Rafael scowled at him. “Don’t say it like that. You’re going to scare her.” He turned towards me. “Several have disappeared from surrounding towns, while others voluntarily left their homes with vague excuses and quick departures. We haven’t been able to find out where they’re going, but we can only assume they’re all in the same place.”
Meli. My stomach fell to my feet.
“You think they’re with the missing humans?” I set down my half-eaten toast, losing my appetite.
“We don’t know. It’s been difficult to gather evidence. The Elders have so many spies and a seemingly unlimited amount of blood for bribery. It doesn’t help that we keep hitting dead ends,” Louis grumbled, tearing off a piece of croissant.
“Well, doyouhave spies? You’re only two males—you can’t possibly solve this by yourselves,” I said.
“Of course I have spies,” Rafael bit back. “But I’d like one more. Would you mind if I ask Meli some questions? In return, I’ll make sure her and Odin are protected.”
“I think she’d be happy to help, but only in ways that don’t put her in danger. She’s not in a position to do anything risky,” I said firmly.
“Nothing dangerous. I promise. We just need all the eyes and ears we can get.”
A weight lifted from me, knowing that Meli and Odin would now be getting real protection. It was the kindest thing Raf had ever done for me—well, notfor me, of course. All the same, it eased my mind to know they’d have more security.
“It sounds like the perfect time to go to the portal. We’re at a dead end and need answers—hopefully visiting will give us some,” I reasoned.
Rafael turned to Louis. “If she’s ready, we should go. We need to be a step ahead of them. At any moment they may force her to open a doorway for them, by any means necessary. If they make it to Erador, they’ll be unstoppable. We can’t let that happen.”
His eyes blazed with fervor; I’d never seen him look so…passionate.
My stomach dipped. I was finally willing to admit that I might’ve been wrong about him. I’d reduced him to a spoiled rake when we’d first met and it hadn’t been an accurate assessment. In fact, I didn’t even know if hewasa rake. I’d never seen him with a woman… not that a Prince was likely to parade around with prostitutes—especially one as private as him. Regardless, I’d decided that what he did in his personal time washisbusiness.
His cruel quips, his secretive nature, his aloofness; maybe those were traits he’d needed in order to survive. Sylvia never would’ve let him live this long if she’d seen fire behind his eyes. Any hint of ambition towards the Crown would’ve caused an internal war between the family. But it seemed like war was coming, regardless. Perhaps it had always been inevitable.
I studied him as he said, “We don’t have time to waste. Sylvia and her advisors are asking for a fight—challenging anyone with a shred of moral fiber to rise up and demand justice. But first, we need to even the odds. We’ve got to find the humans, break the curse, and rally faeries to our side. It’s the only way we can win against them.”
“I agree, but if we’re caught—if something happens to Marigold, then all is lost,” Louis replied in a low voice. “We must appear obedient. Going to the garden is a risk. If we’re caught, my mother might imprison Marigold… or turn her over to them.”
If anyone would’ve walked onto the terrace at that moment, they’d assume we were all fighting over the last slice of coffee cake. Our heads were bent over the table and we had vengeance in our eyes. But then I heard Isla’s trill of laughter as she and Galen entered through the terrace doors and I was jolted back to reality.
“I’m a shadow wielder. I won’t get caught,” Rafael growled. “And neither will she if we go under the cover of darkness. Marigold and I are going—tonight.”
Sneaking through the woods with a shadow wielder, in the middle of the night, was not my idea of a good time—but for Meli, I’d do it.
Before Galen made it to the table, Rafael was gone.Those gods damned shadows.Any warmth I’d been feeling towards him was replaced with annoyance at his abrupt departure.
At least I had Louis. My head swiveled around as I realized… he’d left me too. I curled my frosted fists. I was going to freeze their balls off for leaving me as the third wheel.
I was stuck with Galen and Isla. My heart dropped into my stomach as I took in Isla’s porcelain doll face. It took considerable effort not to flare my nostrils like a bull seeing red as Galen helped her into her seat.
“Good morning, Marigold. What a beautiful day it is. Don’t you look pretty as a portrait,” she beamed. She was radiant in an indigo dress with matching violets in her hair.
I would’ve liked to believe the compliment, but her smile never quite reached her baby-blue eyes when she looked at me. I was wearing a yellow dress that accentuated my curves and flowed into a loose skirt. Ididfeel beautiful—until she sat down.
She reminded me of the elegant, two-faced aristocratic women I encountered so frequently at court in Aurelius. They were demure, sweet,breezy…until you felt a dagger in your back. Pretty littleassassins. And was I any better? Smiling back at her as I fantasized about ripping out her throat?
“Good morning. I trust you both slept well,” I said with too much sugar as I sipped my bitter coffee.
Isla looked at Galen with a knowing grin. I was going to be sick. Had they been sleeping together? My bed had grown cold over the last month and I’d taken to thinking of Galen when I couldn’t sleep. It led to the filthiest dreams I’d ever had. I blamed the romance novels.
A flush crawled up my neck as I tried to push away the images that were now at the forefront of my mind. Thoughts of him swiping everything off this table, picking me up, and spreading me out… then ripping my dress off with those strong, capable hands.
I could feel his eyes on me, assessing what my rosy cheeks meant. I met his gaze and held it. A fire smoldered in his eyes, making me bite my cheek to keep from smiling.
He cleared his throat. “How have your meetings with Melisandre been going?” At least he was steering the conversation away from anything that made Isla giggle.
