Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) - K.M. Shea Page 0,24
Lord Rigel.” King Birch said.
“Lord Rigel.” Queen Verdant wouldn’t quite look at Rigel, but her voice was polite if distant.
I looked from the monarchs to Rigel. How on earth would they all know him—oohh. They’ve hired him for jobs in the past.
The grim realization dawned on me as King Fell eyed my husband.
“I was…surprised to receive news of your nuptials. Perhaps even more surprised when the Night Court power structure remained the same.”
Is he implying he’s shocked Rigel didn’t instantly kill me? Or is he talking about the spiders sent to assassinate me? Was that his doing?
I wanted to groan.
The past three-ish weeks with my Court had been gloriously simple. No one had tried offending me or offing me, and it seemed like my people accepted me as their queen.
But the fun, the insults, and—probably—the assassination attempts are about to start all over. Whee!
Though the thought made me groan, it also fueled the fires of my goal to shatter the fae’s obsession with power and the way it ruled their lives.
If they let things continue like this, they weren’t going to survive many more generations.
“Leila is the queen,” Rigel said. “I am her consort. Since the power still rests with her, there has been no reason for change.”
“I never pictured you as the diligent consort, protecting his queen’s back,” King Birch said. “But it sounds as if that is your role, now.”
Rigel shrugged. “She has people for that. And I still have activities of my own to see to.”
Dang it—he is still out there, murderizing! I was hoping his new title would make the fae less willing to hire him. Apparently not!
I slightly shook my head, and my earrings—obnoxiously big gemstones Skye had dug up from the mansion’s jewelry vault—banged the side of my face.
King Fell smirked. “I see. How reassuring.”
As fun as the conversation was, I was long past ready to leave. I scanned the crowd of party goers, looking for an out. A few of my nobles had gathered just behind the monarchs, their expressions flickering with worry and concern—how sweet!
Although I suppose I don’t know who they’re concerned for—me, or our Court. I stifled a deep sigh that almost escaped me. Maybe we should just leave. I can always call Hazel.
“I was also surprised to hear of your marriage,” King Birch said. “It didn’t seem like you to enter a failing situation, Lord Rigel. I would have thought you were too intelligent for that.”
Yep. A phone call is better. I’m sick of listening to this.
“This has been a barrel of laughs, but it’s high time I say my farewells to my friends and leave,” I announced.
“Oh? What do you have to rush off to?” King Fell asked. “Unless we’re making you uncomfortable?”
As I stared at the Autumn King, I was pretty sure King Solis was getting concerned that I was going to blast him with another insult because he was glancing at me with flickers of worry. Really, I was just trying to picture what would most horrify Fell and the pack of jackals surrounding us.
“You’re so thoughtful, King Fell,” I said. “But, no. It’s just because I was hit by inspiration.”
King Birch raised judgmental eyebrows and fell right into my trap. “Inspiration? For what?”
“I am so glad you asked,” I sincerely said. “It is undeniable that my husband is a fine fae specimen. Or, as humans would say, he’s gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous to be precise. I mean, look at his face—and his abs! Wouldn’t you agree, Queen Verdant?”
The blond queen backed up a step. “I—yes,” she haltingly said, unable to lie, and unable to easily wriggle out of the question.
“Exactly. His gorgeous self—and those chiseled abs, I can’t stress that enough—have inspired me to try my hand at artistic expression.”
King Fell stared at me. “What?”
“That is, I want to attempt to draw Rigel and record his attractiveness for all of history—he is that good looking that an attempt must be made,” I rattled, having more and more fun trolling the monarchs as they looked increasingly more uncomfortable. “Though I will admit it is my own selfish whim, because then I’ll also have something to look at during the times he leaves me, for I do miss him then.”
Queen Verdant had backed up another step, and King Fell looked like he was about to toss his cookies, while King Birch had settled for swinging his gaze back and forth between Rigel and me.