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My radar was on, amidst Bennett’s caution. “Right now?”
He nodded. “Yes, Miss Rhiannon.”
I was literally two feet away from my door, I could always pretend I was sick or something.
“Well, John, I’m actually not feeling well, so could you tell King Pater that I will see him another day?”
He looked at me as if I just spoke another language. “It’s Jacob, actually.”
Whoops.
He cleared his throat. “You want me to tell the king that you will just see him another day?”
Hmm, that actually sounded pretty bad when he said it, but I needed to test my theory. If he was persistent with me coming, I would know something was up.
“Yes.”
He swallowed. “Erm. . .okay.”
He turned on his heels and began to walk back the direction he came from.
“Wait!” I yelled after him, and he stopped right in his tracks.
All right, Jerod passed the test, and there was absolutely no way I was going to pass a message along to the king that basically meant ‘I’ll see you when I feel like it.’
I quickly jogged up to him. “Suddenly, I’m feeling better. Must have just been allergies.”
“Uh huh.” His tone made it seem like he didn’t believe me, but he looked relieved that he wouldn’t have to deliver that message to the king either way.
I walked alongside him as we silently made our way to Pater’s office. I’d done this a million times before, meeting him to talk about a potential Red Bones sighting or to give the rundown about my latest assignment. There were times I showed up at his office uninvited just to say hi. But today, for some reason, I was. . .nervous.
Josh left me unattended at Pater’s door, giving me another sign that I could trust this wasn’t some set up. I let out a deep breath before knocking on the door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
“Come in, Rhia.”
I closed my eyes and mentally put on a shield and a mask. I had to be careful with the expressions that I made, knowing the information that I now knew. I needed to act just like my normal self and not like I knew he was holding innocents in a dungeon and that every feeling Bennett had towards him was beginning to rub off on me.
I slipped on my smile and opened the door. “Long time no see!”
I strutted over to my favorite velvet settee, which sat right in front of the fireplace, kicking my feet up on the armrest and placing my hands behind my head.
I can do this, just act natural.
I leaned my head over to watch Pater behind the desk. He seemed on edge, his back stiff as he sat in his grand chair. “I know it’s been a while since I’ve called you in, but I spoke with Sana and she advised that I give you time and space to heal after the events that happened preceding the masquerade ball. How are you doing?”
It was so hard to look at him and see the secrets he kept, so unlike the father figure I grew up with. Pater had always been so kind to me, and it crushed me to know there was another side of him.
“Thank you, I truly appreciate that. I needed the time to heal, but I am feeling much better now and am ready to get back out there in the hunt for Red Bones.”
I may have hated what he’d done to Bennett’s people, and there was no uncertainty in my doubt of his character, but we did have a common enemy—the Red Bones—and I needed information on them more than I needed to show my cards to Pater. I needed vengeance for Stella and I needed Red Bone blood on my hands.
“I’m glad to hear it, because I have a task that is sure to be your most difficult one yet, without question.” Pater grabbed a glass from the cabinet behind him and poured bourbon from the bottle on his desk.
