Free Queen of the Sylphs by L. J. McDonald Page B

about what you’re going to do?” Leon asked. They headed down narrower corridors that led deeper into the hive, and then down more stairs.
    “Do?”
    “With Lizzy.”
    He saw Ril’s puzzled look and felt the battler’s uncertainty. Ril was apparently still afraid of his reaction about his daughter. The battler had made Lizzy his master long ago, secretly, and Leon’s discovery had been an accident. He knew Leon could still change his mind and not allow Lizzy to be with him. Leon could order him away and Ril would have to obey.
    Leon had no intention of doing that. The situation couldn’t go on the way it was, though.
    “In every way that matters, you’re married to Lizzy,” he told the battler. “Usually when two people get together, they move into a home of their own.”
    Ril frowned, blinked, and frowned again. “I don’t want to leave you.”
    Leon smiled. He didn’t particularly want Ril to leave, either, even if they’d still work together. The battler hadn’t been too keen on the idea of becoming Solie’s majordomo and social secretary, taking Devon’s place, but the job would be good for him. Thanks to his injuries, Ril couldn’t fulfil the usual duties of a battle sylph, but he was still immortal. If he was going to survive the centuries to come, he needed a purpose. Leon intended to give him one.
    He also wanted to make it easier for Ril to keep all of his masters close. At least until he outlived them.
    “You don’t have to move out,” he suggested to Ril, “but I think it’s a good idea to give Lizzy a place that she knows is her own. It’s good for both of you.” When the battler looked suspicious, Leon added, “We have that barn at the end of the garden we use for the horses. The neighbors down the road have said we can put those in their pasture. They won’t even charge us except for feed. That means we can replace the barn with a cottage. That way you’ll both be near the family but able to get away and be together.”
    Ril tilted his head to one side, pondering. “That sounds all right.”
    “Good.” Leon grinned. “I’ll see if I can get an earth sylph to change the barn. It’s all stone anyway.”
    Ril nodded and yawned again, but Leon felt happier. His battler’s emotions were content and relaxed.
    Ahead, doors were spaced along the corridor. Claw slouched outside one, staring at his hands. He glanced up as they approached, and the battler, who had blue hair for some strange reason, looked almost frightened. Not that Leon doubted his ability to act as guard; the sylph would destroy whomever he had to. Still, Leon spoke gently to him, knowing how long Rachel had been working to build up his shattered confidence.
    “Good morning, Claw. I need to see the prisoners, please.”
    The battler shivered, glancing from Leon to Ril. Ril stared back with understanding. The two were unique among sylphs: Ril was crippled in body, Claw in spirit.
    Claw nodded shakily. “Okay.” He turned and pulled a key out of his pocket, using it to unlock the door.
    “Thank you,” Leon said, and passing the battler started down another set of stairs.
    Ril paused, eyeing Claw. “How’s the reading coming?”
    “Um, good,” the other battler said. “I read a story to Rachel last night.”
    “Nice,” Ril said.
    Claw sagged. “The math is hard, though.”
    Ril clapped him on the shoulder. “I hate math,” he confessed. Then, without another word, he followed his master down the stairs.
    Claw locked the door behind them, and quietly Leon and Ril descended. The stairs opened onto a section of the hive that had been intended for storage, though, like much of the rest of the complex, it wasn’t actually in use. Not yet. The earth sylphs just liked to create things, even far beyond the needs of the population.
    The light was much dimmer here, the reflective crystals transmitting illumination from the on-duty fire sylph more sporadically placed. Leon and Ril moved without concern through the