“No, not at all!” Lord Dion flapped a hand at me. “Rather, you are planning to marry a fae lord with a rather unique career that may one day lead him to cross paths with the law and—how to say it with refinement—get pressed with a murder charge.”
“And you would try to get him off?”
“Of course! My motto is ‘I may not be able to lie, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell the whole truth!”
“Yes, you do—it’s in the oaths!”
“Ah-ah-ah—witnesses take that oath! That’s my second motto, ‘follow the law to the letter, not the meaning’!”
I squinted at Lord Dion. “Wow. I am really glad I didn’t end up choosing you.”
“You and me both,” he assured me. “Because this is going to be hilarious—and relaxing—for me!” He meandered up to Lord Rigel and slapped him on the shoulder. “I still can’t believe it. Rigel, married! And becoming the consort, no less!” he laughed. “So much for skipping Court functions!”
Chase was writing up notes. “We will have to make adjustments for additional security for Lord Rigel.”
“I will arrange for the suite connected to Queen Leila’s to be cleaned out,” Skye said. “But I expect Indigo will take point on having it redecorated?”
“Yep,” Indigo said.
“Wait—what?” I stopped fiddling with my prism.
“As queen and consort you two obviously require connecting rooms,” Skye said.
Oh. I didn’t know about that.
I wasn’t afraid that Lord Rigel was going to try anything inappropriate, or bust in on me swimming in my giant tub. No, the bigger danger was that he could now super easily murder me in my sleep!
I’m going to have to do something about that.
“He’ll need a wardrobe,” Lord Dion added. “He’s only got black and gray clothes. He needs some variety!”
“Noted.” Indigo dug her smartphone out and tapped away on it.
The Paragon let out a long, agonized sigh like an overdramatic actress. “When will the wedding be?”
“It’s scheduled for a week after the Midsummer Derby.” Skye said. “The first week of August. I imagine we should be able to achieve all of this.”
“A moment, Queen Leila?” Lord Rigel asked in a low voice.
I jumped—he’d somehow moved across the room without me noticing and was now standing close enough I could almostfeelthe deepness of his voice. “Ah, sure.”
The others were busy talking about wedding preparations, but Chase and Indigo both noticed when we started to leave.
I waved to them to stay put, but was thankful when Chase started typing away on his phone—probably letting the on-duty guards know we were on the move.
“What’s up?” I asked Lord Rigel once we entered the hallway and he shut the door of my study behind us.
“I believe you owe me an explanation.”
“Ah. Right. Okay—follow me.”
I found the closest door to the outside and led him all the way to the stables.
The sun was already high above the horizon, and my eyes felt like they were filled with bits of gravel. Thankfully, half way through the night, Indigo had slipped me a pair of flats that were way more comfortable than my heels, but I was getting a little tired of the tight fit of my dress as I elbowed the stable door open.
I knew from experience Dusk and Dawn would have already been at work for hours, so the night mares were fed and their stalls were clean.
The siblings were actually in the open area at the front of the stable by the tack room. They were feeding the four glooms and seven shades that had elected to stay here.
