“Queen Leila!” Dawn said. She and Dusk bowed, carefully balancing the bags of cat and dog kibble they were holding.
When they both glanced at Rigel, they each simultaneously dropped leaves from their hair.
I have such cute employees.
“Good morning, Dusk, good morning Dawn. We’re going to go in by the night mares. Let us know if we get in your way, okay?”
“Y-yes Queen Leila.”
The glooms and shades wandered up to me. I stopped long enough to give everyone a pet before Rigel and I stepped into the stall area.
“Hello, my beauties!” I called.
A variety of screams—the night mares—a hee-haw—that was Bagel—and a polite nicker—Fax, the sun stallion—greeted us.
I led Rigel to Bagel’s stall. The stall door was so high the little donkey could only get his chin up on the edge. “Are you going to do the bubble thing again?”
I jumped when I noticed he had a dagger in his hand, then relaxed when the sound bubble grew around us and he put the weapon away. “Talk.”
I shrugged. “It’s mostly what I told the Paragon. You don’t have any political ties—which is what I wanted. Well—what I would have preferred would be to not get married at all. But since that’s not an option, I wanted the fae version of a rock—someone who wouldn’t affect my plans or give me extra junk to deal with. You’re the only one like that.”
Lord Rigel blinked. “There’s more to it than that.”
“There is?” I frowned. “I hadn’t really thought of more than that. I mean, you know my goal is to crush this competition for power and end it.”
Lord Rigel watched me with narrowed eyes. “Do you think you can order me to eliminate your enemies if you marry me?”
I’d been reaching over the stall door to pet Bagel so he didn’t have to strain his little neck trying to reach me, but at this suggestion I thumped my hand into the stall door with enough strength to make my knuckles sting. “What?”
“I am an assassin. You may believe that the fastest way to end this all is to eliminate the most powerful players.”
“What?No!” Taken aback, I leaned against the stall door and properly looked up at him. “First of all, killing everyone would just mean a new crop of power-hungry fae would pop in. Secondly,I don’t kill people!” I scowled at him.
“Then I don’t think you’re ever going to achieve your goal,” Lord Rigel bluntly said.
“No, when I say I want to crush this game I mean end the stupidcompetitions! Not become a power-hungry tyrant and make everyone do what I want!” I slapped my hands to my eyes—I’m sure badly smearing my makeup. “I’m doomed,” I muttered. “This stupid game is so entrenched into fae culture they can’t even fathom any other way!”
“I more meant that someone will murder you before you can achieve this utopia you desire if you wish to abstain from killing.”
I shivered. “Whatever, it’s fine. The point is, no, Ineverwill ask you to kill anyone for me! Got it?”
He flashed his dark eyes at me—and I had to admit when he wasn’t being purposely creepy, Lord Rigel was possibly one of the best looking supernaturals I had ever met.
If she gets the courage, Indigo is going to have fun dressing him up.
“Then you intend to use my name to threaten the Court.”
“Possibly?” I squinted up at him. “But probably not in the way you think. Like, I’m not going to tell people if they don’t agree with me you’re going to off them, if that’s what you mean.”
“In what other way could you use my name?”
“Hmm.” I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “I’ve got a good example! If an annoying noble keeps yacking my ear off, I can tell them they’re fascinating and that I should call you over to hear what they have to say. I’m pretty sure that would make them run off.”
Lord Rigel stared at me.
“Oh! Or if someone is complaining about a change I’m making, I’ll tell them they’ll need to convince you it’s the wrong thing to do.” I clapped my hands in glee. “Or when the chef tells me he’ll only let a coffee machine in the kitchen over his dead body I’ll tell himyoulike coffee, too!”
“I only drink tea.”
