Fortunately, he accepted the fawning, like Soren had said he would, finally letting go of my wrist to pull out a chair.
After lowering himself gracefully into the seat beside mine, he leaned back. “Your worry flatters me,” he murmured, reaching out to brush his fingers across my arm again. “What troubles you?”
Again, I got the urge to pull away, but that probably wouldn’t go over well. “I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll get straight to the point.” I stopped to reach for my drink again nervously before I remembered it was empty. “When I mentioned looking for my... humans... to Soren after you and I spoke, he was upset.”
“Oh?” Caius frowned, but I couldn’t tell if it was directed at me or the topic of conversation.
Was that an “Oh, I could picture that” or an “Oh, I’m not buying it”?
I hated having to lie to him again. But this was for my family, so I pressed on. “Apparently, the Unseelie king learned that the Hollow Court has claimed quite a few humans, and he believes it’s creating a lack of balance between the two courts?” Oops. That wasn’t supposed to be a question. I tried to speak with more conviction. “Breaking the treaty between courts could be seen as an act of war. It’s my understanding that the Unseelie king is considering responding in kind. Tonight.”
Earlier, I’d asked Soren why he wanted me to use that wording:my understanding. “Isn’t that a fae way of saying it?” I’d asked. “He’ll know it’s not true. I should just say it straight out.”
But Soren had shook his head. “No. It’s not our way. Wait for him to force you to be direct.”
Pulse pounding so hard I feared he could hear it, I waited for him to do exactly that.
But the prince didn’t say anything.
He wasn’t following the script! What was I supposed to do? Reaching out blindly for something on the table in a panic, I picked up the water pitcher, poured myself a fresh glass, and drank a few big gulps. My fingers turned white around the stem, revealing that I wasn’t as calm as I pretended to be. I wasn’t a great actor, but I tried to lean into the anxiety since it worked in my favor, wrinkling my brow and chewing on my lip as I set the drink down.
When Caius still didn’t say anything, I surged forward with the words Soren had given me. “I’m betraying my own court by telling you this. The Unseelie king would prefer the element of surprise if he does attack. But I think you still have time to stop this.”
Caius’s voice was low when he finally replied. “You expect me to believe that if I don’t lower the number of humans in the Hollow Court, the king of the Shadow Court will acttonight?”
Yeah, I agreed,it doesn’t sound plausible at all.But what did I know? Soren hadn’t told me if it was true or not. I’d kind of assumed it wasn’t, otherwise, Soren would’ve said it himself, right?
I met Caius’s sharp gaze, starting to worry. Did he suspect me of lying? Or was he simply trying to make me say it more directly?
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I remembered Soren’s goal: Make him worried. Whether or not the prince knew the contracts were crooked was irrelevant right now. I had to convince him of the lie, for my family’s sake. Time to deviate from the script. “I would never tell you what to believe. But from what I’ve overheard,I believe it completely.”
His eyes widened, almost imperceptibly.
Had that actually worked?
I kept the concerned look on my face and finished with mentioning Soren, like he’d asked me to. “I don’t know how to stop it, but maybe if you and Soren could come to an agreement about the humans, that might force the Unseelie king to hold off.”
Caius stood decisively. “Where is he?”
I sent Caius in the direction Soren had told me, and he stormed off, fists clenched, not looking back.
Then, glancing around for the others and not seeing them anywhere, I decided on impulse to follow.
Though I lost the prince in the crowd multiple times, I had a general idea of where he was going.
The troll tunnel.
Thanks to the size of trolls, the large tunnel naturally had extra space for meetings to take place along the sides. Soren wasn’t around the first bend in the tunnel, though, or the second, and as Caius slowed down, I panicked over the thought of him turning back only to find me.
Thankfully, on the third turn, Soren appeared.
I ducked back around the corner before they spotted me.
“Is it true?” Caius asked Soren without preamble, loud enough for me to overhear. “About the humans?”
Listening intently, I thought for sure Soren would be caught in that trap. But he was a master manipulator. Instead of asking Caius to clarify, he said, “Do you think I would discuss it with you?”
“What would stop the Shadow Court from taking action tonight?” Caius pressed, misunderstanding, as Soren had intended.
