A Kiss of Shadow (Court of Starlight and Darkness #2)(21)

“Who is that?” I whispered. “Other side of the room, three tables back. Wait a minute before looking.”

Eve and Meria’s brows rose.

“Describe her,” Eve said. “Looking back is too obvious.”

“Dark hair, violet eyes. Thirtyish. Beautiful, of course, in a stern way.”

“Violet eyes? Like the Truth Teller mentioned?” Meria asked.

“Yep.”

“Not sure who she is,” Eve said, "but I know who you’re talking about. I saw her when we came in.”

“Same,” Meria said. “Clueless about her identity, though.”

“I’m going to go talk to her.”

Meria grabbed my hand before I got up. “Wait until the crowd in the car thins. It’ll be easier to have an honest conversation with less of an audience. We’re stuck on the train, so you’re not going to lose her.”

She had a point. I nodded.

“You’ve eaten enough that you look at least mostly alive,” Eve said. “So spill. It sounds like something happened last night.”

I turned my attention from the violet-eyed woman. I’d seek her out after I updated my friends.

“Something definitely happened.” I relayed the events of the previous evening, making sure to keep my voice low enough that no one could hear.

Their eyes widened, and both grimaced when I got to the part where I nearly died. I left out the bit about Lore sleeping next to me. There was no way I wanted to unpack that with my friends right now. We had more important things to focus on.

“So Dain is trying to find the culprit?” Eve asked.

“He probably already did, since he’s at the other end of this car.”

“Probably going to get you when you’re done eating, so you’d better finish the story,” Meria said. “And slow down on that bacon.”

“That’s like asking me to chop off a limb.”

“It’s for a good cause.” Meria’s tone was deadpan. “Avoiding a heart attack.”

“Fair point.” I finished the story, then leaned forward. “It’s got to be one of the courts that got on the train yesterday, right?”

“Unless they’re in league with one that is getting on today,” Eve said. “I’d say that’s just as likely. Neither of the courts who boarded yesterday would have the guts or resources to lead a charge like this on their own. The only likely candidate is the Queen of the Mountain Fae, and we agreed she wasn’t a threat.”

My gut has always been good, and I trusted it. “I still believe that.”

“The rest of the courts will get on today. We can do some snooping,” Eve said. “Though I doubt we’ll get lucky enough to overhear someone laying out their dastardly plan.”

“You never know,” Meria said. “Bad guys get cocky. Men, especially.”

The woman with the violet eyes was still looking at me, and I found it impossible to look away. When she raised her hand to wave me over, excitement flared.

The gesture had been so subtle that I wouldn’t have clocked it if I hadn’t been so interested in her.

But she’d definitely waved me over.

“The woman wants to talk to me,” I whispered. “I’m not waiting any longer.”

“Fair enough,” Meria said. “But be careful.”

“I will. But don’t forget the Truth Teller said I’d be safe with her.”

“Yeah, but still… Don’t eat or drink anything.”

“Oh, I learned my lesson.” I rose and made my way over to her, skirting around tables and avoiding the stares of the other fae. They weren’t shy about making their interest known, that was for sure.

As I neared her table, I caught sight of Dain’s frown. I ignored him and sat. “Yes?”

She smiled, and it was impossible to read the emotion in her eyes. “I have the answers you seek, but I cannot share them here, where it is so public.”

Excitement thrummed. “Do you mean—”

She raised a hand, cutting me off. But I had to know.

I held up a hand to shield my lips from the view of others and mouthed the words, my parents?

Annoyance flashed in her eyes, but she nodded.

Holy shit.

“I will contact you at a better time. I only called you over to make sure you would look for my signal. When the time comes, be ready.” She rose and swept away from the table.

I watched her go, my heart thundering. A clue. A lead.

Thank God.

Dain rose from his seat nearby and sat across from me. “What was that about?”

“Nothing important. Did you find the person who poisoned me?” I kept my voice low, hoping the question would distract him. I might be able to trust him, but until I was sure, I couldn’t risk it.

It didn’t distract him—the flash in his eyes made that clear—but he answered my question anyway. “We found the bartender, but not the yellow-eyed man.”

“He could have been the one who went over the railing.”

“That’s what I think.”

“He seemed so…mild mannered.”

“He would have been good at hiding who he really was. The best assassins use their personas to deflect interest.”