I grinned at her. “Even when I’m planning to rile up my nobles?”
“Especially then.” Indigo rolled her eyes. “Please. The fae might have adopted stuff like cellphones and the internet, but in a lot of ways they’re back in the dark ages. Ihopeyou make them upset—they’re waltzing around like a bunch of regency heroines.”
“Ah-ha!” I pointed at Indigo. “I think so, too!”
Indigo sniffed angrily in agreement. She jumped when Steve put her head on Indigo’s lap, then cautiously patted her.
“Since you’re with me in this, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” I was so excited, I could barely sit still in my chair. “You know that Court event next week that is supposed to be held at some fancy—and expensive—restaurant?”
“Yes?”
I chuckled. “I’ve canceled that reservation and rented out a different location.”
“Where?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Rigel
“Mini golf?” Dion gaped up at the sign hanging over the location of our Court social. “Is she for real?”
I shrugged. “It seems congruent with her twisted sense of humor.”
“We’re fae,” Dion said. “Does she really expect the nobles to playmini golf?”
I glanced at my friend. “I was unaware you were such an avid hater of miniature golf.”
“I’m not—I’ve actually played it before, and it’s pretty fun. But can you picture the likes of Lady Demetria or Lord Thales?” Dion rubbed his forehead and sighed.
I turned back and looked in the direction of our cars. “Are we not attending, then?”
“No, we’re going in.” Dion grimly squared his shoulders. “I need to convince her to marry me, andyouare my moral support, Rigel. Come on.”
We went inside, and the new queen had very cunningly set Lord Linus up as the official greeter responsible for explaining the game and giving everyone equipment.
Lord Linus had always been a Court favorite, and given that he’d managed to avoid making enemies—although he had inspired a lot of gossip given his travels across the human world, much less the fact that he’d married a human and now, apparently, fathered our new queen.
It was an easy thing for him to sweet talk fae ladies into taking brightly colored golf balls, and hand off ridiculously small golf clubs with a wink to his fellow lords.
He got Dion and me through the doors in record speed, ejecting us into the strange world of mini golf—a swathe of fake greenery and plastic with unnatural bright colors that assaulted my eyes.
I stared at the black ball Lord Linus had given me—very original of him—then glanced at Dion. “If you try to make me play, I will kill you.”
Dion laughed uneasily. “Fear not—I’m notthatconfident in our friendship. Come on.”
The mini golf course was a confusing swirl of holes accented with animal statues, miniature architecture, and blue pools of water that likely contained all the filth of humanity.
Weirdest of all, however, were the fae walking through it.
Certainly, some of them were reacting as Dion thought they would and were standing on the sidelines, whispering to each other with pinched expressions.
But many individuals—mostof the lords and ladies, in fact—were stalking through the course, clutching sheets of paper and tiny pencils, and swinging their clubs with a great deal more enthusiasm than I’d seen most of them muster up in months.
“I say—did you try hole twelve? It has a water wheel—very difficult.”
“Ifinished it in two shots! But I had trouble at hole eight.”
“The one with the giraffe statue that’s missing a leg?”
