Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) - K.M. Shea Page 0,63

she was almost entirely underneath me.

I was pondering my new position when footsteps pounded up the hallway.

Someone flung my door open—without even knocking.

“We can’t find her!” the faun, Eventide, shrieked.

Indigo elbowed her way past him. “Sorry to interrupt your sleep, Consort Rigel, but the queen is missing!”

“We’ve looked everywhere—someone’s taken her!” Eventide moaned. “She’s not answering her cellphone, and Chase can’t find any trace of her leaving the premises.”

“Maybe she went to visit her parents, we should call them,” Indigo said.

Eventide nodded vigorously as he yanked his cellphone out of his pocket and started tapping away on it. “I’ll send Chase a message suggesting such.”

I stayed in my bed, waiting for one of them to actually look and see the unlikely menagerie that had taken up residence in my room, but neither seemed inclined to do so.

“But her truck is here—as are the night mares—or I’d say maybe she left for a coffee shop.” Indigo tapped her foot on the floor.

“But this is Queen Leila—there is a very distinct possibility she befriended a wild night mare and has gotten a ride from it,” Eventide said.

It is a little maddening that they barge into my room without hesitation considering my reputation. They fear Leila’s absence more than they fear facing me, I reflected.

The second shade joined the far side of my mattress and wagged its tail as it peered at me. It whined, finally getting Indigo’s and Eventide’s attention.

Their eyes, wide with curiosity, flicked from the shades to me.

I sat up—being careful not to crush Leila under me—revealing the queen’s headful of eye-catching black hair.

Indigo sagged with relief. “Thank goodness—she’s here. Tell Chase that she’s here.”

Eventide briefly planted a hand on his chest. “My heart is beating again—it was terrifying to search her empty room, you know.”

Indigo fanned her face with her hand. “I didn’t know what we would have done—but it’s okay. She’s safe.”

The duo glanced back at me, but I was finished with the peep show.

“Out,” I said.

To my pleasure, they both turned pale and fled, leaving so fast they slammed the door behind them.

I haven’t completely lost my touch.

Leila stirred, then popped her face above the blanket line and yawned. “Something wrong?” she sleepily asked.

I watched her for a moment. “No.”

“M’kay.” She pulled her other arm out of the blankets and stretched. “Good morning.”

I pushed off the bed, giving her more space to stretch. “Good morning. Feeling better?”

“Yeah. I’m still disappointed, but I can’t really sit around and mope forever, or things will just get worse.” She rubbed her eyes then blearily opened them as she smiled up at me.

I was unwilling to move away from my bed—it was oddly peaceful to look at her like this. “Focus on the next thing,” I advised.

“Is that how you got through all of the trouble in the Night Court—with the previous rulers and everything?”

I nodded.

“Hmm. It’s good advice. But my brain is a little too addled to remember what’s next.” She sat up in bed and frowned, her forehead wrinkling deeply. “Wasn’t I supposed to sleep on the other side of the bed?”

“You were,” I acknowledged. “Once you were asleep you didn’t seem to care much for the rules—such a surprise considering your obedient day time persona.”

That got a grin from her.

“And the next thing you should probably most focus on,” I continued, “is the annual hunt.”

“Ugh, that thing. It’s in about a week, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Wonderful. Are you going to come for that?” Her hair was silky and soft, but all the blankets had mussed it a bit. She was trying to push it back behind her shoulders, but it still spilled around her.

I had the strange desire to reach out and brush at some of the lines her mashed pillow had left creased on her cheek, but I strangled it. “Yes, I’ll come,” I said.

There was no way I was going to miss the hunt.

Not because I cared about the results—no. But because I was interested in seeing just how my mischievous queen would next bait the other monarchs.

Chapter Fifteen

Leila

Although the annual hunt had all the trappings of a fun and beautiful event, I was pretty sour as I adjusted my riding glove and picked up my helmet.

Indigo took one look at my face. “Don’t you look just jubilant. Am I to interpret by your puckered face that you disapprove of hunting?”

“No, not really,” I said. “My dad hunts every year, and every Wisconsin kid knows deer will have huge over-population problems without hunting. But that kind of hunting