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I made sure there was water in her bowl and then chopped up a few ounces of steak and added some bread and milk. As I set the saucer down next to the box, Maggie's eyes opened, and she peeked over the edge. She let out a little mooph, then yawned as I lifted her over the edge. She lapped up the water and the food.
When she'd finished, I rubbed her belly, then carried her outside and set her on the ground. She dribbled a few pellets and a puddle on the grass near the steps, and I picked her up again and carried her back inside. It would be a long time before her wings were big enough or strong enough to carry her weight, and I didn't want her crawling around by herself outside.
. After I put her back in the box, I poured myself a glass of wine and returned to the living room, hoping that Trillian and Morio had been able to restrain themselves. Apparently, my absence had been too taxing. They'd started talking to fill the silence.
"The Queen will never understand how much danger there really is," Trillian was saying. "She's too caught up in her opium dreams to pay attention. The General Commander is trying to whip things into shape, but he's getting a fight every step of the way. The last meeting of the ruling council was a farce. Men are leaving the Guard in droves because of poor management and lack of organization. And the OIA is divided in its loyalties."
"What's this?" I asked. "How in the world did you find that out?"
"I don't just talk to your father," he said, snorting. "I have my spies. One of the Council members is a good friend of mine. I'm serious, Camille. Don't expect help from the Crown and Court—they've become so corrupt over the years that there isn't a person there who has the authority to change matters. Not yet."
I jerked my head up to stare at him. Not yet? Trillian never said anything without reason, but until I knew what was going on, I decided to keep my mouth shut. I still didn't know Morio well enough to trust that he might not repeat what he heard. And if word got back to the Queen that her competence was being questioned, we were all so much dead meat—or would wish we were. Lethesanar was an expert at persuading her prisoners that they'd be better off dead. A number of them took that route—using whatever method they could find to kill themselves before her next round of amusements.
"So you're saying OIA is on its own?"
Trillian inclined his head. "I'm saying OIA will do what it can to help you, but that may not be for much longer. Don't put your trust in them, and for the sake of the gods, don't count on the Court and Crown to back you up."
Slumping in my chair, I let out a long sigh. My family had never been close enough to the Court to be privy to its inner workings. Mother's presence had been enough to keep my father out of the loop. And as lower-echelon operatives, my sisters and I weren't privy to the relationship between the Court and Crown and the OIA.
I suddenly wished my father was here. He knew something, or he wouldn't have sent Trillian. But I also knew that he would take his own time about telling us what was going down. Father was loyal to his beloved Guard. Whatever was happening must be bad, for him to admit to Trillian that there was need for secrecy.
"What's next?" Morio said as the door opened and Delilah rushed in. She slammed it behind her, then turned to stare at all of us.
"I see we have company," she said, dropping her backpack on a chair.
I stared at her. Something was different, but I couldn't figure out what. Her cheeks were flushed, but since the temperature was dropping, I could chalk that up to being cold. There was something else, though. She was walking differently, and she sounded breathless.
All of a sudden I knew. Chase and Delilah had slept together! Chase, who for months had been spooked by the idea of the werecat, and who had been chasing after my skirts, had fucked my sister. I took her by the elbow.
"Come with me; I want to talk to you."
Trillian groaned. "You're going to leave me alone with wolf boy again?"
"Fox, you imbecile—I'm a yokai-kitsune, not some lycanthrope!" Morio growled and held out his hands. As I watched, his nails lengthened into long claws, and his eyes sparkled.
"Down, boys." I stepped in between them again. "Do I need to hire a babysitter to keep the two of you civil?"
Morio gazed at me for a moment, an insolent look on his face, then he retracted his claws. "No problem, Camille."
Not to be outdone, Trillian jumped on the bandwagon. "We'll be good. Go gossip all you want."
Delilah stared at them both, clearly confused, as I steered her into the kitchen, where we sat down next to Maggie. Delilah petted her for a moment, then sucked in a deep breath. She met my eyes.
"You know, don't you? You can tell?" She ducked her head.
"Of course I can tell. I can smell him on you." And indeed, Chase's cologne lingered on her skin. I braced her by the shoulders. "The only thing that matters to me is that you're happy and safe. He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Her eyes went wide. "Hurt me? No, in fact I accidentally scratched him." She sobered, and I had a sudden flash.
"Oh no, you didn't?" I saw where this was leading and wasn't sure I wanted to go there.
Delilah looked scandalized. "No! At least not during… but afterward, I guess the tension got to me. We were cuddling when I shifted. I scared Chase so bad that he fell out of bed," she said, giggling.
I stifled a laugh. Old Chase got more than he bargained for. Humans always underestimated the power sex held for the Faerie, even a half-breed. More lives in Otherworld had been lost to primal lust than in all the wars combined.
"Are you upset?" Delilah rummaged through the cupboards for a bag of chips and opened them with her teem. "I know he's been after you for a long time. I wasn't sure…"
"You know perfectly well I'm not interested in Chase," I said, grabbing the bag from her and filching a handful.
