interplay. "We'd like to see how you divided up the supplies we gave you," he added, smiling tightly. There was a warning tone in his voice and his eyes. He did not like Ray.

I could sympathize. On the plus side, with Sven here, Ray fell all over himself to accommodate us. That was nice.

Ruth, one of Ray's advisers, hung back to walk with me as Ray led Sven over to the sea of tents.

"How are you, Adara?" Ruth asked quietly, her interested eyes watching Ray with Sven.

"Fine," I said with a smile. Ruth was a sweet mother of four, but also viciously protective of her flock. Then again, maybe the two went hand in hand. "Just trying to make sure everybody has their immediate needs taken care of."

"And you are doing a wonderful job at that," Geo interjected, smiling at me. He was younger than Ruth, in his early thirties, settled with a long-term partner. "We've been hearing how much better everyone is doing, and we know it's thanks to you."

I shook my head, feeling a little embarrassed at the praise, especially since I was such a small part of the effort as a whole.

"I'm only able to help because the resources have been allocated for it," I pointed out. "And we have a lot of help. This is nowhere near a one-woman show."

"Perhaps," Crise agreed, as he looked over at Sven's back. The skepticism in his voice was clear. Crise was just into his twenties, but smart and sharp. Which was why he had ended up as an adviser.

Ruth and Geo both murmured their lukewarm agreement. It was flattering. But I knew I couldn't take anywhere near all the credit. Still, I didn't argue. There was no point. They'd have to make up their own minds. And I wanted to focus on my first opportunity to see how people reacted to Sven now that he was king. They didn't greet him with open arms. Not that I expected them to. Respect would have to be earned.

I could see how wary they were of Sven as we walked through the tents, as he asked questions about how they parceled out the food and water and how many people shared each tent.

"Everything is in order now," Geo told me quietly.

"It wasn't before?" I asked, taking his cue and keeping my voice low as well.

"Ray just needed some nudging not to favor only those close to him," Ruth responded with a sweet smile and hard eyes. "Your inspection helped things along, is all."

Confirmation of the rumors I'd heard. No need to read between the lines. I'd found that I often got more information from the people around the chieftain than the leader himself. So I made sure to develop those relationships where I could.

"Let me know if you need me to do any more inspections," I offered, glancing around at the people going about their day. Some of them waved at me and called out to me by name. The nature of my job meant that I knew a lot of people, by face at least if not by name. As they waved at me and said hello, I saw them pulling back when they caught sight of Sven. Not everyone. Some were excited and came up to meet him, which he fielded graciously, smiling and asking how they were recovering. But some of them hung back, their eyes telling me they were waiting to see what the king had to offer before they tried to interact with him.

I understood the sentiment. I would have felt the same. I did feel the same, once upon a time.

After we got through much of the crowd, Sven fell back to walk with me while Ray's advisers gathered around him.

"Seems like you're much more popular than I am," Sven observed as he looked around at the people giving us a wide berth now that he was next to me.

"Hmm. They just need a little bit of time to become accustomed to you," I responded diplomatically.

Sven looked over at me with a self-deprecating smile.

"I can't blame them after Emberich," he countered candidly. "But maybe you can give me a few pointers on how to win them over. Seems like you're pretty good at it."

I took a moment to think about it.

"Just show what your intentions are consistently," I offered finally. "It's not that difficult. If you simply do the right thing enough times...they'll move past this wariness of you."

"No shortcuts, huh?" he asked wryly.

"There rarely are for things that matter."

He looked over at me, respect in his eyes.

"Isn't that the truth?" he said, almost to himself.

I frowned, but I didn't have time to pick apart what he meant. Our tour of the progress was over and it was time to attend the get-together Ray had quickly arranged despite Sven's protests.

"The people want to meet you, but they also just need a pick-me-up," Ray responded quietly, looking around at the mostly somber crowd.

Yes, we could rebuild things like buildings and streets, but we couldn't restore the people that we all lost. I could see that knowledge in Ray's eyes, see the compassion he harbored for his people. This was why he was the chieftain of this flock despite his flaws. He was right. Getting everybody together for a celebration was a good idea. We all needed to inject some joy back into our lives. Sven must have thought the same, because he stopped arguing about the plan.

So we sat around the bonfires with the flock, listening as a few people brought out instruments to play, the music a little unpolished and just right. We ate, and Sven spoke with people who slowly began to come up to him. Some still stayed back. But there were fewer of them the more they saw him interacting. He was good at it. With time, I had no doubt that he would win over everybody who was not completely convinced.

If he had enough time.

And if he really did have good intentions.

After a few hours, people started slowly dispersing back to their tents to go to sleep, work waiting to be completed the next day. Ray said his goodbyes. And Sven sent away the couple of guards still lingering around us.

"I'll be fine," he told them. "Go to bed. We'll be out here only a bit longer. If somebody wanted to attack me, this would be a terrible place to do it."

That was true. There were too many people around, the tents in too close of a proximity. Unless the attacker didn't care if he or she was caught. The second guard looked at Igna.

"Go," Sven reiterated. "That's an order." That finally got them moving.

A few people still milled about but they were a kind of far away from us when Sven sat down next to me on the sturdy bench.

"Looks like everything is as it should be," Sven remarked, looking over at me, his hand just brushing mine on the bench.

I nodded, feeling that slight touch all through my body but trying not to react outwardly. There was a lot of me trying not to react around him.

"Yes," I agreed. "Everything looks fine...now."

"That was the impression I got as well," he agreed. "However, as long as Ray keeps himself in line now, I have no reason to take any action. But I will keep an eye on him."

"I think that's wise," I concurred. "Some people just need a little bit of a nudge to do the right thing sometimes."

Sven watched me, the flickering light highlighting the angles and hollows of his handsome face.

And his gaze wasn't professional.

This was dangerous. But I didn't get up.

"You don't need any nudges," he observed.

"I'm far from perfect," I murmured, unable to look away.

"Perfect is boring," he retorted lightly, his eyes burning into mine.

We were outside, under the vast night sky. But, somehow, it felt intimate with him next to me. In the warm light of the fire. With him looking at me that way.

Then he raised his hand, and slid my hair behind my ear, his touch barely there. My breath caught in my throat.

"What are you doing?" I breathed, not moving under that touch, feeling my heart picking up the pace in a real way.

"Something very stupid," he muttered, his eyes dropping down to my lips.

Now.

I needed to leave.

But again, I didn't move.

Just watched as he slowly closed the distance between us.

And pressed his lips against mine.