Page 67 of Knowing Trust

I winced. Right. I sighed. “The best-laid plans and all of that.” I sat back in my chair and blew air through my lips. I glanced over towards Geiger and Dalyor specifically. There wasn’t a chance they would let me do what we were planning.

“There’s more to this?” Ara hissed, clearly having overheard us. She swore under her breath when we both nodded. “I should have expected that with you by now, but it still surprises me every time.”

Fair.

“Okay, okay, they need a break soon,” Kerym broke into the argument. “Bathroom breaks and more. The runes can only be used for so long, and now they’re just screaming nonsense.”

“Get it ready. Use that and we go fast,” I told Leigh before looking at Ara. “Take someone to the bathroom so you don’t get a finger pointed at you.”

She glanced between us. “I think I’ll take my chances and make sure someone is watching your back, Your Highness.”

Leigh didn’t even take offense. “You can wipe my mind later if I hear something I shouldn’t, and we all know you guys will now that there are more captains here.”

I frowned at her. “That wasn’t the point of this.”

She studied me a moment. “I believe that. When you say it. I don’t trust any of them.”

I swallowed a sigh. But she used to trust all of the ancients. Fool.

Whatever. There was a reason we weren’t going to be friends. After her trust had been broken, she had no faith in anyone.

Yes, fine, that sounded a bit like me, but my trust had been repeatedly broken, and I’d worked hard to build it back up.

It was another ten minutes before logistics were worked out and two of the cameras were kept in their positions, but one switched to a chair a bit off to the side. Once three of the five were being handled by others, I nodded to Leigh and we made our move.

Which was basically putting me in the same type of hot seat… Minus the restraints.

I put the runes on a circle under the chair and plopped down, instantly feeling the magic. “Whoa, this is trippy.” I giggled when the camera moved closer but made sure to keep Leigh and me in view. “Okay, let’s get started.”

“Have you ever embezzled or misused any of the vast funds you have access to?” she asked, starting with a bang.

I scrunched up my nose. “That’s what you ask first when I’m under runes? Wow, I wondered what it would be, but I didn’t think that. No, not ever.” I snorted. “Nobody better fucking misuse any of it or I’ll seriously fuck them up. Do you have any idea how much work has gone into getting all that fucking money together?”

She just blinked at me.

And I blinked at her. “I feel a bit inebriated. That’s not how this normally goes, right?”

“Oh shit,” one of the captains hissed from my left. “We’re all getting demoted. The commanders are going to demote us.”

“And skin us,” another groaned.

I glanced over to them and winced. “I can’t stop that unless I’m queen, right?” I winced again when they all answered no. “I can repromote you though.” I giggled and focused back on Leigh. “So we might not have hours. This is like taking shots.”

“It’s because you used your magic to do it to yourself,” Dalyor growled as he stormed over. “It rebounds and amplifies. Shut this off. Now!”

I smirked when he bounced off the barrier I put up. “You’re not the boss of me. I’m the boss.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “Oh well, that was mature.” I shrugged when Leigh snorted. I realized the flaw in my plan when he just went for the camera and the guy running it.

That was fixed with a quick barrier, and I put one over Leigh as well.

“I made a deal, Dalyor. I can demote your ass too. Don’t be a dick. Okay, well, we need to put a warning on this that it’s affecting me and it’s not fair to hold it against me.” I sighed. “People will. That’s not fair, Leigh. I wanted to be fair and do it too to be fair, but people will be mean about it if I’m drunk Tamsin. It’s not my fault. No one else can do this to me.”

“I think they’ll forgive you since it was your idea and it’s bold,” she admitted. “Back to the funds. All of it has truly gone to Faerie?”

I nodded. “Of course.” I snorted when she seemed hesitant. “Do you have an idea how much of my personal money has gone to Faerie? Money that was supposed to be mine.” I frowned. “Technically not to Faerie but feeding fairies.” I gestured to the group. “We eat a fuck ton. Like a fuck ton. Faerie wasn’t open.

“Everything was dead. Ya’ll ate a ton. How much do you think it costs to feed thousands of fairies that became tens of thousands? Then hundreds of thousands. Then a million. Then millions and on and on. Gobs of money. All mine.” I snorted again. “You’re worried about me stealing from the government? Are you kidding?

“I’ve spent so much money that I will never see. I spent so much of the light fairy trusts. People bitch that I got all of that money. Oh, okay. Right. I invested it. I spent it to feed everyone. Where do they think those hotels came from? My magic didn’t make those. Those weren’t just pulled out of someone’s ass. Magic can’t make food like that.”

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