Page 38 of The Lord of Whispers

And I did soften in my adoration at her loyalty and her willingness to stand up to me; something many fae, many times her age, had failed to do over the years. I pulled up a chair in front of Alarie. I pulled her chair out from under the table and toward me so that they faced each other. I leaned over to her, my hands firmly resting on the tops of her thighs above her knees.

“But I can and will make any number of other promises to you, my dear,” I began, hardly recognizing the tenderness in my own voice.

“I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to hear your friend out and to come to a peaceful and mutually agreeable resolution. I will further promise that, although I may not agree with the methods of your friend”—I allowed some of my disagreement to show—“you know very well that I empathize with the plight of the lesser fae, so I will—as I believe I have done my entire life—work toward a better life for them.” My gray eyes penetrated hers.

I brought her small hand to my mouth, brushing my lips against it with a kiss, and looked up at her through my raised eyebrows with an expectant gaze, waiting for her to continue her story.

A smile of relief slid across her face.

Knowing I’d won her over, I said, “Start at the beginning.”

“Well, you know I never had many friends, just a couple of guy friends back home. But he and I were close. He was my best friend,” Alarie explained.

I quelled the uncontrollable spike of jealousy that began to rise in me at the tender way Alarie said his name. “Cass.”Close? How close?I wondered before reprimanding myself for just how crazy I let myself get over her.Now’s not the time for that, I admonished myself internally.

“Cass got a bad rap as being some kind of dumb brute just because he was freakishly strong and not a big talker, but, really, he isn’t. Dumb or a brute, that is,” she clarified. “He was just selective about who he would share his thoughts with.”

“Well, at least that was the Cass I knew,” she said. “Honestly, I was a little taken aback when he started talking about going to the border to ‘earn a name for himself.’ In school, he had never been particularly motivated—another reason I guess people mistakenly thought he wasn’t that smart,” Alarie reflected.

The insight Alarie had on Don Davante was invaluable. And needed to be relayed to the King.

“I need to go catch up with Grey since I’ve been out of town for a couple of days, anyway. It’s never good to let High Lady Tragon whisper in his ear too long unchecked,” I said. “You can come with me and see what kind of trouble you can kick up in House Heroux.” I rose from my chair, then grabbed her chin between my thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up to me. “But it will just be us, my dear. You’ll have to do without yourLord of Lightfor an afternoon,” I japed.

“Yes, Jay,” she said, showing me the submissiveness she normally reserved for our private moments.

A growl rose in my chest, and I had to move my hand from her before we found ourselves lost in a distraction.

19

Alarie

Luke, Lord Grant Preston, his husband, Jamie, and I stood in a thoroughfare between large marble pillars outside of where we had just finished lunch. Jamie’s stream of dialogue faltered. And that’s when I noticed Jay’s appearance at the other end of the hallway.

I gulped down air as I felt Jay’s eyes lock onto me, standing a little too near Lord Preston. I managed to give Grant a small, reassuring smile, and his demeanor held up better than his husband’s, given the high lord’s approach. People always clammed up around Jay, like their fear of him held their tongues in some kind of vice grip.

Luke stood a few feet away from where I stood with Grant. Luke managed to prod Grant’s husband, Jamie, back into conversation by the time Jay reached my side, interrupting briefly to shake Grant’s hand.

He was just passing through on his way to House Heroux, Jay explained.

“Stop by my study when you get back to the manor,” Jay directed to me.

My pulse quickened as I thought of the lesson Jay, no doubt, had in store for me. Jay didn’t interrupt Luke and Jamie, the latter of whom appeared to be enraptured by Luke’s very presence. Jamie was very taken by Luke, and I’d directed my attention toward Grant most of the afternoon. After Jay’s departure, Grant started back up our conversation.

“I don’t know how you do it, Alarie,” Grant said.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Just stand there all calm and smiling next to Lord Vitruvian. He scares the shit out of me,” he joked.

I’d already secured a helpful piece of information earlier in the conversation from Lord Preston—a ship carrying bourbon barrels made for the High Court had hit some bad weather in the south and would be delayed several weeks. With all the parties and soirees coming up at the High Court, lords and ladies would pay a premium to save themselves the embarrassment of a sparsely stocked bar. Once I relayed this information to Jay, I knew he would be able to purchase all the bourbon he could get his hands on and make a significant profit on reselling it.

So, I turned my attention to some tactical teasing with the young lord.

“No, he doesn’t, Grant,” I said, smacking him lightly on the arm. “You lookedjust fineto me,” I continued playfully.

“You, on the other hand, Alarie. Well, I’d stay here and let you smack me around as much as you like,” he teased with a smile on his face.

“I may just take you up on that offer, Grant. Drinks next week?” I asked, giving him my best fake smile. “You and Jamie, of course,” I said, setting myself, as well as Luke, up for the next meeting.

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