Misty nudged my leg. I picked her up at our unspoken sign, arranging her comfortably in my arms so my cloak shielded us both from the chill.
“Well, Misty. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” I asked.
She purred as I rubbed her belly.I suppose I can.
I kissed the top of her head, then stifled a yawn. Despite the opera house just coming alive, I was ready to retire. But the sight of someone familiar stopped me in my tracks.
Dominic Turner. He was hunched behind a hedge only several paces away. I hid myself behind a pillar. My jaw clenched. What was he doing here?
It’s him again, Misty meowed, narrowing her eyes into slits.He positively reeks.
I stroked her head to calm her. “What does he smell like?”
Rats.
I frowned. “If he’s here it’s only for one reason.”
The rebel meeting.
You want to spy on him, don’t you?
Misty looked ready to fall asleep. I bent down, letting her onto the ground. “Go back without me. I left our door ajar,” I said. “You can find Pippin, if you’d like.”
Are you sure?
I nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”
Misty didn’t need much convincing. She slipped back into the entrance, no doubt eager to cuddle up with a pillow. Or with Pippin.
I poked my head out from behind the pillar. Dominic was still there, conversing with a figure obscured by unruly branches.
“...saying you have personal information on Lady Narcissa and Crown Prince Bennett?” the figure asked. It was a woman, her voice high and nasally.
“I am a friend of theirs, in fact. I met them in Coriva.”
“I see. And pray tell me, why do you refuse to reveal your name?”
Dominic tilted his head. “No offense, madam, but I want to make sure you don’t run off with an incomplete version of what I have to say and slap my name on it.”
The woman tittered. “I assure you I never name my sources, unless they wish it.”
“Nevertheless I would like to keep my anonymity,” Dominic said. “At least until the day after tomorrow.”
“Really. You convince me to travel all this way and yet refuse to tell me what you promised. I’m starting to think you have other intentions,” the woman said slyly.
“As lovely as you are, Sister Scarlett, I called you here strictly for business. Trust me. You will be glad you were present for what is to happen in the next three days.” Smugness was practically dripping from his voice.
“Very well. You best deliver what you promised,” Sister Scarlett said.
Dominic bowed low as she emerged briskly from the bushes. I braved a peek at the infamous gossip columnist. The woman had a curvy frame and brown hair, about forty years of age. Her lips were painted scarlet, the color stark against the dreary gray sky. Fitting.
I whirled around to see the tail of Dominic’s coat disappear around the corner of the opera house. My feet followed before I could process everything I had heard. I highly doubted Dominic called Sister Scarlett to Alevine just to give her some petty gossip about me and Bennett. What he said was to happen in the next three days had to be connected to the rioters.
My eyes were trained on Dominic’s back. I didn’t see the two figures emerge from my right until I stumbled over their feet.
“Ow!” Flannery cried out, hopping back in the grass. He dropped his lamp, the flame sputtering.
“Flannery?” I turned. “Maddox?”
