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He crossed his arms. “Quite. Do you like my place of business? I should hope so. Many noble-Fae lost a lot of coin to pay for it.”
“It’s…fine,” she said grudgingly.
“This is just the main hold. Back there—” He pointed toward the opposite end of the room, where the two rolling blurs were still sparring. “—is the entrance to the barracks. Many of my children are asleep currently, as they typically work odd hours.”
“Your children?” she asked, a note of disbelief in her tone.
“Everyone in the guild is my family.” He grinned. “You’re suspicious by nature. That’s a good quality in a thief if you ever want to make a change.”
I cleared my throat. That was not going to happen. “She steals quite enough as it is. No candlestick is safe in the obsidian palace.”
Cross tipped his chair back and roared with laughter. “A human queen who steals from the palace? What god did you piss off in a past life to get cursed with this, Sci?”
“Excellent fucking question.”
“Nothing he doesn’t deserve ten times over,” Lonnie muttered.
Cross looked delighted. “I like you, even if you have spit on my hospitality by not taking that drink.”
“I know better than to drink anything handed to me by a stranger, and I know nothing about you except that you’re a liar.”
That was fucking rich coming from her.
“You know more than most,” he told her. “Do you know how hard it is to get into this room?”
She shook her head. “From what I can tell, it has all the exclusivity of a sewer. Difficult to reach, but not necessarily because anyone would want to venture inside.”
Cross glanced at me and leaned his elbows on the table, his smile now impossibly wide. “See? I knew I liked her.”
As long as he didn’t like her too much. That was all I needed—whatever strange power she had to ruin everything seeping into my friend as well.
It wasn’t lost on me that while Lonnie seemed not to trust Cross, she was still far less reserved around him in a few short minutes than she’d ever been around my family. Perhaps she thought he was human, like her?
I scowled. If they talked too long, the next thing I knew, he’d be helping her escape the city.
“How does a thief become friends with a prince?” Lonnie asked.
“Aw, you’re lucky I like that story, lass,” Cross said.
“No.” I narrowed my eyes in a warning. “No more fucking stories.”
He seemed unfazed by the implied threat and plowed on as if I hadn’t spoken. “I met this prick when he was dumped into my military unit, as green as they come with no training and not a shred of common sense.”
This was why I hadn’t wanted to come directly to Cross in the first place, although he was undoubtedly the better option than the Lord and Lady of Inbetwixt. Well, this and the fact that it was just the sort of diplomatic bullshit that would cause another hundred-year feud if anyone realized I was here and I hadn’t notified the ruling family of my presence.
That was most of the reason I hadn’t brought Quill—without him, I could typically go somewhat unnoticed, but as soon as he appeared with me, strangers would begin to put two and two together. I supposed now I could call for the bird. A small consolation.
I hadn’t wanted to go directly to Cross because he knew me too well. I didn’t want him to meet her. Didn’t want him to tell war stories or see any of our interactions, especially after I’d fed her blood. I didn’t need anyone swaying my decision. Bael was certain to do that enough already when he recovered from his issue, and a third opinion in the mix would only make things worse than they already were.
Lonnie choked on a laugh. “Excuse me?”
“Yup! I was furious because the prince here couldn’t see an inch in front of him with his head shoved so far up his own ass.”
“You would be wise to stop now.”
“Oh, have a laugh once in a while, you overemotional milk-drinker.” He grinned.
I ground my teeth bitterly and shot him a look that promised violence.
