Chapter Two
The Case of the Murdered Teacup
Hungry men swarmed the kitchen, circling like vultures waiting for their meal. Vultures I loved though. Their rambunctious voices and laughter reminded me of our cottage in Bremloc. Of home.
My face muscles ached from smiling so much.
“Less smiling, more whisking,” Fane told me. With his light-purple hair, dark skin, and grass-green eyes, he reminded me of a rich field of lavender. “Since a certain someone took his sweet time gracing us with his presence this morning, there’s much to be done before breakfast can be served.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” I saluted him like I was in muffin bootcamp before springing into action.
The coffee running through my veins gave me a much-needed boost, propelling me through the kitchen like I’d had a full eight hours of sleep—instead of waking early and being banged to within an inch of my life.
Muffins were whipped up and thrown in the oven, followed by buttermilk biscuits. Sausage gravy cooked on the stovetop, along with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon. Enough to feed my army of vultures.
“Eh, thorn prince?” Duke sidled up next to me at the stove, his lips slanting into a smile. His red hair was pulled back with a leather strap, though a few strands of his bangs fell forward. “Question.”
“I might have an answer,” I said as I stirred the gravy. Alarm bells went off in my head. He was up to something. I was sure of it.
“What do you make of that creature?” he asked and pointed toward the window.
Curious, I looked that way… only to have the air stir on the other side of me. With ninja-like reflexes, Duke snatched the plate of cooked bacon and took off with it.
“Hey!” I called after him. “Bring that back!”
But it was too late.
Duke carried the plate to the knights waiting near the kitchen island, and it was attacked with such enthusiasm that I wondered if they really were vultures. In less than ten seconds, all that remained of the bacon were a few crumbles left on the plate.
Good thing more food was on the way. These men could pack it away like nothing else.
“Animals are better behaved.” Fane sneered at them before removing the platter of muffins from the oven. His long, black tail slowly moved behind him as he spoke; a sign he wasn’t actually as perturbed as he let on.
“My apologies for their wretched manners,” Briar told him. He sat with Lake at the table near the window, the two of them enjoying cups of black tea and toast with raspberry jam. “It’s my hope that one day they’ll become civilized when around food, instead of behaving like gluttons.”
Fane’s cheek twitched with a smile.
“Who are you calling a glutton?” Maddox asked, arms crossing over his broad chest.
“You,” Briar answered, then sipped his tea. “As such, do behave yourself, Captain. You haven’t taken your eyes off those muffins since Fane pulled them from the oven.”
I snorted.
The air in the room shifted as three men joined us in the kitchen, each dressed in black from head to toe. Two wore hoods and masks that covered half their faces, while the other, a sexy-as-sin redhead, flashed me a snaggle toothed grin.
“Mornin’, little treasure.”
“Right back at ya, hot stuff,” I shot back at Rowan, then did a little pew-pew action with my fingers. I blamed the coffee. Three mugs on an empty stomach made me hyper. “About time y’all got here.”
“It’s V’s fault,” Reign responded, nodding to the brooding wall of muscle beside him. “He’s cranky in these early hours.”
Draven, Sir Cranky himself, scowled so deeply it was visible through his mask.
“Sounds like someone needs coffee,” I said in a playful tone and stepped over to the cabinet to grab more mugs. “But he’ll have to take his mask off first.”
“Negative,” Draven responded in a thick, Russian-like accent. The black fabric covered everything from the nose down, showing only his baby blue eyes. Pale blond hair poked out from beneath his raised hood. “Mask stays on.”
“How will you eat then?” I asked, hands going to my hips in my signature brat pose.
“We eat when alone,” he answered.
“So, you plan on standing here and watching everyone else eat all of this delicious food without you?” I motioned to the skillets on the stove. “I know you smell that. Mmm. Bacon. Eggs. Golden, flaky biscuits.”
Draven gave me a blank stare. Clearly not swayed by my attempt to entice him with something yummy to fill his belly.
Sigh.
“You’re making biscuits?” Rowan asked, interest piqued. Carbs were his weakness. Biscuits, croissants, or simple bread loaves; he loved it all. But only as long as it was savory. He didn’t have much of a sweet tooth.
“Yep. And if you’re good, you can even have one.”
“Just one?” He scoffed. “I’d like to see these fools try to eat more than me.”
Briar looked at Fane. “Another glutton.”
Fane, however, hadn’t taken his eyes off the two new additions to the group. “So, the rumors I heard this morning are true. Spies from Bremloc have come to our realm.”
