“As annoying as he is, King Laurelis does have excellent taste,” Tabitha said in her monotone way. She walked briskly over to the dress and pulled down the zipper. Her white-tipped nails gleamed as she pulled the flaps apart, revealing the gown tucked inside to give me a good look.
“Fuck,” I said on an exhale, staring. “He really does have good taste. If I told him that, though, I’d never win another argument.”
“To be fair, have you really won any so far?” Tabitha asked, cocking her head.
I laughed, and a shock went through me at the sound. I was still smiling as I stood. “You have a point there. You’ll have to let me in on your secret; you took him down without even trying.”
Releasing the dress, the dark-haired female took several steps closer. Her expression had hardened. “Ah, but secrets are never free, Lady Sworn. Fortunately, the cost for mine is simple. A secret for a secret.”
I wasn’t smiling anymore. I reached for her mind with my own, readying to defend myself. Laurie was across the suite, and I didn’t know how fast Tabitha could move—she might be capable of killing me before I could gather enough breath to scream.
“Ask me whatever you want to know. No need to play their games,” I said, hoping to distract her. Sometimes, if my victims focused on something else, they weren’t aware of my presence inside their head.
“What do you want from him?” Tabitha asked bluntly, her mental walls slamming down. I went tumbling backward, the connection completely severed. Tabitha quirked a brow and added, “No need to play their games.”
My temples pulsed. I ignored it and considered the question she’d asked. For once, I didn’t say the first words that came to mind, which would be nothing more than a naive denial. Everyone gained from a relationship, no matter what kind it was. True to her word, Tabitha had already told me her driving force, the purpose to her bond with Laurie—that was why she hadn’t hesitated sharing something so personal.
Whatever she was, Tabitha was trying to protect Laurie. Because she cared about him.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected of the people in the Seelie King’s life, but I definitely hadn’t imagined these genuine connections I was encountering. There had even been something human and surprising in the moments I’d witnessed between Laurie and his mother.
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully, hoping Tabitha would hear it in my voice. “I don’t know what I want from Laurie. He… confuses me. More than anyone I’ve ever known. But I do know I care about him, and I consider the Seelie Prince a friend. I’d fight anyone who tried to hurt him.”
This seemed to be good enough for Laurie’s assistant; she took the dress off the hook and closed the wardrobe door. I finally thought to ask about Gil just as she said, “You should put this on. The fundraiser has already begun, and it’s not fashionable for the royal family to be late.”
The royal family. Her words struck a chord inside me as I realized there was a possibility I’d be seeing Belanor in a few hours. If he was still alive when we left that blood-sprayed cell, it had been a night and a day since then—more than enough time to heal from the damage of that last encounter. I refocused on Tabitha, struggling to conceal the strangled feeling gripping my throat.
“Remember,” she said, still devoid of all feeling. “Remember what he did to you. Feed your rage like a flame.”
Though I got the feeling Tabitha was trying to encourage me, I couldn’t help but feel a chill at the sight of her. She’d paused in the doorway, tall and silent, making me think of an assassin or an animal hidden in the shadows. Her beauty was the kind that felt dangerous, like thorns on a rose. She could have you bleeding in seconds.
Slowly I said, “I would never want you for an enemy.”
Tabitha’s eyes flickered, and I couldn’t tell if that faint, fleeting light was agreement or amusement. “Good luck tonight, Lady Sworn,” she replied.
Her heels clipped against the floor as Tabitha fetched the makeup bag. I stayed where I was, watching her with equal parts wariness and admiration. She left the room without a backward glance, and almost immediately, a tension I hadn’t known I was holding in my shoulders melted away. I was glad I hadn’t given in to the urge to ask Tabitha what she was.
Some mysteries, I’d learned, really were best left alone.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The gown Laurie had chosen for tonight was… striking.
It was a combination of black lace and, beneath that, silk the color of bare skin. The skirt was long and flared behind me like a black river. I wouldn’t be able to fight in it, but I was glad not to be wearing the nightgown anymore. I stood in front of the mirror, the chair returned to its place against the wall. Searching my body for any place that might conceal a weapon, I tilted my head and tugged at the ends of my tight sleeves. Too tight for a knife. “Damn it,” I muttered.
A pale face appeared over my shoulder. Then, before I could release a startled breath, Laurie’s silken voice said in my ear, “Tabby liked you.”
I turned to face him, adjusting the heavy skirt. As I straightened, I scanned Laurie, starting at his feet and ending at his throat. The faerie prince was in a suit of blue satin, and over this he wore a frock coat with silver embroidery. The pattern was distinctly floral. There was a wide jewelry box in one of his hands, and when I saw what he held in the other, I pursed my lips to suppress a smile.
“Are you seriously holding a top hat?” was all I said.
Laurie’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse you. You’re just lashing out because you can’t bring your knives or guns along. The Guardians would’ve taken them at the door, anyway. This tailcoat is from the Baroque Collection by Mario Moreno Moyano. How am I not going to wear a top hat with it?”
I wasn’t sure how to argue with that. I eyed the silver embroidery and rhinestones on his suit. There was also a crystal brooch at the center of his chest. “I’m scared to see what you brought for me.”
“Turn back around,” Laurie ordered. I gave him a look of warning—don’t get used to this, it said—and obeyed.
He tossed his hat onto the bed, needing both of his hands free to open the jewelry box. I heard the hinges give a faint creak. Laurie reached over my head a moment later, and something heavy settled on my chest an instant before there came the sound of a clasp clicking shut.
I lifted my head, looking into the mirror again. The necklace was made of golden, shining chains, so delicate and numerous that the dress beneath it was all but hidden. It wasn’t the first time Laurie had given me something like this, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell him I didn’t wear jewelry, as a general rule.
While I was still staring at it, Laurie placed a black rose behind my ear. He handled the delicate stem as though it were made of glass. I didn’t look at him, but I was sure he could hear my traitorous heart reacting to his closeness. Before I could make up a lie, Laurie stepped back and snapped his fingers. “Oh, I almost forgot.”
He fetched something from the bed. Two somethings, I saw as he returned to me. Laurie was holding masks, both of them mounted at the ends of satin-covered sticks. Until that moment, I had forgotten, as well.