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She thanked the servant for her glass, and looked at Tabitha in question. “Why is that?”
“She thought you’d stick to Torick’s side throughout this entire thing,” was the salacious response from the same female who’d been particularly nasty the day before. Her green eyes narrowed “I’m Jina Colton,” she offered. She took a bite out of a piece of bacon. “And I’ve known Tabitha and Torick since they were in diapers.”
Oye wondered if that was supposed to be a warning of some sort. Not intimidated, she replied pleasantly back. “That’s cool, does that mean I can ask you to tell me all of his embarrassing stories?”
They had a stare off, both of them clearly not the type to back down. Oye wasn’t going to play into the woman’s hands.
“Jina, enough she’s already proven to be different from Torik’s usual fare,” Tabitha said, taking a sip of her own drink. “I don’t need you to fight for me.”
“R-right, Jina, that’s enough.” This came from Tillon’s fiancé, who’d been silent till now. “It’s enough.”
“See, even Raven agrees with me.” Tabitha leaned over bumping Jina’s shoulders. “The men are already a pain to deal with, let’s not create drama for no reason.”
Jina gave a short nod, leaning back. “Fine, I can’t argue that,” she said, glancing at the other end of the table where Castian and the rest sat. “You could choke on the tensions between them. Did your brother tell you why he didn’t want to include Arwin in his new business venture yet?”
“Right, because Robert tells me anything worth knowing,” Tabitha grumbled as she picked up a strawberry. “No, my god of a brother wouldn’t bother. I guess I should just be happy, he and Jake aren’t fighting this time, and working together.”
“They’ve always fought,” Raven said to Oye, as if to explain Tabitha’s words. “Jake had a hard time as the middle child. Tabitha was the first girl and Robert was the heir, there was little affection left for him.”
“Pfft, if that mattered wouldn’t Lance still be here—”
“Tabitha.”
Oye was surprised at the look of pain on Raven’s face but chose to remain silent.
Tabitha averted her eyes. “Sorry, I should know better.”
“You should,” Raven said, her voice coming out strong for the first time since Oye had met her. “If Tillon hears you say that name, I don’t know what will happen.”
“Isn’t it time he got over it already,” Jina said. Oye had figured out that Jina was a straight shooter. “In my opinion the entire thing never made any sense. Lance wasn’t the type to prey on the weak. And even his own father didn’t truly believe in the charges pressed against him.”
“Lance, how is he related to the Napier heir?” Oye softly repeated the name, the three women tensed as if they’d forgotten she was there.
“Yeah, he was his older brother, the first heir.” Jina said recovering quickly after she realized she’d exposed beau monde dirty laundry in front of an outsider.
Raven lowered her head, avoiding Oye’s eyes. “He committed one of the Stone Crimes, and was sentenced to the bowels 15 years ago. Tillon still hasn’t gotten over it, during that dark time Lord Napier, his father, attempted to save his eldest but nothing worked. Not even bribing Legolas.” She shook her head, her hands opening and closing on the cloth napkin in her hands.
Oye took this all without a word. Tillon wasn’t the original heir and his father had been focused on saving the first son. “Do you think he’s still recovering from being in his brother’s shadow?”
Tabitha shrugged; her eyes squinted in thought. “Honestly, from what Arwin Shran told us, he’s the brunette, the only one other than Torick who keeps us informed; he was never going to get out of it. There weren’t many like Lance. Smart, athletic, and magically strong. It was a loss to the Syed when he was imprisoned.”
“But it looks like your brother has profited from it,” Oye muttered, only to feel the air change as the three-woman looked at her. She called herself stupid twelve different ways, as she said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have.”
“No, it’s okay,” Tabitha quickly spoke up. “It’s not like you’re wrong.”
The rest of breakfast went on in an awkward silence, she forced herself to swallow her last bite. She could only feel relief when Tabitha told them they could all separate for an hour and then meet outside for some riding. Or touring the garden, if they didn’t wish to ride.
Quickly leaving the room, Oye made her way upstairs. She needed time to herself even if that meant she had to pretend to get lost in the large mansion. She purposely walked past their shared bedroom to the end of the hall. Taking the exit, she explored the servants’ stairs well, deciding to head downward to their quarters to see if she could find anything.
The sound of, “Ah, fuck.” Was followed by the sound of rustling clothes.
Freezing, Oye stilled on the steps.
“Ah, ah, Harder. Jake Harder.”
The sound of fucking filled the stairwell and Oye eyes narrowed as she crouched down. Slowly she slipped metal liquid into her right hand as she leaned forward. She lifted the flat slate mirror she’d created and hung it over only to hold back a gasp at the sight of a woman with her hands on the bars. Her mouth opened as she cried out. She jerked her hand back, her brow crinkling in confusion.
She didn’t remember that particular face, the woman had short dark brown hair and plain features, but Oye wasn’t one to forget a face.
