for you. But this is exactly the sort of thing I would expect from you normally. I’m glad you’re still doing fine.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
“Now smile!” Indigo poked me in the lower back for emphasis. “And enjoy this moment. Because everyone is going to be furious that you’ve outfoxed them again!”
“Are you insane?” The Paragon planted his feet and set down the baby car seat he’d been carrying. It was about six in the morning, and he’d obviously just woken up based on the fuzzy blue slippers he was wearing, as well as his blue bathrobe that was dotted with overweight, gray cats.
Given how late the celebration “festivities” had lasted the previous night, I was still in my fancy dress—although I yanked off my gloves with enthusiasm. “What do you mean?”
“Marrying him!” The Paragon poked a finger in Lord Rigel’s direction. “What else—besides a loss of all intelligence—could inspire you to marry an assassin?”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t be quite so strong in your words, Paragon?” I suggested.
Lord Rigel didn’t look upset. He’d settled against a wall where his dark shirt let him blend in with the early morning shadows.
Still. He was one of the deadliest fae in America.
And I just got myself engaged to him. Shock was settling in, but I didn’t regret my decision.
The anger of the nobles had actually convinced me I’d taken the best route by choosing Lord Rigel.
The Paragon scoffed. “I have no reason to be afraid of your new beau. Even if he is a murder hobo, my power is far superior—he’s just a cub. But a deadly, murderous cub that you’ll be living with!”
“Mmert!” Aphrodite poked her head out of the car seat.
“Oh, Aphrodite.” The Paragon scooped his pet up—she was wearing what looked like pink baby pajamas. “I’m sorry, are you cold?”
“I think this whole thing is the best thing that’s happened to the Court in decades.” Lord Dion laughed as he flopped down on the couch, looking much freer than I’d ever seen. “It’ll be good for Rigel—and it’s hilarious!”
The Paragon gave Lord Dion a withering gaze. “You’re an idiot.”
Lord Dion shrugged. “I was prepared to do my duty and marry her because you asked me, but I think this is a far better outcome. I mean, who is going to mess with her now?”
The Paragon turned back to me. “Is that why you asked him?”
“Yes, tell us, my Sovereign,” Indigo drawled as she eased herself into a chair. “We’re all dying to know your thought process.”
Chase and Skye stood behind her—Chase with his arms folded behind his back and an expectant look in his eyes that said Indigo was right. Skye was still chewing on antacids—I don’t think she’d stopped taking them since the receiving line finished the previous night.
That can’t be healthy. Maybe I should send her to a doctor?
“I asked Lord Rigel to marry me because you, Paragon, told me to marry someone who didn’t have split loyalties.”
“Yes,” the Paragon agreed. “But I was talking about Dion!” He gave the young lord a dirty look when he laughed again.
“Except Dion has political loyalties.”
The Paragon peered at me over the rim of his spectacles. “To whom?”
“You.”
The Paragon made a strangled noise, and Aphrodite patted at his face with a paw.
“Lord Rigel is the only one with virtually no connections—he couldn’t have any or he wouldn’t be trusted as an assassin,” I said. “Which means I can do what I want, and I don’t have to worry about the political baggage he’ll bring with him.”
It was around then that it occurred to me the genius of my idea might backfire if Lord Rigel stopped getting work as an assassin because he married me, and he got angry as a result.
But he’d be untouchable by the Court. From his point of view he’d still be escaping political games…right?
I glanced at my fiancé, who was still brooding in the shadows.
“Perhaps.” The Paragon put his cat back down in her car seat, then adjusted the tie of his bathrobe. “But I still think you’re nuts. And why are you concerned about political ties? I thought your greatest aspiration was to survive?”
“I’m still very much concerned with that,” I assured him. “But my marriage is a long-term thing. And once I can finally convince the Night Court to follow me, I’ll still be living with the consequences of it.”
“Humph!”
The Paragon sat next to his cat, who affectionately purred and rubbed her head against his arm.
His reaction reminded me I had other people to be concerned about. I twisted,