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“I’ve come with information I thought you might enjoy.” He strolled around the desk, his fingers trailing along its trim.
Ah, there it is. Tell me, Graceson. Let’s hear it from your terribly tempting playboy lips. I bounced on my toes, unable to keep my anxiety and excitement tamed.
“Tell me, then.”
“I don’t know.” He jutted his chin out and sat on the front end of the desk. “I’d rather hear about your time here. Rumors travel pretty far, you know.”
I thrust an arm out, pulling a brick from the wall with such force that the book on the shelf in front of it flung forward and smacked against his arm. “Tell me now.”
“Oof. Fine, you don’t have to play like that.” He frowned and dusted his sleeve. “Hattie is alive and well.”
I let loose the breath that had caught in my chest and refused to be let go. I wanted to melt into a puddle of joy. Now I could quit using resources to scan the Heathern Court for her.
“I’m assuming that means she is in the Acture Court then.”
“She is. With King Windre, of course. She trailed King Ganglin once he left, trying to get this, um,box. Followed him all the way to the border of the Obtune Court before she abandoned her self-made mission and returned home.”
“That’s great news. So, now we know where Hattie is and we know where King Ganglin is. Did she say if she knew what was in the box?”
“No, she didn’t. And I think it’s safe to assume that King Ganglin is rallying his dear friend Ottack, which is why he has moved his army from the Acture Court border to the Heathern Court.”
That wasn’t good. That was actually really terrible. We weren’t ready to fight an entire Fae army. We didn’t have the numbers, and many Nymphs were still trying to fine-tune their magical abilities.
“I thought you said you were bringing me good news,” I said plainly, trying to mask my nervousness. Did this change anything about me leaving tomorrow?
“No, I said I brought you information. At no point did I say it was good.”
“You said I’d enjoy it.”
“Well, you enjoyed some of it? Right?” His eyebrows shot up.
“Just the part about my sister.” I sighed and finally moved away from the door. Crumpling into the torn up chair in front of the desk, I looked up at Graceson. “You wanna tell me what the rumor is that you heard?”
“I heard that Dace is here. I heard that he is a prince again. And I heard that you’re planning on leaving the Heathern Court to follow him.” He said it plainly, not a stitch of emotion attached. Just fact.
“How did y—” I sat up, blinking.
“I have my sources.”
My mind tried to connect the dots of how the word had gotten out so quickly. If Graceson had this information, who else did too? Did that make someone within these walls a rat? I didn’t want to think about making consequences to actions like that. I was not King Ganglin. And technically, I wasn't an authority at all.
“But,” he held up a finger, “I support this decision.”
“You do?” I said slowly, waiting for the trap it felt like he was putting into place to clamp shut around me.
“Of course I do. An actual alliance between the Nymphs and the Twinity Court could hold some real power. King Windre is just biding his time at this point. If you can talk them into something real, something tangible, then King Windre doesn’t have to hide anymore. That makes two courts openly backing you. Not just one in secret.”
“You still think I should leave even though Ottack is directing his troops in our direction?”
“Absolutely. And the faster you leave, the faster you return.” His wings flared, knocking a folded map off the desk that he snatched from the air before it could hit the floor.
It was nice to get his opinion, and I must have been doing something right if someone like him, who had been in his position for as long as he had, agreed with me. My fingers picked at the arm of the chair, pulling at a loose thread. “You don’t think it’s a trap, do you?”
“A trap in the Twinity Court?”
“Yeah,” I said under my breath. Daethian’s suggestion that they could just as easily take me in as their slave was still a prevalent thought inside my head.
“If it is, I’d say Prince Dace has nothing to do with it. I mean, I don’t want to necessarily encourage what’s going on between you two, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t look at you like he has been enchanted.” He fiddled with the map. “But if you say you’re not interested in him and you get cold at night, I happen to know a perfectly good warm body that’s pretty good for snuggling.” He gestured toward his body. “And other things.”
