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“Not necessarily.” Piro’s fingers twitched in apparent agitation where they rested on his knee.

“Trust no one,” Greyson asserted.

“Trust their motives,” Piro countered. “They are always going to be in any scheme primarily for their own benefit. Discover how they will benefit and the rest will become clear.”

“That is a very cynical perspective,” Rue commented.

The half-ettin shrugged one of his massive shoulders. “It keeps me alive and a free agent.”

“What comes next then?” My head buzzed with all the new information, but I knew we needed to accomplish more before the other candidates arrived. According to Greyson, being overwhelmed and foggy headed was expected. Still, fear that I wasn’t absorbing nearly enough lurked in the back of my mind.

“Considering the advanced timeline and increased competition, I believe it is wise if you focus on your studies in law and court politics above any other topics,” Greyson grimly said.

“And a rushed course on personal protection magic,” Piro suggested.

“Both of them could use more education in that area,” Greyson agreed.

“I am due to meet with someone about the court finances next,” I reminded Greyson.

“But first, there is someone I believe Lady Rue would enjoy meeting.” Lord Piro rose and bowed slightly toward Rue.

Greyson gathered up the contract remnants and spoke with a servant about its disposal, clearly unconcerned about his friend escorting Rue off to who knew where.

“Who?” Rue asked Lord Piro, drawing my attention back to them.

“A friend—someone I hope will have some answers to some of your pressing questions about your past. Don’t be so concerned, Lord Kent.” Lord Piro smiled mildly at me. “I will return her safely into the care of a trusted individual when we finish.”

“You swear she will be safe?” I asked.

Rue brushed my sleeve reassuringly, a soft smile warming her gaze. “I have spent most of my life fending for myself, Kent.”

“But that was among humans.”

“True. But Lord Piro is trustworthy.”

I narrowed my gaze at the giant fae. I trusted Greyson because he had proven his honesty, an extremely rare virtue among the tricky fae, but I wasn’t so confident that my trust and that virtue extended to his supposed friend. “We have no knowledge of how long—”

“Piro is one of the few fae I will trust with my wife’s safety.” Greyson assessed me with too much intensity for my comfort. “Will that be recommendation enough, or will we keep your financial tutor pacing my personal sitting room for another hour? I hear he has been complaining nonstop since Nerio arrived without you. He was promised two students and refuses to tutor one without the other. Something about not wishing to repeat himself. Apparently, he won’t accept Raven as a replacement.”

I nodded reluctantly and Greyson had already turned away to speak with Alger, who had reappeared at his side rumbling about irritable officials. As another servant led me away, I forced myself to breathe deeply. It felt instinctual to keep Rue at my side—safe—but that would not always be feasible. At the very least, she was being watched over by someone Greyson deemed trustworthy.

Moments before the office door closed behind us, I glimpsed Piro looming over Rue as they conversed like old friends. I attempted to ignore the flare of possessive jealousy that rose up in me, reminding myself that for all I knew, Piro could’ve already been married and settled with multiple children. Besides, he knew Rue was my mate. He would respect that, right?

Rue

I was half-elf. Or was I? Were Lord Piro and Lord Greyson even qualified to make that judgment call? What did that mean for my magic?

I hadn’t encountered many fae in my life, but to my knowledge, I had never met an elf. Sure, I had heard the stories about shadow elves. Living among the human population on the edge of the Wild Wood, it had been impossible not to hear the horror stories that the children whispered to each other on chilly autumn evenings when the shadows were long and deep.

“How are twilight elves different from shadow elves?” I asked as I followed Lord Piro through the corridors of the mansion into an area I hadn’t visited before. Because of the lack of decoration on the walls or carpets on the floors, I guessed we were winding deeper into the servants’ areas.

“For one thing, twilight elves can’t wraithwalk.” Piro ducked beneath a header and began descending a narrow stair. “But then, neither can light elves.”

“Light elves?” I asked. “How many kinds of elves are there? Do they have as much variety as fae?”

I couldn’t even count all the different variations of fae I had encountered within my brief time among them, and I had been assured that there were far more kinds that I hadn’t met yet.

“Only three,” Piro assured me. “Light, shadow, and twilight.” He barely squeezed through the opening at the foot of the stairs, and I followed.