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I glanced at him again and watched as he effortlessly interacted with the other royals, drinking his wine. Nicole had acted as though he never fed, or maybe never fed. Wasn’t that impossible? “If he isn’t feeding, how was he surviving?”
Nicole set her fork down and turned toward me. “The less questions we ask about the royals the better. He’s into some old way-of-the-world stuff according to Helene, his last assignment. That’s really all you need to know. I don’t go digging my nose into Prince Noah’s private affairs. Can I eat in peace now?”
I leaned back. Nicole had a tipping point to questions apparently. I nodded and apologized quietly, before I went back to trying to eat my own dinner.
Captain Coltrain walked into the room. His presence was commanding, and the minute he appeared, he headed straight for Prince Noah. The two walked to the side of the room and began whispering.
“What do you think that’s about?” I asked.
Nicole sighed. “Not our business…”
Across the room two girls made their way into the dining hall. They held hands and looked animated, whispering to each other and moving toward our table.
“Did you hear?” one burst out in the loudest whisper I’d ever experienced.
Nicole looked up at the guest, uninterested. “What now, Brigette?” The tone she took with our new guest comforted me. Even when she seemed annoyed with me moments ago, the disdain in her voice wasn’t there like it was now.
“The rumors!” she exclaimed before pushing Nicole over and grabbing the roll off her plate.
Nicole closed her eyes and then sat up straighter. “Please do help yourself. I wasn’t eating the food on my own plate or anything.”
“Mmm,” Brigette moaned. “Thank you. I’m starving. Whalen was ravenous.”
I frowned, assuming Whalen was whomever she was feeding her blood to. The uneasy feeling returned, turning inside of me at the way Brigette spoke. I could see why Nicole wasn’t a fan in just the first thirty seconds of listening to the woman.
“Okay, well, since you haven’t heard, I must tell you,” she said with her mouth half full of dinner roll. “There’s a spy among us. A Seelie spy.”
Nicole’s arm shot out toward Brigette and I jumped at the sudden movement. But Nicole surprised me when she threw back her head and laughed while her arm rested around Brigette’s shoulders. She pulled her down and closer to her as she kept up the act. To the fae it must have looked like we were giggling and gossiping. But Brigette had sobered up and looked nervous with Nicole’s hand gripping her right shoulder hard.
“Brigette,” Nicole said through clenched teeth even though she smiled for the world to see, “shut your flippant pie hole of a mouth.” She rubbed her shoulder and I smiled as realistically as I could to keep up whatever ruse we were going for here. Obviously a spy was bad, but Nicole’s reaction was disturbing.
“You know as well as I do that the royal guard will disembowel us for trying to find the truth if even a rumor of a spy gets out.” Nicole let her go and Brigette swallowed audibly. She brought her hand up to her arm where Nicole had dug her fingers in.
“N-Nicole…” she stammered.
If it was possible for Nicole to have fae magic, I was worried that she would have killed Brigette on the spot with the death glare she shot her way.
“It’s just…they…I mean… It’s too late,” Brigette stammered, and the other girl who had been with her, silently observing the interaction so far, leaned in.
“They already know.”
