The Court of Timeless was not a court at all. It was a library.
Or at least, that's what Hafa decided as she was marched into a cavernous hall stacked with books, maps, and dusty artifacts that looked older than Tucan. Sunlight streamed through arched windows, illuminating four figures seated around a stone table. They turned in unison as she entered, their expressions ranging from curiosity to outright disdain.
"Ah," said a woman with ink-stained fingers and a braid coiled like a serpent. "The Fire Kingdom's gift has arrived."
Hafa recognized her from the castle tapestries—Lady Veyra, head of the Clan of Scrolls, overseer of education and keeper of histories. Her reputation for memorizing entire libraries (and using them as verbal weapons) preceded her.
"Gift?" snorted the man beside her, a mountain of muscle with a scar splitting his face like a fault line. General Kael, leader of the Clan of Blades, whose idea of diplomacy was a sword through the ribs. "More like a lit fuse. How long until she burns the place down?"
"Patience, Kael," purred a third figure, a man draped in silk robes stitched with gold thread. Lord Selrin of the Clan of Coins, master of trade and all things taxable. He inspected Hafa as if appraising a gemstone. "Fire has its uses. Even uncontrollable fire… can be insured."
The fourth leader, a hooded figure with hands hidden in sleeves, said nothing. The Shadow of the Veils, they called them—head of the secretive clan that handled administration, justice, and, rumor had it, assassination. Their silence was louder than Kael's growling.
"Sit, Hafa of Fire," Lady Veyra commanded, gesturing to a stool conspicuously lower than the others. "Let us… educate you on your role here."
Hafa remained standing. "I'll pass. My tutors growing up were boring enough."
Kael slammed a fist on the table. "You're here to serve, girl, not sass your betters!"
"Betters?" Hafa smirked. "Funny. I don't see any royalty here. Just a librarian, a thug, a banker, and…" She squinted at the Shadow of the Veils. "…a sentient cloak?"
The hooded figure's head tilted slightly—the only sign they'd heard her.
Selrin chuckled. "Oh, I like her. Can we keep her, Veyra?"
"This isn't a petting zoo," Veyra snapped, her composure cracking. "You are here, Hafa, because your kingdom owes a debt. Your life is a transaction. You will assist the clans in—"
"—fetching scrolls," Hafa finished, mimicking Veyra's prim tone. "Polishing armor. Counting coins. And whatever you do." She pointed at the Shadow. "Haunt corridors? Very productive."
General Kael stood, his chair screeching back. "I've skinned dragons for less disrespect."
"Dragons?" Hafa raised a brow. "Let me guess—they died of boredom listening to your war stories?"
Kael's face purpled. Selrin wheezed with laughter. Even Lady Veyra's lips twitched, though she hid it behind a scroll. Only the Shadow remained still, though Hafa swore she saw their shoulders shake.
"Enough."
The word came not from the leaders, but from the shadows behind Hafa. Tucan materialized beside her, his presence sucking the warmth from the room. The clan leaders stiffened, their earlier bravado crumbling.
"Your Eternity," Veyra said, bowing her head. "We were merely… acquainting the princess with her duties."
"Duties?" Tucan circled the table, his gaze lingering on each leader. "Is that what you call this squabbling?"
Selrin cleared his throat. "With respect, Your Eternity, the girl is a liability. The Fire Kingdom's spies are already circling our borders. Keeping her here is—"
"—my decision," Tucan interrupted. "Or do the Coins now dictate policy?"
Selrin paled. "Of course not, Your Eternity."
Tucan stopped behind Hafa. She could feel his breath on her neck, cold as midwinter. "Princess Hafa will serve me directly. Not the clans. Understood?"
A chorus of reluctant "Yes, Your Eternity"s echoed around the table.
Hafa turned her head, meeting Tucan's glacial stare. "Serve you how, exactly? Do you need your hair braided? Your ego stroked?"
The room gasped. Tucan's lips thinned. Then, to everyone's shock, he leaned closer and whispered, "Careful, princess. I might start enjoying the stroking."
Kael choked on his wine. Selrin dropped his gold quill. Even the Shadow's hood twitched.
Hafa's cheeks burned, but she refused to look away. "Dream on, frostbite."
Tucan straightened, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "Report to the clocktower at dawn. You'll clean the time-lenses."
"Clean your own cursed lenses," Hafa muttered.
"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" He vanished again, leaving her alone with four furious clan leaders.
Kael jabbed a finger at her. "You'll regret this, fire-spawn."
"Already do," Hafa said, sauntering out. "Nice cloak, by the way. Does it come in less pathetic?"
The Shadow of the Veils finally spoke, their voice a whisper of wind through bones: "We will watch you, Hafa of Fire."
"Better get front-row seats," she called over her shoulder. "I hate an underwhelming audience."