The troll sniffs, wide nostrils flaring and then wrinkling. My heart stops in my chest as I consider for a second that Prae’s glamour might not hold up against a powerful nose, but she doesn’t immediately charge at us, so Bram’s money must have been well spent.
“Yer kind don’t belong here. Go stay at the barracks with the other—”
“Nowhere has any room,” Prae continues. She’s not lying, not really, so the fae doesn't know we never tried the barracks.
I understand why Kitarni and Bram don’t want us there. The chances of discovery would be far too high.
“Eh, fine. But no arresting the patrons.”
“Trust me, not a problem,” I grumble, following her huge bulk as she squeezes herself back through the peeling door and into the dim and stale-smelling hole she calls a business.
I take one look around at the suspiciously glaring patrons and grin at Prae. “Perfect.”
Of course, she turns her nose up. “If your idea of perfection is a shack with suspicious stains on the upholstery, then yes, sure.”
“Yer room is on the fourth floor.” The troll pretends not to hear my cousin’s words, and I suspect that has something to do with the fact that Prae’s stolen Bram’s gold from me and is currently placing it on the bar in front of her.
“We’ll be staying until the Nicnevin’s party leaves,” Prae says, swiping the key up quickly.
Neither of us has missed the way that every single eye in this place has turned to regard the glinting coin.
Of course, the glamour makes us look like upstanding knights, which probably comes with a decent salary. I can almost feel them weighing our weapons against what they think we might have in our packs.
We just became the biggest marks in this place.
“I give it an hour before someone tries to rob us,” I mumble, grinning as I follow her up the rickety wooden staircase.
“You could at leastpretendyou’re not looking forward to it,” she growls. “And I don’t think it’s going to take an hour. They’re already following us.”
Sure enough, there’s a shadow creeping behind me.
“I know we’re team fairy—”
Prae’s eyes flash as she unlocks our door and shoves me inside. “No, Caed. Killing them isnotgoing to win you any points with the Nicnevin.”
The door slams behind us, and I prop the lone, rickety chair underneath the door handle.
“Okay. So what now? Want to go down to the bar and see how long it takes for someone to try to steal our non-existent gold?”
Prae flops down on the bed closest to the door and rests one arm over her eyes. “Now, we rest. Tomorrow, we go out and scope out the city some more. There might be a way you can sneak into the palace to see Rose when she arrives.”
“And what? Plead my case again?” My face tells her exactly what I think of that plan.
“No. Find a way to protect her without the rest of the Guard knowing you’re there. They’ve got to trust you, remember? The only way they’ll do that is if you actually do the job you signed up for and look out for Rose.”
Her plan sucks. “Protect her from what? The fairies? You’ve seen them. They’re all so desperate to earn the great Nicnevin’s approval that they’d kiss her feet if she asked them to.”
“Hogart and Haor are still out there,” Prae reminds me, moving her arm to meet my gaze. “They might be preoccupied with the siege right now, but that could change at Elatha’s whim. And you know that Draard is probably begging your father daily to let him leave Fellgotha to bring back your head.
Draard has always hated me, as have the other two. If not for my banishment, I would’ve killed them all years ago. Now those three are probably plotting and scheming ways to use this situation to win the title of heir.
“By that logic, we should still be out there, following them.” The floorboards creak alarmingly as I pace the length of the tiny room. “What am I supposed to do? Sit in this room until she arrives?”
She shrugs, her arm going back over her face. “Explore the city? Relax?”
Relax? Is she serious?
“It’s been a long ride,” she says. “Get some rest. We’ll figure the rest out in the morning.”
