The bell above the door rang as Jaspar marched through, two new fae flanking his sides. He grinned at me from a distance, his eyes brighter than before. With facial hair growing in, he’d started to shed the meticulous facade from the ball.
“Still turning me down, Audryn?” Jaspar stopped at the edge of the bar.
“Still don’t have a name for me?” I snapped and poured a glass of wine for the female waiting at the end of the bar. His next words stopped me in my tracks.
“I don’t have a name, but I have a lead.” The skin around the corners of his eyes crinkled. “You going to kiss me again?”
I set the glass on the counter roughly, letting it teeter. “What do you mean? What’d you find out?”
Jaspar gestured to the glass, pushing me to serve the woman, but I stood and waited for his answer.
“Come to the back?”
I shook my head. “No. Tell me here—now. What do you know?”
He moved in close and lowered his voice. “You never know who’s around. Come to the back. Please?”
I blew out a breath and asked Benton to cover for me. Even though he didn’t work there, he spent nearly as much time at the tavern as I did. I ducked through the door and immediately stopped on the other side.
The tiny, windowless room was packed full of people and filled with the stench of stale alcohol and body odor. The conversation among the group stalled the instant Jaspar entered behind me as if he were the prince himself—though for the group of thieves and liars, he probably was.
“Continue, I’ll only be a moment,” he said to the crowd, waving a hand. A small whirlwind of air surrounded just the two of us, blocking his words from everyone else. I was grateful for the privacy from peering eyes and eavesdropping pointed ears.
“It may be nothing, but it may be something.” He looked around before returning his face to mine. “I don’t want to get your hopes up.”
“Great Divine, just come out and say it,” I pleaded.
“There’s a book. It documents every public execution. The name of the person, the offense, date.” His voice lowered. “And the name of the executioner.”
I stared in disbelief. “Where do I find it?”
He scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “Thing is, I’m giving you this information nearly as soon as I’ve heard it. It'sincomplete. I don’t know where the book’s kept, but if I had to guess, it would be in the royal library. I’m still working on getting?—”
“At the fucking castle? The one we both were at just last week? You’ve got to be kidding me.” My voice pitched higher than intended, but the swirling wind he’d conjured still muffled our conversation.
“Yeah, the timing is shit. But if you wait, I’ll let you know more as soon as I know, okay?”
My breath caught in the back of my throat, nearly blocking air from entering my lungs. I was a step closer to finding the person responsible for changing my family.Destroyingmy family. Not just the death of my brother, but my mother too.
I leaned forward, took Jaspar’s face in my hands, and kissed him. Breathing him in, I released the tension that had been sitting on my chest for months. Tears threatened at the corners of my eyes, relief washing over me.
He pulled away and scanned my face. “I was only joking. Though I don’t expect you to?—”
“I know, I’m just happy.” I rubbed my eyes. “Apparently even happy enough to kiss … you.”
“Keep your expectations low. Many times, information leads to nothing.” He tilted my chin up. “I can’t bear letting you down any more than I already have.”
“I suppose I should invite you over and hold up my end of the bargain now?” My attempt to change the seriousness of the conversation worked; Jaspar barked out a laugh.
“I wouldn’t say no.” He paused. “But you’d kick me out afterwards, and I’d prefer to sleep next to you as much as I’d prefer to sleep with you.”
There was a knock on the door, and he dropped the wind encircling us. I cracked it, revealing an eyeball belonging to a flustered Benton.
“I could really use some help here. Your customers aredemanding and won’t let me get even a gulp in before wanting something else,” Benton whined.
“Let me know if you hear anything else,” I said to Jaspar over my shoulder as I bent down and passed through the doorway.
Laughter filled the rest of the evening. Benton kept us entertained for hours. I even indulged a few people with a story or two about the ball and my interaction with the prince. Nothing could've possibly pulled me from the high I was on; even the customers in foul moods weren’t bringing me down.
