Grave Destiny (Alex Craft, #6) - Kalayna Price Page 0,5

Rianna and I had created. I had no doubt it would need a little tweaking, but it would be a good starting point. “Where is the body currently? If it is in the shadow court, it will have to be transported to the mortal realm. There is no land of the dead in Faerie, so I can’t raise shades there.”

Dugan’s frown etched itself across his face. “We need to question the . . . shade, yes. But we can’t move the body. Not immediately.” Again he hesitated, and this time he twisted in his seat to face Falin. “Winter Knight, must you hover in my blind spot? It is an unbecoming way to treat a fellow warrior. Unless you intend to slide your blade into my back.”

He’s stalling. Though I had no doubt he was unnerved to have a potential enemy at his back. Falin’s lips twitched, and I couldn’t tell if he was biting back a smile or a frown. Then he crossed the room and leaned on the wall behind my desk. The movement put him at my back instead, but that was okay. I trusted him—most of the time.

“If the body can’t be moved, I’m not sure I can help. I can’t raise shades in Faerie.” It wasn’t possible. I couldn’t make it any clearer than that.

Dugan glared over my shoulder, at Falin. The Winter Knight was making him extremely uncomfortable, but even though he’d complained about the other fae’s presence at his back, I didn’t think fear of a sneak attack was what had him on edge.

He leaned forward. “Would it not be possible to have some privacy?”

“No.” Falin’s word was hard, clipped.

Dugan glowered at him. “I can offer you whatever assurances you require that I mean no harm to my betrothed.”

I cringed at Dugan’s final word. Behind me, I could feel the weight of Falin’s shocked gaze slam into the back of my head. I considered crawling under my desk, but that wouldn’t have helped me escape his scrutiny.

I waved a hand through the air, as if dismissing the sudden tension in the room, but I was still cringing. “It’s a long story and not something I have agreed to.”

And now both men were staring at me. Great. Falin stepped to the side of the desk so that he could see my face.

“Moving on . . .” I said.

“No. Not moving on. When exactly did you get betrothed to the Shadow Prince?” There was a chilly calmness to Falin’s voice that spoke of intense emotion just below the icy surface.

“When I was a baby, I guess?” I said, and glanced at Dugan. He nodded. “So maybe not such a long story. Moving on . . .”

There were so many questions obvious in the turbulence in Falin’s eyes, and I thought I caught a small thread of jealousy—his outrage more personal than just protecting an asset of the winter court. Which wasn’t fair to either of us, as we weren’t together, and had never truly been together. We’d briefly been lovers—and he got no complaints in that department—but he’d been the one to decide we shouldn’t be together as long as the Winter Queen kept him bound as her knight. So we were just friends, with the occasional lustful glance here or there. That was pretty much the state of my love life all around.

Falin shot a disgruntled glance at Dugan but remained silent about the betrothal. I would hear about this later, and I had no idea how I would explain it. There were lots of things I hadn’t told Falin, and probably shouldn’t because while I trusted his intentions, he was bound to his queen’s will, and she was not my ally.

“About that privacy?” Dugan asked, and I shot a glare at him. “The case is of a sensitive matter. I do not wish to share it with the winter court.”

“You do know I am currently aligned with winter, right?” Not that I had any kind feelings toward the queen, but I was technically an independent in her territory.

Dugan made a dismissive gesture. “A year and a day as an independent is barely an allegiance. That time will pass in the sigh of a dreamer, or the door might move before the agreed time is over and this territory’s court will change.”

“You are not speaking to Alex alone,” Falin said, turning his attention back to Dugan. “If you would like to run out the time you have open roads through this court that is