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“Belmi.”
“Lovely name. And you’re very pretty.”
The girl lit up at the praise, and Emerald’s friendliness prompted more questions until it felt like an interrogation session. Relief spread over her when Belmi finally finished, skipping off with a wave.
“She can compel others, you know,” Jyss mused. “Not the Winter Court, but those not belonging in it. One time, she compelled a kid who stumbled on our island by accident to reveal his deepest, darkest secrets. He bled and screamed for hours before our court found out and put a stop to it.”
The hair at the back of Emerald’s neck prickled, but she kept her composure. “What happened to the boy?”
Jyss shrugged. “How should I know?”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“It was funny to see your face pale like that.”
Emerald scowled, tempted to throw insults at the difficult woman. But she held her temper in check and lifted her chin.
“Or maybe you were trying to warn me about who to trust. You don’t want me to get hurt because you’re assigned to me, and me being hurt means you failed in your task. It will disappoint Rick—and you don’t want him disappointed.”
“Why, you—it’s Prince Rick, you stupid—”
“Fine. Prince Rick. And I dare you to call me stupid again when I never called you a single name other than Jyss—”
“That’s enough.”
Bronco stepped into view. So did Yu. The pixie watched with wide eyes while Bronco’s disapproving frown seared them both. Jyss glowered, but Bronco cut her off before she could speak.
“There’s an upcoming event. Her Majesty needs you to organize it as soon as possible.”
“But—”
“Now, Jyss. She’s not in a good mood.”
Jyss kept making faces but had no choice but to stomp away and follow the order. Emerald spun to face Bronco, her feet braced.
“Your sister started it.”
To her astonishment, Bronco didn’t argue.
“I know. She always starts things. But she means no harm.”
“How do you—”
“She’s like the prince that way. Harmless fun, soft heart. They need to work on that.”
“What happened to the kid that Belmi tortured?”
He looked dumbfounded at the change of topic but answered eventually. “Her Majesty wanted the kid to stay, but His Majesty fought for the kid’s compelling before he escorted the kid to Centro.”
No, he doesn’t need to change his soft heart.That she liked it the way it was had her mouth going dry, and she took special care to hide her reaction and not blurt out the words. Bronco waited for more questions from her, but she just nodded.
“I see. That’s interesting.”
If only she had a penny for the number of times Bronco looked at her like she was the strangest thing, she would be rich by now. She held in her laughter, then tapped Yu so they could walk away together. Bronco followed from a distance until it became routine, and even Jyss didn’t bother her that much anymore. The only times the two didn’t shadow them was when Rick was around—a rare event as he either studiously avoided her and Yu or was just too busy dealing with other stuff.
“Are you sure I have to wear this for the party?”
The question had the Fae assigned to dressing her up, Elina, smiling. In a court sprinkled with hostility and cool dismissal, the silver-haired woman was a breath of fresh air, older than the old people in Broom’s Isle but looking so fresh-faced and lovely. Elina adjusted the dress that Emerald had on, fingers swatting Emerald’s hands away.
