I can’t read her expression, but she’s watching Celeste button her coat, and I am sure that she knows what I’ve done.Pen looks up from her reading. “I should like to meet this king you’re forever running off to see.”Celeste hooks her elbow through mine. “You will,” she says. “Just not today. Private conference.”Pen mimics her under her breath and makes a face at her book.“I am so glad to see you well again,” Celeste says, and her sincerity startles Pen, who looks quizzically at me.“We’ll be back before dinner,” Celeste says.“Can I come?” Annette asks, bouncing at our feet.Nimble puts his hand on her forehead. “Nope.”Celeste opens the door. She can’t get moving fast enough. “Are you coming, Morgan?”“No,” I say. I know that I should, but I’ve used up all my courage telling her about the phosane, and I have none left to see what will happen next.“But you have to,” she insists.“I thought this kingdom practiced free will,” Pen says.“We do,”
