Dante was impressed with Prim’s ability to act nonchalant in front of Sarasha given their suspicions. Luckily, Helena’s presence intimidated the fae enough that she hadn’t tried to offer any of that mindless chatter she often did, which meant Prim didn’t actually have to speak to her. He wasn’t sure if his love would have been able to keep her pleasant demeanor if Sarasha had. The only thing keeping him from hurting the fae was Prim’s voice echoing around his mind that it was just conjecture, and reminding himself it wasn’t his place to determine if someone deserved to die, that he’d been wrong on that count before.

The four of them reached Kallia’s chambers only to find Blukke had gone ahead to the Bench to get started on the second go-through of the papers. Dante would owe him several ales for all the help his friend had been. Kallia should owe him some kind of honor. Dante laughed to himself wondering if there was a Royal Cad position as Prim discreetly asked the princess to send someone to fetch the shifter.

Sarasha joined Tuck and Kallia’s two escorts along the wall as the princess said she needed to freshen up at Prim’s whispered suggestion. The three women slipped into the bathing chamber. Helena took a seat on a chaise, picking at some snacks on the low table and flipping through a book Bristol had left out, snorting at the contents but not putting it down. Dante planted himself at the door, listening as Prim explained what they’d discussed in the mentor’s chamber. He looked straight ahead, but kept his attention on Sarasha in the periphery of his vision.

It was over an hour later before Blukke returned, walking straight to Dante with his charming smile plastered on his face. “What have I missed, brother?”

Dante didn’t dare look at the fae. “Nothing. The ladies are freshening up and the princess wanted all the escorts because they’re going on a stroll,” he lied.

Blukke’s expression dipped into suspicion for only half a second. “Of course. Mustn’t let the ladies be unescorted,” he purred, playing along.

Dante signaled him to use his gift by tugging the shifter’s ear with a phantom hand, a silent code they’d used since they were kids. “Sarasha,” Dante breathed.

Blukke nodded a moment later confirming the fae’s magic was incapacitated before padding to the square of chaises and taking a seat as far from Helena as he possibly could, plucking at the snacks himself. Dante knocked on the door, calling to the women that they could leave for their stroll now.

Dante stood aside as the princess and the handmaidens emerged shortly after. They all still wore their hair the way Dante had fixed them this morning, fresh-faced and in the same dresses. Dante positioned a giant invisible hand between the women and the guards as they walked toward them, just in case Sarasha had any ideas to attack with her sword if she realized her gift was incapacitated.

Kallia stopped in front of the fae. “I want your opinion on something, Sarasha.” She flicked her eyes to the other guards. “This is a private matter for women’s ears only.”

The three men shuffled out the door, only one narrowing his eyes at the two men staying. Dante heard Sarasha’s heartbeat quicken.

Kallia gestured to the chaises and the fae hesitantly sat on an empty one, fluttering her wings to fold them over the backrest. She pressed her knees together and placed one hand on each, hunching her shoulders. She looked like a child who knew they were about to be reprimanded. Shit, with her brown hair and pale eyes, she looked like Marnie the dozens of times she’d done something wrong and knew Dante was about to call her out on it. Dante pushed away the thought.

Bristol joined Blukke on his chaise while Kallia took the last free one. Dante glanced at Prim, who was hesitating, and quickly took the seat next to Helena so she wouldn’t have to. With a look of gratitude, Prim joined Kallia. Dante kept that phantom hand blocking Sarasha from the rest as all six of them stared at her. Her heart beat faster. Dante caught a whiff of fear.

Sarasha kept her focus on the chaise with Kallia and Prim. “I’m not sure how helpful I’ll be, but I would be happy to offer my thoughts on any topic, Your Highness.”

Kallia had that regal air about her again. “Interesting choice of words. Offer my thoughts.”

The fae only smiled hesitantly.

Kallia waved her hand to the side as if pushing away her comment. “Forgive me, I was just thinking out loud.” She cleared her throat, smoothing her white skirts. “Prim tells me you mentioned you thought Neros would be a good match for me. I wanted to know why.”

“Oh.” The fae laughed nervously, though her body visibly sagged. “I did mention that. He’s very handsome and nice. He’s funny; he made Prim laugh several times. And he’s a quick learner.” She wagged her eyebrows at Prim. “Egan, on the other hand, doesn’t talk. You have nothing in common with him.”

When she finished speaking, Sarasha leaned back, her breathing and heart rate calming.

Kallia licked her lips. “Where are you from, Sarasha? That accent is so unique.”

The fae straightened a bit, clearing her throat. “It is unique. I’ve lived all over the world, picking up a bit here and there.”

The princess made a noise of consideration, flicking her eyes to Dante. He casually scratched his nose. Truth.

“How long have you been in Hogard?” Kallia asked pleasantly, stretching her arm on the backrest behind Prim and scrunching her nose at her friend as if she wasn’t entirely interested in the fae’s answer.

“Just a few months. But I really like it here.”

Dante scratched his nose again, then focused his sensing on Prim to find her breathing was hitched. He sent a phantom hand to stroke her cheek and her eyes darted to him. He let the corner of his mouth twitch up, and her face instantly softened. He continued running that phantom hand lovingly up and down her arm as he returned his sensing gifts to the fae.

“How long have you known Neros?” Kallia asked innocently.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Sarasha smiled hesitantly. “I don’t know. How long has it been? A week?”

Dante casually tugged his ear. Lie.

He didn’t even have to focus his gifts on Prim to hear her quickened heart. Her body shifted and he knew it wouldn’t be long until she was unleashing herself. Kallia needed to pick up the pace if she wanted to do this diplomatically.

Kallia pushed her lips out dramatically, tilting her head. “What’s your gift again?”

