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“You say the Rakshasa live in the dark?” I asked.
Jessamine gave a bob of her chin. “Yes. So Sai’s powers won’t help.”
I frowned at her both because she was quick enough to follow my line of thinking and because I didn’t have a good estimation of how well she knew Sai. She was aware of his magic, but that could be from legends and her Froh heritage. Then again, one didn’t survive as a fae pirate—especially as a captain—without a strong mix of magic, physical abilities, and smarts.
She was like the female version of Sai, but where I trusted him unquestioningly, everything in my body pushed against believing her. Some of that was because of my fear for Elisa. I let the personal impede the job. I ran my thumb down the smooth, slender digits of Elisa’s fingers. The coldness of her hand surprised me. I darted my eyes up to Luz and gave them the subtlest nod.
Luz turned on Jessamine. “We’ll help if I go with you to distract the creatures.”
Jessamine clicked her tongue. “You’d bump around in there and could set them off. You don’t know the layout of the cave.”
“I’m sure,” Luz said dryly, “you’d make an excellent guide.”
“It’s a terrible idea.”
“I go with you while the team searches for the heart stones or”—they turned towards me—“I’m not down for this one.”
That was a smart twist to the situation and how our group functioned. We trusted each other, we worked as a team. If Luz went with Jessamine, they could keep her in line. Orman could help me cover Elisa. Luz would warn us if anything suspicious happened and the four of us could work to cover each other if we ended up in a sticky situation.
“Luz joins you or all four of us back out,” I said.
Jessamine’s brow furrowed, then she huffed. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Luz’s dark eyes skimmed over her again, and there was uncertainty in their expression. Luz picked up on something that didn’t feel quite right to them, but they knew the heart stones were here and how important they were. Their hesitation was like a breeze, sending a chill of distrust prickling down me. It was a job, however. We were good at our work, and we didn’t falter in the face of danger.
With that, the four of us followed Jessamine around the ledge and towards the dark mouth of the cave.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
MARGO
I knockedon Sir Eldrick’s bedroom door. It was bold of him to send a serf with an invitation to his private quarters. Most Seelie weren’t so forward with their intentions—not that their aims were any different from other men, they just pretended otherwise.
I’d dressed carefully in a forest green velvet dress with a deep cut neck. Eldrick hadn’t hesitated to notice my displayed skin the night before, so I figured I might as well make the most of the attention.
This is good,Palaria had said to me before I’d left without even looking up from the note she scratched out.Our troupe having more connections to the Seelie royalty will only be to our benefit.
Of course, I’d answered, when what I wanted to say was,This group doesn’t fucking belong to you anymore.
The door opened, and Eldrick smiled, wrinkles on his cheeks crinkling the salt-and-pepper of his short, trimmed beard. He wore a gray wool coat, open, with a scarf draped over his shirt that he’d left unbuttoned, revealing his sculpted chest. My eyes darted back up to find him smiling at me. Apparently I wasn’t the only one willing to show off. “Please come in.”
“Thank you for inviting me for lunch,” I said as I entered and his hand found the dip of my back.
“I hope inviting you to my room didn’t feel too forward.” He gestured beyond the bed to an open door which led out to a terrace. We walked outside where he had a table set with two covered plates and a bottle of wine.
All right, this was a legitimate lunch then. I flashed him a smile before sucking my lower lip between my teeth. “Oh, I think your note was the perfect amount of forward.”
His smile only widened as he pulled a chair out and lifted the cloche off my plate then his. I took a deep breath as the aroma hit. Lamb with the bright essence of rosemary and the rich scent of butter-roasted vegetables. “Will you take wine with your meal or water?” he asked as he sat.
“Wine, thank you.” A bird flew by, soaring across the gray clouds. Despite the weather, the view from the back of the palace was enchanting with rolling hills that gave way to the dark huddle of a wood line. There was an austere beauty to it and the bare breeze prickled across my chest, raising goosebumps and heightening my senses. I turned back to Eldrick. “In fact, I always take wine when life offers it.”
Eldrick’s lip lifted at one corner as he filled both our glasses. “Is that so?”
“Of course. Why would I turn up my nose at the pleasurable things in life?”
He laughed, and the sound settled into the pit of my stomach so that I clenched my thighs together. Eldrick wasn’t even my type so I couldn’t explain why his attention affected me the way it did. “How I wish I could exercise that attitude.”
“Can you not?”
