Instantly, his eyes narrowed on me. “That is not an answer.”
“It is the only one I can give. And it is the truth.”
Ruben’s eyes flicked back and forth between myself and the back of my soul mate’s head—conveniently, unable to see that he was a shifter—until a look of realization entered his gaze. “Ah. I understand. Now, I feel better about my trap.” He waved his right hand in the air lazily. “To answer your question, I did not name this establishment. It was given to me by the man who did open it. Maria was his wife.”
Air suddenly stalled inside my lungs. “Pardon me?”
“Maria was Jeremiah’s wife. He named it after her.” Ruben shook his head in amusement. “That old bastard still loves her dead memory, too.”
“Jeremiah is still alive?” I asked cautiously.
“He is. You can find him downtown if that is who you are looking for. He owns the carnival troupe in Cosimian Trench. Simply ask around. Anyone can point you in the right direction.”
My head was spinning with this information. “Thank you for humoring me, Ruben. You have been a great help.” Then I lifted a red brow. “Now…might we leave peacefully?”
“I thought you would never ask.” He snapped his fingers.
I sucked in a harsh breath and looked around. We were in the alleyway behind Maria’s right in front of a perfectly fixed doorway, the royals prostrate as they had been. I mumbled, “Fucking Fairy, I do not ever want to meet that caster again.”
“I had control of his heartbeat the whole time. You were in no real danger.” King Athon rolled onto his back and stared up at the glass dome, rumbling in his brutal, gruff voice. “You were perfect down there, elf.”
“Why thank you.” I grinned, now feeling pleased with myself. I had done a fine job of extracting the information we needed, despite the circumstances.
Abruptly, the other royals started groaning and waking. They lifted their heads and squinted at their surroundings in confusion.
Until they were no longer confused, their memories rushing in fast. The Merfolk Queen was especially vexed, as this was her kingdom—and also she was battling an urge—but she managed to keep from tearing down the door. They all quieted when I told them what I had uncovered.
“So we are going to a carnival.” King Elon played with one of his long, shamrock green braids. “This could be amusing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess, you also think what just happened was entertaining?”
“It was not boring.” His silver skin crinkled at the edges of his eyes when he smiled. “Why not add to our evening and make it a real party? These eyes of mine could use some inspiration.”
I wasn’t looking anywhere near his eyes. “Let us make it a party then.”