“Aye, you heard correct,” Reign said, reclining against the wall and kicking a foot up to rest behind him. “Word spreads fast. We only arrived last night.”
“Humans in our realm is always cause for concern.” Fane’s gaze narrowed. “Our safety depends on it.”
“You can trust them,” I said, hoping to put him at ease. “They’re good guys.”
“Then why do they cover their faces?” Fane asked, his gaze boring into them.
“It’s a spy thing.” I shrugged. “A brotherhood of shadows and secrecy. They only show their faces when at home. Never when on the job.”
“I see.” Fane continued to scrutinize them before eventually turning back to the stove.
“I can be persuaded to remove my mask,” Reign told me with a smile crinkling the edges of his mismatched eyes: one brown and the other blue. “Under one condition.”
“Which is… what?” I asked.
“A kiss from the chef.” He gave a slight tilt of his head, that smile still in his eyes. “Since the moment we met, I’ve wondered what you taste like.”
The smooth-talking spy was a total flirt and often amped it up around me.
In no way did he mean it though. He probably found it amusing when I blushed.
Which happened a lot, unfortunately. I couldn’t hide my emotions or reactions if my life depended on it.
Laughs, blushes, squeals of terror, swoony sighs when my men did something romantic—I was an open book.
“Remind me.” Maddox glared at Reign. “When are you leaving again? For your sake, I pray it’s soon.”
“What’s wrong, Captain?” Reign’s teasing tone did little to smooth over the sudden tension around us. “Worried I’ll steal your darling away from you?”
“You can always try.” Maddox’s hard expression didn’t waiver.
“We will leave before week’s end,” Draven said, answering Maddox’s question.
“Oh.” I turned to him. “You could always just stay here. No reason to rush off so soon.”
“Our mission has been completed,” he said. “We have no further reason to stay.”
“Uh oh. There he goes again.” Rowan hopped up on the counter. One leg dangled down while he leaned against the raised knee of the other. “Making that sad toad face.”
“I’m not a sad toad.” I stuck up my nose. “Nope. Not at all. If they want to leave so bad, then whatever. It’s not my business.”
“It’s not that we don’t wish to stay here with you, darlin’,” Reign said, though his normally flirty tone seemed a touch heavier. “Things are just… complicated in the kingdom.”
“Complicated how?” I asked.
“War is on the horizon.” Draven’s thick accent was raspy. “Prince Cedric has ruled in his father’s stead only briefly, yet he’s already begun preparations to march against Haran.”
My gut coiled. “War? Really?”
“Aye.” Reign nodded. “And he’s using the king’s death as a catalyst for it, claiming that Haran sent you to infiltrate as part of the assassination ploy.
He’s been clever in his strategy, carefully placing the pieces on the board and moving them at just the right time.
Many believe his lies and are supporting his cause. ”
“What about Prince Sawyer?” I asked, sick to my stomach. “Where is he in all of this?”
“He has little say in regard to Cedric’s actions,” Reign answered. “Though it’s clear he doesn’t agree with them. He risked punishment by speaking in your defense, insisting you were innocent. Many others spoke of your innocence as well. Sir Noah and several of the castle guards amongst them.”
“Ban?” My heart squeezed at the thought of him. Eyes the color of rain and an endearing blush in his cheeks whenever I gave him his favorite cookie: snickerdoodle.
Reign nodded. “He didn’t speak, but he stepped forward when Finnian and August did, each of them defending your character.”
Tears stung my eyes. “But I’m assuming it didn’t do much good?”
Draven shook his head. “Cedric dismissed them from the throne room, warning that any further defense in your name would result in them being marked as traitors and imprisoned.”
Just the fact that they had tried touched me deeply.
“What of Thane?” Briar asked, sitting rigid in his chair. “My apprentice. Is he well?”
“Keeps to the clinic mostly,” Reign answered. “Cedric chose a different physician to oversee the king’s condition in his final days. More than likely someone who would do and say what Cedric ordered them to.”
Briar seemed relieved at that and gave a subtle nod, taking a drink of his tea.
“Evan!” a cutesy voice came from the hall. An equally cute female demon pranced into the kitchen. Nina was a type of snake demon, with golden wavy hair and bright yellow eyes. She bounded over and hugged my arm. “Nina found you.”
When she spoke, it caused a pang in my heart. Because it reminded me of Kuya. He spoke in the same way, referring to himself in third person. I missed my cat boy bestie more than I could put into words. And I hated not knowing if he was okay or not.
“Good morning,” I greeted her, trying to shove down that sadness. “I hope you’re hungry. Breakfast is nearly done.”