Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,87

was around.

A smart wolf—but unnecessary. I canceled the contract. A frown briefly twitched at my lips. My first failed contract—why do I suspect she would be proud to be such a distinction?

“Excellent.” Leila clapped. “I apologize, Lord Dion, Lord Rigel, but it seems my presence is needed elsewhere. Enjoy mini golf—or at the very least, the show.”

She winked with enough charm to match Dion—though she was a bit too mischievous to be seductive—and was hopping down the steps, her director of security following close enough behind her he was nearly stepping on her heels.

The queen glanced back at her employee. “By the way, Chase,” she said. “I meant to compliment you on your hidden talent of mini golf.”

“It’s not that surprising, Queen Leila,” the werewolf said as I began to lose their voices to the swirl of sound surrounding us. “Several humans live in my pack, and one of them in particular would frequently drag us to the mini golf course in town.”

“Ahh, the mystery has been solved,” I heard the queen say before the rest of her words were lost among the noise of the place.

Dion shook his head as he watched her go. “I know we fae are supposedly mercurial. But she takes unpredictability to a new level.”

I shrugged. “Something for you to look forward to.”

My oldest—and only—friend twitched his shoulders back. “She’s nice enough, I’m sure we’ll get along. Come on—let’s go mingle before I come back and try talking to her again.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Leila

I was shocked the mini golf excursion was going over so well. I figured less than half of the fae would play, but—shockingly—the majority of them were having a go at it.

Skye and—as reluctant as I was to say it—Lord Linus were responsible for a lot of the event’s success.

Skye smothered any potential outbreaks of ugly behavior, while Lord Linus’s high spirits and tendency to float around with smiles and winks made his good humor infectious. (That, and he seemed to enjoy shocking his fellow fae with his skills. He wasn’t nearly as good as Chase, but he was decent enough. Apparently he’d played mini golf while traveling.)

But. The natural downsides of having Lord Linus around were still at play.

“An admirable shot, Lord Linus.” A fae lord gave him a nod of respect.

“Thank you, thank you.” Lord Linus winked at a young fae lady—the fae lord’s daughter. “Let’s just say I was inspired by the beauty surrounding me.”

The fae lady laughed and tapped her club on the ground.

I sipped my coffee I’d bought from King’s Court Café on the way to the golf course and tried not to barf.

Sure, Lord Linus looked in his mid-thirties, but he was my biological father, and the fae lady appeared to be just a little bit older than me!

While the fae lady stepped up with her pink golf ball, Lord Linus edged closer to her father.

“This event has been quite amusing,” he said. “And so unpredictable as to who will actually finish with the required low score.”

“Indeed—though I do fear what will happen if the other Courts hear of it. It will sink our reputation even lower than it already is,” the fae lord said.

“Maybe, maybe. But in the meantime, we ought to enjoy ourselves. Shall we make a wager?” He jostled the fae lord with his elbow, but I had heard enough.

And that’s it.

Intent on blocking the irresponsible lord’s mischief, I sidled away from where Chase was giving a fae lady a few pointers on the next-door hole, and stepped up to Lord Linus. “Good evening, Sir, Lady. Lord Linus, I am sure someone needs you.”

“But I—”

I wedged my clutch into my armpit and grasped his elbow and tugged him away. “What was that? You’d love to help? How perfect!”

Lord Linus groaned like an inconvenienced teenager as I dragged him off. We climbed the slight hill to the highest part of the golf course, where the giant statue of a giraffe—three-legged, because I’d rented a classy place—was situated.

I released him and retrieved my clutch from my armpit. “What have I told you, Lord Linus?”

“No gambling.” He’d recovered his spirits and was grinning at me. “But isn’t it the spirit of the event?”

“No,” I firmly said. “No one gambles over mini golf.”

“No one you know,” Lord Linus said. “You don’t know the right sort of people.”

I stared at him. “You’re probably right. And you know, you’d have a lot of time to hang out with them if you suddenly became unemployed!”

Lord Linus laughed. “You did inherit your mother’s