The faun grabbed at his bowtie and started to look a little sweaty from his nerves. “They are your companion?”
“A companion will attend socials with you, aid you with your wardrobe, see to your needs, and provide any entertainment you may need,” Skye helpfully supplied.
“Kind of like a personal assistant?” I asked.
“Of a sort,” Skye said. “Your companion will devote herself to your needs.”
“Yeah, sounds like a personal assistant. It’s fine—I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?” I asked the faun.
“Eventide, Queen Leila.” The faun nervously bowed again.
“Nice to meet you, Eventide. Okay, unleash the candidates!”
Eventide and Skye stared at me.
I sighed, dying just a little inside due to the general lack of humor among the fae. “I’d like to meet the applicants for the position of companion.”
“Yes, right away!” The faun scrambled to open the door. “Queen Leila,” the faun announced to the room.
They’d gathered the companion applicants in a fancy sitting room—the type I’d only seen before in Drake Hall. The wood floors and fancy rugs—which were dark blue decorated with silver star patterns—probably were each worth as much as a car, but I was pretty sure it was the hand painted wallpaper—a deep, subdued blue with swirls of purple and black and dustings of silver and gold creating star-studded galaxies—that was the most pricy thing about the room.
Like the previous room, this one also had teaware on display. Four shelves fixed to the wall housed a silver teapot, sugar container, and a tiny pitcher I assumed was for cream, as well as three different sets of porcelain tea cups that all depicted blue or purple flowers surrounded by gold swirls. Each piece was lit by glowing orbs of magic.
I’m starting to sense a pattern with all of these tea accoutrements. That does not bode well for me as a coffee drinker.
Crowded inside, sitting on the furniture—which looked plush, but based on the stiff way everyone was sitting it must have felt as comfy as stone—was a wildly diverse group of candidates.
Two dryads, a naiad, a sylph, three sirens, what I thought was a female dwarf, a brownie, and a banshee all stood up and bowed to me.
I leaned closer to Skye. “Do the less powerful fae usually fill the position of companion?” I whispered.
“Yes,” Skye murmured. “It’s a position traditionally ear marked for such fae because it gives them a direct line to the ruling monarch.”
Surprise! More politics!
“Thanks, that’s good to know.” I strolled in, making a show of looking around, when in reality I was considering Skye’s earlier advice.
What motivation can I use since loyalty is off the table?
“Right.” I clapped my hands a few times, buying myself a few moments. “Who, here, is applying for this position because of money? Please raise your hand.”
Chapter Nine
Leila
One of the sirens, the brownie, and the sylph all raised their hands.
“Great,” I said. “Everyone else can go.”
The fae gaped at me for a moment, but gathered up their things and left withmuchmore elegance and style than any of the spoiled nobles had.
Next to me, Skye shifted. Her expression didn’t give anything away, but she’d stopped tapping away on her phone.
“I know you said to ask for loyalty, and there may have been someone in that group that genuinely wants to see the Night Court improve,” I explained. “But loyalty is fleeting. I want something that lasts forever.”
“The desire for steady employment?”
“Nope. Greed.” I grinned at Skye, then turned my attention to the three remaining candidates. “You’re here for money—what do you mean by that?” I asked.
