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“No.” I keep my tone even. Cain’s upset, I know that, and he doesn’t even sound like he’s trying to insult me. I’m not going to turn this into an argument. “I really think that. And I think that it says a lot that they all talked to each other and listened to each other. You saw how the king and queen asked the other two for their opinions. And they let them talk back and speak up without reprimanding them. That shows a lot of humility.”
“What if they’re all banging?” Cain points out.
I wince. On the off chance that the vampires are listening in, that was kind of rude. “Just because you’re sleeping with someone doesn’t mean that you trust them or respect them. Vampires are proud creatures, we all know this. The vampire might even be married to someone, doesn’t mean they’ll listen to them. King Malcolm listened to all three and none of them seemed worried about punishment if they spoke their minds. That says a lot to me.”
Cain tips his head, a movement that means he sees I have a point, but he’s not quite ready to admit that out loud yet.
“What do you think they mean by dinner?” Raven asks.
“Eating us,” Cain grumbles, almost inaudibly.
“I think they want to know our characters,” North says. “Who we are as people. I think Malcolm is serious in his declaration to us but that doesn’t rule out the possibility that we’re spies or agents of Roanac ourselves or that we have some other sort of plan against him. He’s doing what I would do and making an opportunity to see more of who we are so that he knows we can be trusted.”
This is why North is our leader, he’s strategic this way. It’s why the other two men, and I trust him completely.
“Maybe I’m wrong,” I venture, “but I think it’s also personal. Queen Willow was fae once. Or is still partially fae, I’m not sure. Depends on how that whole thing works. But the point is, she’s one of us, or was at one point. I kind of got the impression that having us stay for dinner is partially for her, so that she can talk to some fae for once.”
Raven nods, apparently agreeing with me that this is a possibility.
“I just hope this is a good thing,” North says.
“Getting help is definitely a good thing,” I reassure him. “Even if we had to go into this creepy fucking vampire nest to do it.”
Raven snorts with amusement. I’m being honest, though. It really is fucking creepy here. Knowing that we could have vampires eavesdropping on us or dozens of them attacking us at once is really keeping me on edge.
“If we get out of this,” North notes, “we’ll sure have something to brag about at parties.”
“We go to parties?” Cain asks sarcastically.
I grin. None of us except Cain are really the social type. “You never know, if we manage to pull off defeating Roanac we’ll be invited toallthe parties.”
Raven looks like he’d rather fight a dozen vampires.
“We should freshen up,” North says. “I don’t think they expect us to have a change of clothes but we should look well. We’re representing the fae, here.”
“The fae aren’t really going to care,” I point out, but I do freshen up as he suggests, if only because washing my face helps me feel more like a person again, more like I can handle whatever comes our way at dinner.
This place actually has indoor plumbing, go figure. I don’t know if it was like that before or if Malcolm installed it, but I’m appreciative. I’d been expecting just medieval-style amenities, given the whole castle thing.
A knock sounds at the door and North opens it cautiously, Raven and Cain in front of me. Their protectiveness is so instinctive, and I appreciate it, but I’m not going to be any less protective if a vampire tries to attack one of them. We’re all equals here.
It’s just the guard from earlier. “If you’ll follow me, please, dinner is about to be served.”
Our footsteps echo on the stone walls as we walk down. I have no idea what this will be like. Aside from the vampire thing, I’ve never been to a dinner that had royalty in it. Am I going to start a diplomatic incident by not knowing my manners?
The guard leads us not to the throne room but to another, longer room, filled with various tables. One table is on a slightly raised platform, putting it a couple of feet higher up than everyone else so that whoever’s sitting there can see over the crowd of people.
My heart just about stops as we enter. Vampires stand behind almost every single chair at each table. They’re dressed nicely but not in ballgowns, so that’s a relief as far as the elegance of this occasion goes. But there aredozensof them. Each one of them a potential deadly weapon to me and my mates.
The vampires all watch us as the guard escorts us to the high table, where the king, queen, and their two advisors sit.
Queen Willow smiles at us as we’re led to sit down. The four are spread out with a chair between each of them so that my mates, and I have to then take every other chair. I find myself sitting next to the queen, on the far side.
I don’t like the fact that I can’t sit next to my mates. It makes me a bit more nervous than I already was. But I can’t ask for them to change the seating arrangements or that would be rude, and I need to make the best of this.
Willow smiles at me as I sit down. “I hope it’s all right I arranged for us to sit next to each other. It’s been ages since I got to talk to another fae.”
Servants set plates down in front of us, and I realize that Willow has food in front of her, not blood, the same as me.
