Becka sighed. Perhaps it would. “I have to assume Maura has heard all of this. Why hasn’t she brought it up?”
“If she had, would it have changed your behavior?” he asked.
Becka frowned. “Yes, but likely not for the better. She knows I’m stubborn to a fault.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
“Right, and now my brother Calder is next in line, instead of heir himself. Plus, he despises me. I swear I can hear his teeth cracking from that forced smile he plasters on his face around me.”
Quinn chuckled. “There’s your humor. But that makes Calder a prime candidate, from my perspective.”
“Which would be idiotic of him, as he’s also an obvious suspect.”
Quinn shrugged. “Idiocy is not a typical restraining factor to murder.”
Becka rolled her eyes at him. Twice. “Who else is on your list?”
“The shifters.”
Becka screwed up her face. “What? Why would they have anything against me?”
“You have a new power. Do you know whether it impacts their innate abilities?”
“I’ve come into contact with them occasionally, on accident, and my Null hasn’t appeared to affect them, but I would never test it out on them just to find out if their innate abilities are safe from my Null powers. I wouldn’t want to hurt them while experimenting with my own limits.”
“And yet, perhaps the shifters fear that your Null power can harm them? Do any of them appear standoffish or overly cautious of you?”
“No, not at all. They’re loyal to Vott to a fault and have never given me cause to worry about their intentions. If they’d meant me harm, they’ve had ample opportunity before now.”
“Someone fears your Null power enough to have you eliminated before you become more of a threat,” he said.
“That could be true of any of the fae houses!” Becka threw her hands up in the air.
“Yes, I have also included the other fae houses in my list. Your new ability has the potential to shift power between the houses. Some would read that as a threat to their standing.”
Becka nodded. “The infighting and sparring for power amongst fae is legendary. And here I show up with a new ability no one understands. I’ve noticed that some non-Rowan fae who live here look at me as if weighing me on a scale. They see me as dangerous or valuable, or perhaps both. Plus, we just hosted that trade delegation.”
Quinn scribbled down a few more notes. “I’ll prioritize those who aren’t born Rowans but who live here, as well as get a list of all recent visitors to the house.”
She sighed. “Is that the entirety of your list of potential poisoners?”
“No. We can’t eliminate humans either. For similar reasons.”
She rolled her eyes. “Humans don’t magic. How could they see me as a threat?”
“For the same reasons the fae or shifters might. They might fear your gift could upset the power balance between the races.”
“So basically, you’re implying everyone might want me dead?”
“Potentially.”
“Well, then, I’m lucky to have the best of the enforcers here to solve the mystery.”
“Best might overstate my status a tad, but we will solve this.”
“Then you accept my demand to work together?”
“We have met.” He shook his head, apparently resigned to her request. “I know better than to try to change your disposition. I agree to your terms.”
“Good. I didn’t want to have to call your chief to force your hand.”
He barked out a laugh. “She’s too fond of you to refuse. One day you must tell me how you managed to cozy up to her.”
She could have explained how she’d talked her mother, Duchess Maura, into sending Chief Elowen a shipment of enchanted silken cloaks as a thank you. The cloaks blended into the background, hiding whomever was wearing them as long as they held still. A perfect gift for enforcers.
Becka calculated that with their donation Elowen would put House Rowan’s requests for aid at the top of her list. When the chief had replied with a thank you note including her direct line, Becka knew they had an understanding.
Quinn’s timely return confirmed her instincts had been right, but she didn’t want to delve into that now.
“One day I will.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. I brought you some not-so-light reading material.” He reached into an interior pocket in his jacket and presented an antique leather-bound book to her. “We discovered this in the case archives. I wanted to get your opinion on it.”
Becka reached out for the book, a wave of pressure hitting her skull like a mini-shockwave, and she swooned but retained her grip on the book.
“Sorry, I should have warned you.”
She shook her head. “It’s not a surprise.” Cracking open the tome, Becka let out a long, slow whistle. “You said you found this in old case archives? Those would be for Shadow-Dweller cases?”
“What tipped you off?”
“It’s page after page of the same symbols I found on Tesse’s neck. Has anyone developed a translation?”
He shook his head. “It’s something the enforcers have worked on for decades. We’ve had linguistics specialists look at them. We’ve run the different documents through code-breaking algos. We’ve tried everything we can think of, and so far, nothing has worked. It’s almost as if they’re art and not words at all. Which is why I brought it to you. I hoped you might have some unique insight.”
“I’ll see if I can figure anything out. Aren’t you worried I might break it with my ability?”
“At this point we’ve exhausted our options. We have copies of what’s on the pages, just in case something happens to the original. We’d prefer you not break it, but even if you do that will tell us something.”
“Well, then, let’s hope I find something.”
Becka paged through the tome, thinking about their conversation. She almost couldn’t believe Quinn had returned, but here he was right in front of her. She wanted to talk about her feelings with Quinn, especially since they would now be working together to solve the poisoning. Based on their earlier conversation about her continuing engagement to Alain, Becka shouldn’t even be thinking about wanting to kiss Quinn or how good he smelled. Much less about how his muscles rippled underneath the fabric of his linen shirt and jacket.
Oh boy.
She took a deep breath and crossed her arms, rubbing the flesh of her biceps. The shifters and their talk of being comfortable in one’s own skin was getting to her. If she could be honest with Maura about not wanting to stay at House Rowan and not feeling accepted, then why couldn’t she be direct with Quinn?
Becka knew the reason. She’d experienced rejection all of her life. She’d learned to parry the blows and rebound gracefully. But she’d never explored an intimate relationship with someone else before. Nothing beyond having fun in the moment.
Besides, Quinn had already shut her down.
Quinn chuckled. “Hmm. I’m curious what you’re chewing on over there.”
Damn detective.
She gave him the side-eye. “What do you mean?” She bit her lip, and then stopped, flustered. Why was it so difficult to say out loud?