A Kiss of Shadow (Court of Starlight and Darkness #2)(11)

I sipped my coffee and mulled over what was coming next. “Do you guys have any idea which courts might be a threat?”

“The Irish,” Eve said. “Maybe the Mountain Fae, too.”

“How do you know that?” Meria asked.

“Gossip.” She grinned. “I told you earlier that I loved it.”

“Thank God for that,” I said. “When will they get on?”

“At least one of them should get on the train today,” Eve said. “Along with two other courts, which we shouldn’t rule out either. Just because I’ve got my ear pressed to the ground doesn’t mean I’m getting good stuff. It could all be crap.”

“Gotcha.” I nodded. “Suspect everybody.”

“Pretty much.” Eve grinned, then shoved half a pastry into her mouth and chewed.

“You really aren’t what I thought you were,” I said, remembering the staid woman that I’d met at the competitions.

“That was my game face,” she said. “Now that I’m no longer trying to be queen, I don’t have to act like one.”

“Lucky bitch.”

She grinned like the cat who’d stolen the salmon off the counter.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Meria said to me. “I’ve seen how you look at the king. You don’t hate him.”

“I don’t hate how he looks. But the rest of him…” Actually, I didn’t think I hated that either. But it was easier to pretend I did.

The door at the end of the car opened, and the king stepped inside. He’s taken off his cloak, and the dark clothing that he wore underneath made him look like an assassin.

Dain entered behind him.

Both men scanned the room, their gazes stopping as soon as they landed on me. I drew in a low breath. It felt like sitting beneath the heat of the sun.

They took the table closest to the door, both looking away from me.

Somehow, I still felt the force of their attention. Awareness sizzled through me, impossible to ignore.

“Now that’s interesting,” Eve whispered, her voice so low I could barely hear her.

“What?”

She scoffed but lowered her voice so they couldn’t hear. “Don’t play dumb. They’re both into you.”

“No, I mean—no, of course not.”

Meria and Eve exchanged looks.

“Fine.” I raised my hands in front of my chest in defeat. “Maybe you’re right. A little bit. But Dain is just a friend, and you know how the king is. Won’t touch anybody.”

“Can’t touch anybody. There’s a difference,” Meria said. “But he can touch you. And that’s a pretty big deal.”

“I refuse to let it be.”

“Good luck with that,” Eve said.

I glanced back at the two men. They were deep in conversation, but there was still an intense awareness sparking on the air. I was aware of Dain in the same way I’d been aware of a cute guy at the mall when I was a teenager.

Lore, though…

That was something else entirely. As if we were two planets, pulled together by gravity so strong we couldn’t fight it.

The train rumbled to a stop, and I looked out the window to see a beautiful station covered in pristine white snow. The platform was protected by an open-air structure with a sharply peaked roof made of ornately carved dark wood. Beneath it, a contingent of six fae waited.

The queen was immediately obvious, and somehow familiar. She was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her, and her ice white gown sparkled so brightly that I wondered how she managed to stand beneath the weight of that many gemstones. But when she moved toward the train, it flowed effortlessly around her. Her pale blond hair was swept up in a graceful bun, and her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence.

“Whew,” Eve whistled. “Has she got her shit together or what?”

“No kidding.” I watched, awed, as she climbed onto the train. She’d be entering the car we were sitting in.

When she appeared, a wave of magic rolled over me like a cold snap of air that smelled of fresh snow.

As she glided through the train car, she moved with such grace that she appeared to be floating. She passed right by me and my friends but stopped at the king’s table.

As she inclined her head toward him, I realized why she’d looked so oddly familiar.

She was a female version of Lore. Cold, beautiful, precise.

I couldn’t hear their murmured conversation no matter how hard I tried.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“Queen of the Mountain Fae,” Eve said. “Notoriously ruthless, and possibly interested in your crown.”

“Wait, what?” I felt my jaw slacken. “She wants Lore?”

“We tell you she wants to be queen of another kingdom, and you assume she’s got the hots for your man?” Eve asked.

Ah…shit. That had been exactly what it sounded like. “He’s not my man.”

“Sure, he’s not,” Meria said.

Unable to help myself, I glanced at him.

He’d looked away from the queen and was staring right at me, the faintest frown on his face. He’d heard.

I turned back to my friends and hissed, “Be quieter! He heard that.”

“Good,” Eve whispered. “It would do him some good to shake up his life. Everything has been the same for too long, with him always in control. He needs a challenge.”