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“So I have to find out why—”
“No, you don’t,” I said, still pleasantly. And that was despite the fact that I hadn’t been hallucinating. The fey’s finger had just twitched again.
But my nerves did not appear to be responding this time. I wasn’t even crying anymore. I thought maybe they’d burned out.
Which, all things considered, would be kind of a plus right now.
“The Svarestri were taking it to court, the king’s court,” Pritkin repeated, like maybe I hadn’t heard him the first time.
“I know that.”
“Then you know they must have had a plan for it. I have to find out what that plan was—”
“So find out without the staff.”
“I need the staff to draw out whoever they were planning to meet. Nobody is going to pay any attention to me without it. I won’t be able to find out anything—”
“You’ll live!”
“But the king may not! We’ve discussed this. What if they plan to hurt him—”
“Hurt him?” I asked, and, okay, maybe my nerves weren’t as dead as I’d thought. “Hurt him?” I threw out a hand in the direction of the freaking clash of the Titans over there. “Do they look like they need any help?”
“Listen to me,” he said urgently, taking my hand. “That just shows how much of a risk they took stealing the staff in the first place. They didn’t do it on a whim; they need it for something—”
“And you don’t think that the . . . these other guys . . .” I waved a hand at golden boy, because I couldn’t remember all these names and alternate names and damn the fey and all their freaking names!
“The Blarestri,” Pritkin said helpfully. “Also known as the Blue Fey, or the Sky Lords, or the—”
“Whatever! You don’t think these Sky Lords are able to find out what their counterparts are up to? They’re all fey—let them sort it out!”
“If they were in faerie, I would,” Pritkin said earnestly. “But they don’t know earth well; even the Green Fey are rarely here and don’t know as much about us as they think they do. But I know the court, and most people in it; I have connections they don’t have, an identity already established that will allow me to move about freely, to ask questions without inciting suspicion.” He glanced at the frozen fey, and why did I get the feeling he wasn’t just talking to me anymore? “I can find out what the Svarestri wanted with this, and then convey the information to the Sky Lords, who can deal with it.”
“And with you!” I said, openly glaring at the fey. “You’ve seen what they’re like—all your life. They left you to rot before; do you really think they’ll hesitate to kill you now? If you don’t find out anything, they’ll kill you out of anger, and if you do, they’ll kill you to shut you up, and either way they’ll kill you! You can’t trust them—”
“I don’t believe that,” Pritkin said, also looking at the fey. “I don’t believe they’re all the same.”
“And if you’re wrong? You’re gambling with your life—”
“—which is my choice, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice soft. But I’d heard that tone before, and I’d seen the set of that jaw. Like a hundred times or more, because that was his do-it-or-die face, and God, I didn’t need that face right now!
“Give it to me!” I said, suddenly grabbing for it, only to have him scramble back out of reach. And damn it, we didn’t have time for this!
“You can come to court with me—” Pritkin offered as I lunged for him again. And missed, because he wasn’t encumbered by fifty pounds of freaking wool!
“I don’t want to go with you,” I told him, hiking up my damn skirts. “I want you to come with me—”
“I can’t do that right now—”
“Yes, you can!” I grabbed for him again.
“You’re not listening to me—”
“I’m listening!” I finally ma
naged to grab the staff and held on. “But there are things”—he twisted it away—“you don’t understand”—and jumped back—“that I need to talk to you—damn it!”—because the infuriating man was like quicksilver. “Would you hold still a minute?”
“Will you listen?”