“Destruction,” Sarasha answered quickly, her smile now faded.

Ear tug.

The princess hummed. “Do you know what happened to the vial Kern Hollon had that we couldn’t find? I hope it wasn’t…destroyed.”

Sarasha moved her hands from her knees to the chaise, gripping the purple cushion. “No, Princess.”

Ear tug.

He and Prim hadn’t discussed the vial in relation to Sarasha. Dante held his breath, waiting for either Prim to lose her tether or Kallia to continue this unexpected line of questioning.

“Do you know what the vial was for?” the princess asked calmly, her intense gaze on the fae.

The fae actually stuttered as she answered. “No, of course not.”

Dante tugged his ear.

The princess looked over her assessingly. “Are you a mindmolder?”

The room became so quiet Dante could only hear the fae’s strained breathing. For the first time, Sarasha dragged her eyes away from Kallia and Prim. She locked her gaze on Dante as she realized what this was. The fae pressed her eyes closed. “No,” she whispered, though she knew what was coming.

Dante waited until her eyes opened before tugging his ear. The fae’s eyes were wide with terror.

Prim angled her body fully to Sarasha. “How did you kill Roan?” she asked with quiet fury.

Sarasha blinked, shaking her head quickly back and forth. “I didn’t kill him.”

Prim locked eyes with Dante and his chest ached for her as he brushed a knuckle over his nose. Truth.

Prim groaned as she pushed herself back into the chaise, slumping nearly into a lying position.

Kallia focused again on the fae. “Given that Roan was in possession of the vial when he died, that makes it seem like you were involved. The murdering of a royal guard is a capital offense.”

Dante didn’t need his gifts to sense the fear on the fae as her eyes darted around the room. “He wasn’t in possession of it when he died. I had already stolen it.”

Dante confirmed the truth of her statement. That’s why Roan wouldn’t give it to him. He didn’t have it and was too proud to admit he’d lost it.

“Why? What was the vial?” Kallia pressed.

The fae looked frantically around the room again, her face twisting in panic. Then she stilled as if admitting defeat. She took a deep breath and answered, each word more labored than the last. “I did business with Somanti. Part of our deal was that he would never reveal who sent me. To ensure that, he agreed to drink my blood. It was laced with a command to take his own life if he ever considered giving us up.”

Truth. Dante didn’t need to ask if Sol was a mindmolder. He knew he wasn’t; it was just another useless idea he had clung to in an attempt to explain the power his master had held over him for so long. The truth of that was just that Dante had been so lost when Sol found him as a child that the Lord of the Lawless was able to mold his mind without magic, just as he had all the other kids he collected.

Dante was glad the fae as good as killed him.

But she didn’t kill him. Just like she could have claimed to have not killed Roan if she somehow had convinced him to take her blood. Dante slapped his hand lightly on the table to call her attention. “Was your gift involved in any way with Roan’s death?”

Tears streamed down her red and blotchy face. “No,” Sarasha said, her voice shaky.

Truth. Fuck.

But the fae was a mindmolder. She was a spy. And she’d been the one with access to Neros’s orders. “Did you add the assassination option?”

Sarasha sucked in several punctuated breaths, flicking her eyes to Kallia. She shook her head. “I was just the messenger.” Truth.

Dante pulled his gaze away from the fae as Prim sat up. Her eyes were a bit red, but no tears fell. He could tell she was more mad and disappointed than sad right now. Prim stared at the fae.

Sarasha brought her attention to Prim as well. “I’m sorry. I meant it when I said I liked you. And I meant it when I said I was sorry about the kern.” Truth, though she was acting like a blubbering child, not a trained spy with one of the most powerful gifts imaginable.

Prim’s nostrils flared as her eyes blazed. “Do you know anything about Roan’s death? Do you know who killed him? Do you have a way of finding out who killed him using your gift?”

Sarasha continued gripping the purple cushion, her hunched shoulders shaking. She glanced at Dante then cast her eyes down. “I can’t read minds, if that’s what you mean. Not without sacrifice.”

Prim opened her mouth but her words were drowned out by the bursting open of Kallia’s doors. Dante was on his feet, his magic ready to attack, but it was a stream of navy-uniformed guards that ran in, Tuck and Kallia’s escorts among them. Dante brought his attention back to Sarasha to find her sitting stiffly, obviously now under Blukke’s gift of physical incapacitation.

Kallia shot up, turning to the incoming horde of guards. “What is the meaning of this?”

An older fae woman approached the princess, though her eyes roved over the six others among the chaise square. “Apologies, Princess, but the king and queen have demanded your presence immediately.”

Kallia scoffed, narrowing her eyes. “And that requires an army breaking down my door, Kern Voshgan?”

The woman stood tall before the princess with her hands behind her back. “No, Highness. But I would not spare a second to get to you to make sure you were okay.”

Both handmaidens immediately stood and took their places on either side of the princess. Prim placed a hand on Kallia’s lower back, addressing the kern. “Why did you think she wouldn’t be okay?” she asked suspiciously.

No fewer than a dozen guards now stood at attention inside the entertaining suite. Dante had a sick feeling. He glanced at Blukke. This was about them. It had to be. The shifter wasn’t looking at him, though. His blue-violet eyes were narrowed at the unfolding scene between the guards and the beautiful trio.

“One of the visiting royals has been found dead,” Kern Voshgan said, her voice flat. She didn’t even look at the princess as she said it, but over her head.

Dante clearly heard the subtle intake of air from Kallia and Prim, a much less subtle intake of air from Bristol, and a whimper from Sarasha. Neither Blukke nor Helena made any reaction to the news.

“Which one?” Sarasha’s tone was even more panic-stricken than it had been during the interrogation.

The guard didn’t answer until Kallia echoed the question. “Prince Neros.”