Page 193 of Sky’s Edge

About Barret, Camaryn, the staff, how Tatra treated them.

And then about what Mira said regarding my family being traitors.

That knocked the glum out of Gayle.

In fact, that shifted all of them straight to ticked right the hells off.

“You are joking,” Laura spat.

“I’m not,” I told her. “Now, listen. Tanyn said something, and so much has happened, I really didn’t latch onto it at the time. But he says they’re working under the theory that there’s a leak.”

“A leak?” Zyra asked apprehensively.

I nodded.

“He thinks someone shared that he’d begun renovations on the citadel, and that was why it was attacked. Not that it was a secret, but it isn’t like there’s anyone living there who could see contractors come and go to give bids, who would then pass on that information. Or glaziers and masons at work. So it has to be from this castle, his staff.”

Unfortunately, this made them all look apprehensive.

But in for a credit, in for the whole line.

“Now, it might not be one of them directly reporting to Tatra. It might be they inadvertently told someone who has ties to Tatra. But tomorrow, I’m going to be introduced to all of the employees, the castle staff and the crown’s administrative staff. And I want you all with me when that happens.”

“Um, I’m learning a bit about these kinds of things,” Laura butted in. “And I think you should do that on your own.”

“You should do it on your own,” Aleece, a princess since birth, confirmed.

It struck me I had access to a princess since birth, who would definitely be someone I could hit up to help me wrap my head around the idea of being a queen, but I tucked that away for later and stayed on target.

“I can do it on my own, but I want you all to help me size up beings. With a focus on Mira. She tried to excuse what she said slipping out, saying it happened because she has so much on her mind. She said that, but I didn’t buy it. I haven’t mentioned it to Tanyn yet, because when I do, he’ll lose his mind, and he doesn’t have time to do that right now. So I don’t know if he hired her, or she came with him, or he inherited her.”

“If you’re trying to ferret out a spy, you need to know that about all of them,” Gayle said.

“I’m guessing the castle staff were inherited,” I told her. “At least Barret and Camaryn have been here for some time.”

“Then the admin staff, which of course he’d appoint,” she replied. “And I would say especially them.”

“Servants see and hear a lot of stuff,” Aleece put in.

“I’m sure,” Gayle told her. “But if what Cat is saying is the case, they’ve been too beaten down and traumatized to do anything.”

“They probably also all have pretty strong NDAs,” Laura added.

“I should hope so,” Aleece said. “But admin would have the same. Unless Arnaud was more of a complete moron than we thought. That said, Tatra is not. And if they’re Tanyn’s team, he absolutely is not.”

“Someone up to no good won’t care about an NDA,” Zyra remarked. “And I’m sorry Gayle, but if someone is feeling misused, that’s also a motive to strike back.”

Gayle inclined her head to concede the point.

Laura agreed, “Precisely. And making matters worse, if they’ve been underpaid, the serving staff would also still be in play, because they’d be ripe for someone to bribe them for information.”

Too true.

“Okay, so while you’re here, I want you to keep an eye out, an ear out, and your demon, shifter and fae senses open,” I said.

“Wouldn’t Tanyn have beings looking into this if he thinks there’s a leak?” Zyra asked.

“I’m sure he does. That doesn’t mean we can’t do what we can do. We’re living right in the middle of it. Some investigator or agent might not be. Unless Tanyn has someone undercover, and whoever that might be would be a new being to the rest of them, and therefore, if someone is doing something nefarious, a spy in our midst, they’d be wary of them. But we might be in a better position to ferret something out.”