Page 72 of Blood on the Ice

Of course, most supes aren’t quite as… cerebral as the Fae, so my impression may be skewed. Living at Court for as long as I have makes you expect a very shrewd populace. No one in that realm may progress through their education without passing extremely rigorous examinations. Even the teens in the court families act as if they’re much older than their age. It’s a constant game of multi-dimensional chess in Faerie, even in the more pastoral areas outside of the major cities.

I have noticed that the more expensively outfitted the students are, the more helpful their misguided rumors are. These kids are tapped into whisper networks because of their wealth, and despite not knowing their ass from their elbow, they have tidbits I file away for later. One group of girls seemed to believe MorganaateMagnus, which… is fairly impossible based on anatomy, but they murmured a lot of details they’d gleaned from their parents about the woman.

Who knows if any of it is true, but I’ll vet the info later.

I’m glad Liam sent me on recon; my talents lie in feats other than diplomacy and I’m more useful to him doing this. There are plenty of muscled supes in the lawyer’s group, and I doubt anyone will have to flex for the golden hockey god in the middle of the police station. Hopefully, they’re more competent than the version of law enforcement at the school. Between the students and staff I’ve chatted up, I’ve uncovered a great deal oftroubling news about that group of morons. They are ill-trained and equipped, many are fiercely loyal to the dragon, and they lord authority over the less fortunate students in ways that need severe punishment.

“I wouldn’t trust these clowns to patrol a dog park, much less keep high profile students and staff safe. No wonder the royals sent me along with Li,” I mutter to myself as I head for the coffeeshop where the siren works. “I’d feel safer in the middle of a fucking riot than I do here.”

As I approach, I chide myself for staying at the house when everything went down. After Lucas healed, I should have left to vet the men’s living and working spaces. Any of those places could be infiltrated by the poisoner, the murderer, or an infinite amount of dangerous folks. My desire to see how the events unfolded is baffling, and it may have put everyone in jeopardy.

I won’t make that mistake twice.

Stepping into the small cafe, I look around suspiciously. This place is packed with potential food and drink to slip something in, not to mention all the accoutrements like sweeteners and syrups. I’ll never be able to inventory it all without help from Liam. He’ll have to visit to do a reveal and we might even need the mage to help parse all the data. It’s a security nightmare.

“Welcome! What can I get you?”

My gaze whips to the earnest looking twenty-something behind the counter. She looks perfectly respectable, but so do most assassins at court. Appearances are far too easy to mask when someone is determined. “I haven’t been here before. What’s the most popular?”

Whatever it is, that’s the first fucking thing I’ll have tested.

“We have a fabulous oatmeal cookie frappe that students love. Or maybe a fruity tea? We can do bubble tea and boba now.”

I blink, looking at her in confusion.What the fuck? Is that coffee?Waving my hand, I shake my head. “I fear that’s too adventurous for me. How about a double espresso black?”

The face the worker makes is comical, and I huff in amusement. Liam probably would have let her build some monstrosity, and had a fun chat about what he liked or didn’t like with the girl. Out of necessity and training, he’s much more sociable than I. But I refuse to pretend some mountain of sugar and whipped cream is coffee. Despite her disappointment, the girl gets to work on the drink, tilting her head at the display case.

“We have fresh pastries and breads. Are you in the mood for a nibble?”

Fuck no. I have no idea what the hell is in this shit.

“Perhaps I’ll take a few things home for my… roommate. I don’t think he’s been here, either, and he has a bit of a sweet tooth. Give me one of everything.” I give her what I believe to be a charming grin, but it doesn’t seem to help her disquiet.

“Um, okay. I’ll put that together once I’m done with the coffee.”

Nodding, I wander through the small shop, noting the magical signature on a shelf by the wall. Something here was placed to spy on people and I’ll eat my hat if it doesn’t belong to the professor. I’ve watched him looking at his ‘old friend’ and their scents tell a vastly different story than their mouths. He’s a controlling little shit; the problem with the plant teacher was due to his indiscretion. However, I didn’t hear a word about the siren’s activities.

Non-mythical shifters are fucking weird about sex and I have zero problem saying it.

“I’m sorry,” I say as I turn back to the girl. “I didn’t get your name. I’m Kaspar and I am the guard for Prince Liam.”

Her jaw drops hard enough to be funny, but I don’t laugh. When she recovers, the petite blond clears her throat. “Oh, my. I… My name is Lyndsay Krysten Harold. Pardon me for not being able to properly address you.”

I frown. There is no ‘proper way’ to address the Prince’s second—at least, not on this side of the Veil.Does she think she should curtsey? How odd.Instead of laughing, I give her another smile. “Don’t worry, Miss Harold. I’m a worker bee like you. In fact, I’m here scouting about so I can report back to His Highness about various rumors on campus he’s worried about. Might you have information I can relay? I hate to impose, but…”

The sentence hangs and I can see her practically salivate at the chance to gossip. Swallowing my distaste at the sycophantic need to suck up to someone who seems important, I sit down at the table closest to her counter and wait. I feel that this girl gathers nuggets of spurious accusations via eavesdropping and snuggling up to anyone who seems to have a smidgen of power while she works. I’d bet I’m not the first person to pump this well, nor will I be the last. She’s looking at me with such sparkling enthusiasm that I’d peg her as a major source of the rumor mill on this damn campus.

Slade needs to know that, so I’ll mark that discovery down as well.

“Sit with me and let’s chat. The Prince will be very grateful.”

“Bye, Kaspar!”

The bookish looking girl waves happily as I exit the shop with my bags of food. Prior to participation, a thorough examination is required, but the samples aren’t my greatest acquisition from this journey.

Lyndsay not only gave up unsubstantiated gossip she’d heard at this job, but she also spilled information from her other job in the admissions office, despite an NDA.

“The complete lack of morals some of these supes have,” I mutter as I stride across campus. “Legally speaking, she’s toast if we report her, but she’s also given me a great deal of slander to go along with the private information from the office. She’ll be lucky if she’s able to find a position anywhere after graduation. I can’t imagine the wealthy families around here not abandoning her to her own devices when they find out what she’s shared.”

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