Black beetles.
***
A few daysafter Lucas’s unexplained visit, I invited Nix over to the palace for merienda. The afternoon snack was by far my favorite meal of the day. “By the way,” I said as casually as I could, “what do you think about Lucas?” Since we were both transplants from the human world, I trusted her opinion. It was a relief to have someone who understood me, who saw this world through eyes similar to mine. Not that I was going to tell her everything just yet.
“I guess he’s cute,” Nix replied, shrugging. “Not my type, even though he’s the reigning Arnis champion in all four kingdoms, two years in a row.”
She didn’t need to remind me. Anytime his name came up at school, it was like, “Sir Lucas Invierno, youngest knight to ever win the all-realm martial arts tourney.” With the way everyone strained to watch him when he walked by, I was surprised there weren’t more neck injuries at school. It was kind of nauseating. Not that I totally blamed them. He really was so handsome, if you could get past the whole egomaniac thing.
Nix added, “Amador drags his currency down some, though.”Then she did a double take, smacking her hand against the table and leaning forward. “Wait! Youlikehim?”
“No.” I shook my head vigorously. “Of course not! That’s not what I meant. Like, do you think he’s dangerous?” The answer should have been obvious, except I kept thinking that maybe he had a valid reason to be in the palace. His father did use to work there. Which meant the guards knew him. Maybe he came in to get something that had belonged to his dad? It was a stretch, but better than the alternative.
Nix pondered that. “Dangerous...?” Her voice trailed off. “He’s friends with Amador, so.”
My stomach flipped. “So that’s ayes?”
“Well, I would’ve maybe said no before, but after the other day, I’m not so sure.”
“What happened the other day?” I asked, fighting to keep my tone casual.The other daycould mean when he’d crept around in the king’s chamber, right before lurking around mine.
She shook her head. “It could be nothing.” She took a sip of her drink. “If it’s nothing, you didn’t hear anything from me.” She pointed a perfect pink nail in my direction. “But if it’snotnothing, remember I’m the one who told you.”
“Of course,” I promised, holding up my hand to vow.
Nix leaned forward. “All right,” she began. “I was going to the market in town, looking for some more of that fabric I found last week. The one with the tiny roses?”
I nodded. Nix liked to tell stories with a million tangents. But if I hurried her through, she might rush to get to the point and leave out crucial details. And anything might be relevant, even if she didn’t think so. I had to let her do her thing.
“I was looking through the bolts, and I couldn’t find the right one. So I asked the vendor if she had any more or if what I’d bought was the last of it. Because I want a bag to match the skirt I’m making. And while I was waiting for her to check, I got bored, so I happened to turn around, and then I saw him.”
“Lucas?”
“No, this creepy-looking guy I’d never seen before. He was just sort of standing around. Not shopping. More like he was waiting for someone. Or looking for someone to rob. Well, that someone was not going to be me, so I kept my eye on him. And if I hadn’t, I would have missed who he was there to meet.”
“Who? Lucas?”
“No.” She waved her hand as if to say Lucas wasn’t important. “Another shady-looking guy. The second guy walked up to him, and they looked like they were conspiring.”
“And then what?” I asked hopefully.
She shook her head. “First the fabric woman came back and said she didn’t have any more. I asked if they were going to get any more, and she didn’t know, so I thanked her, and I decided to go check the other fabric merchant on the other side of the market. When I turned to go, I noticed that the two men were gone. I forgot about them and went to find out about the fabric. And you are not going to believe this.”
“What?” I had a feeling she was finally getting to the interesting part.
“The other fabric merchant had one single half bolt of the rose fabric left! Isn’t that amazing?”
“Yes,” I said, pretending not to be disappointed. “It was meant to be.”
Nix nodded enthusiastically. “It was!” She drank from her teacup. “This is really good,” she said.
“It is,” I agreed. “The cook uses a rare cinnamon for the champorado.”
“I need to get some,” Nix said. “Can you find out where it’s from?”
I nodded. “Sure. So then what happened?” I asked. I was getting really antsy.
“Oh! Right. Well, I’m getting the matching bag made as we speak.”
