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“Oh… I don’t think the king will like that,” the enchantress murmured.
“It’s okay,” I insisted. “Please?”
Her chin lifted, and she eyed Tristiana warily, but my friend was looking around the room suspiciously, as if she was trying to find a clue that Odette was out to get us still.
“Okay,” Odette conceded. “Can you tell the guards?”
“I will,” I promised. “Have a good night, Odette.”
“You too. Good seeing you again, madam.”
“It’s Tristiana,” my friend snapped, speaking for the first time, and I gave her a reproving look. We had come there to show that Odette wasn’t out to attack us anymore, and Tristiana wasn’t giving her a chance. I said as much as we retreated into the hallway.
“And you’re buying this makeover?” she demanded after I informed the guards that Odette was to eat with us in the morning. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious?”
I rolled my eyes. Tristiana’s hyper-vigilance was sometimes a bit taxing to my mental health.
“She needs to earn her place back into Nyx’s trust. She’s basically been exiled,” I reminded Tristiana. “I’m not going to make it any harder on her.”
“Exactly. If that were me, I’d be furious, not kissing your ass,” she insisted.
“You think she’s acting?” I asked slowly, alarmed by the thought.
“I have no idea, but I want you to be careful,” Tristiana warned. “Everything isn’t always what it seems, remember? Come on, Mare. I know you want to see the best in everyone, but sometimes you can be naïve.”
I did remember that. I once believed that the King of Steelshire was going to use me as a one-night stand and write me off forever. Instead, he had proven to be the noblest, most wonderful fae I’d ever met.
“I’ll be careful,” I promised, but Tristiana grunted as if she didn’t believe me. “Let’s just have a sleepover like we used to before all this royal stuff came into the mix, please?”
Her face softened, and she gave me a sidelong look.
“All right,” she agreed. “As long as I get my own bed. I can’t deal with all your talking in your sleep.”
Laughing, I linked my arm with hers, and we headed back to the east end of the castle.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “That’s all Nyx’s problem now.”
Chapter 10
Nyx
Ifroze when I entered the dining room. The sight of Odette sitting with Maren and Tristiana alarmed me, immediately sending me into a foul mood. Odette met my eyes, her own widening to saucers as my gaze flipped up toward the chandelier, which began to shake violently in reaction to my anger.
“What is she doing here?” I demanded, striding forward and gesturing for Odette to stand up.
She immediately rose in her place, her face falling as she dropped her napkin onto the table.
“Sit down, Odette,” Maren said evenly, standing to kiss me on the cheek as Odette tentatively sat back down. “I invited her to breakfast.”
The embrace spoke to me, encouraging me not to make a scene, and the overhead lighting stopped trembling.
“She has instructions not to leave her room if she’s in the castle,” I growled. The enchantress immediately stood up to leave again, but Maren gestured for her to sit down.
“It’s all right,” Maren insisted. “You can stay. Right, Nyx?”
She eyed me pointedly, waiting for me to backpedal on my words, but I said nothing, taking my seat at the head of the table.Odette darted her eyes back and forth between me and Maren, but I didn’t argue when she took her seat again.
As long as she behaves herself…
