So, I’d helped him hide something from the prince. That didn’t sit right with me now that I’d met Caius. But I should’ve expected Soren’s deal would lead to something crooked. That was what I got for trusting him.
“Well.” I stood. “If I could just get my coat and boots.” I wasn’t totally sure I’d remember the way back to those people, but I was determined to try.
“Your end of the deal isn’t complete.”
I huffed a laugh. “It is too! It’s not my fault your first request took up the whole two—”
“Check the time.” He averted his eyes so I could pull my phone from its hiding place, making me blush that he’d noticed where I’d put it.
Grumbling under my breath as I pulled it out from the waistband just beneath my bra, I tapped the screen to turn it on. It was 8:53 p.m. Seven more minutes left in our deal.
Shoot.
Could he ask me to do something else in the remaining time? I tried to glide past it. “You obviously don’t want me staying here, so I’ll just get out of your way.” Forget the coat and boots. It’d be weird to carry them through the tunnels anyway.
Soren cleared his throat, still not looking at me. “The prince may have someone watching the door. He’ll know you’re not really staying here if they see you leave. You should stay the night, at the very least.”
I stiffened. “I don’t owe you anything except the next few minutes.” I rounded the couch, heading for the door. “You can’t ask for anything longer than that.”
“Do what you will. But I’d intended to keep my promise and tell you what I discovered about your family.”
I froze.
Earlier, all he’d said was that he’d learned “something.” A large part of me knew it was probably another useless fact, like, “Yes, I confirmed they were presented at court.”
But it turned out I stillneededto hear it.
Turning slowly, I met his gaze.
The front door burst open.
Voices poured in from the hall: Lore, Julian, Gwen, and that guy with the ram horns who cooked incredible food but whose name kept escaping me.
“Did you see how she flirted with me?” he asked the others.
“Oh, Perry.” Gwen patted him on the shoulder.Ah, that’s right. Peregrin.“Sorry to tell you this, but saying hello doesn’t qualify as flirting.”
“I know,” he protested, wiping his feet on the entrance rug.
My eyes widened. How had I missed that he had hooves? It made sense. They matched his curling horns.
“It was thewayshe said it,” he continued as they moved into the library. “You have to listen for the nuance.”
Julian deviated from the group and headed toward a drink table, looking like Captain America with that perfect blond hair and chiseled jaw. “You’re a hopeless romantic. There was no nuance. Unless she was flirting with all of us.”
“Oh, yay, you’re still here!” Lore clapped when she saw me.
I gave her a weak smile.
They didn’t know their timing was terrible.
Soren gave me an unreadable look, then cleared his throat again. “Peregrin, did you mention a late-night snack of some sort?”
Forehead wrinkling, Peregrin tugged on the curly hair by one of his horns. “I don’t remember saying—”
“Ooh, make the frosted periwinkle cupcakes!” Julian called out, turning from the table, where he’d filled a glass with a dark liquid. Apparently, he had a bit of a sweet tooth.
“I’m assuming you’re talking about the color and not the snails or the herb,” Lore chimed in.
