Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,100

had ever met.

If she gets the courage, Indigo is going to have fun dressing him up.

“Then you intend to use my name to threaten the Court.”

“Possibly?” I squinted up at him. “But probably not in the way you think. Like, I’m not going to tell people if they don’t agree with me you’re going to off them, if that’s what you mean.”

“In what other way could you use my name?”

“Hmm.” I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “I’ve got a good example! If an annoying noble keeps yacking my ear off, I can tell them they’re fascinating and that I should call you over to hear what they have to say. I’m pretty sure that would make them run off.”

Lord Rigel stared at me.

“Oh! Or if someone is complaining about a change I’m making, I’ll tell them they’ll need to convince you it’s the wrong thing to do.” I clapped my hands in glee. “Or when the chef tells me he’ll only let a coffee machine in the kitchen over his dead body I’ll tell him you like coffee, too!”

“I only drink tea.”

“Please, Lord Rigel. I’m having a moment. Just give me this fantasy.”

One of Lord Rigel’s silver eyebrows might have moved the tiniest bit. “In other words, you intend to use my presence as an intimidation factor to pull yourself from unwanted interactions.”

“Yeah, pretty much. Would that be okay?”

He shrugged. “If someone attacks you in their anger, I’m not going to defend you.”

“No worries. That’s why I have Chase.” I rubbed one of Bagel’s ears, and the donkey leaned into the gesture. “Are we good?”

“This is a rather one-sided bargain,” Lord Rigel said. “I’m not getting anything out of it.”

Whoa, there is danger here.

This next conversation could put me heavily in Rigel’s debt—which was dangerous beyond words—or I might be able to smooth things out and get off easily if I was careful.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Leila

I made myself casually shrug. “Life as a consort won’t be too bad. You can sit around and do whatever you like. You don’t have to study, or get cornered by annoying lords, or sit through meetings with really unpleasant people and smile.”

I paused. “This is getting depressing. The point is, you can do what you want—although I won’t lie, I’m hoping that’s going to include a lot less murdering, and maybe a new hobby or two instead. And you can stay as uninvolved with politics as you are now. Maybe even less involved—because no one is going to voluntarily drag you in.”

“Except you.”

“Except me,” I agreed. “Which, newsflash, I’m not too keen on, either.”

“I’ll agree,” Lord Rigel said. “Not for any of these reasons, but because I still cannot ascertain what kind of a threat you are to the fae, and if I marry you I will find it easier to end you if you do become a threat.”

Hmmm, will that count as an even balance between us? I’m going to say yes because it’s my life he’s threatening.

It was a warning more than a promise, but I took it to heart with a wince. “Yeah, I should have expected that. For the sake of curiosity, what do you consider a threat?”

“Destroying the Night Court beyond what it already has, to the point where the Night Realm has crumbled.”

“Oh.” I paused. “That’s not too bad. I think I’d have to actively try to make things worse. And I’m not going to do that because my beauties already look terrible.” I frowned as I peered across the aisle at Eclipse, who had her head hanging over her stall door. “Speaking of which, they’re on a fat supplement. Why do they still look an inch away from death?”

“Then we have a deal?”

“Yes,” I absently said. “Crap—wait, no! Rules of surviving with fae: never make deals or bargains! This isn’t a deal, it’s a business agreement. No take backs—that doesn’t count!”

Lord Rigel stared at me. “You are a strange creature.”

“Yeah, Indigo and Skye say that a lot, too,” I agreed.

“Very well, it’s an agreement, not a bargain or deal,” Lord Rigel said. He snapped, and the bubble burst. “I’d advise you to take care not to expect anything from me. You’re never going to see my wings.”

“Uhh…yeah?” I said, kind of confused. “Good for me?”

Why would I care about his wings?

Wings were a part of fae culture that I hadn’t looked into because—as far as I could tell—I didn’t have any.

All members of fae nobility had wings—it was another expression of their great power—but they were