Chapter 178

The next morning, Kit could see Danyen wanted to tell her something. She struggled with listening to her mother discuss the ball she had scheduled for the following evening because she wanted to see what it was Danyen had discovered. Even Cassius’s winking only served as a temporary distraction.

Once the queen had finished eating and left the room, Kit made her way down off of the dais. Eli was standing to leave, and Kit noted he looked much better. She had spoken to him briefly the day before, but she hadn’t mentioned her conversation with Danyen because she had a feeling he would tell her it was silly. Cassius was still suspicious but hadn’t come out and asked her, and he was standing behind Eli when she reached them near the middle of the room. She caught Danyen’s smile over their shoulders.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Kit said. Despite her distraction, she couldn’t help but grin at both of them. Cassius had a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and she hoped he wouldn’t say anything about Danyen in front of Eli.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Cassius said as Eli greeted her as well. “And what are you up to this fine day?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I have a few matters to attend to.” She’d gone to speak to the delivery drivers the day before, but only one had been available, and he was skittish. He said some of the others would be back that day, so Kit hoped to catch them before they left on their routes. “I have a project I’m working on.”

“Yes, I know,” Cassius replied. Kit narrowed her eyes, hoping he didn’t blurt out anything about Pierce in front of Eli. “The delivery drivers. The project assigned to you by the council.”

“Right.” She let go the breath she’d been holding. At least he hadn’t given her away. “Yes, I’m headed there shortly.”

“Would you like some company?” Eli asked.

She missed him. The last few days, she’d been letting him rest and had only stopped in to speak to him a few times. But the idea of him being seen alongside her may arouse suspicions from her mother’s guard. “I think it might be better if you didn’t go along with me, only because of... all the eyes.”

He understood. “I don’t think you should go alone. It’s dangerous for you to be wandering around asking questions, too, Kit.”

“I’m working on a project assigned to me by the council,” she reminded him.

“You’ve expanded on your original assignment.” Cassius’s disposition had shifted so that it was obvious he was concerned.

“No one will know that.” She thought it was a stretch to be concerned for her safety at this point. She was only asking questions, ones she was entitled to know the answers to considering she was a royal.

“Nevertheless, I’d feel better if you had someone with you. I might not be the right choice because anywhere I go, your mother’s fiends follow. But Cassius is above suspicion at this point. Take him.” Eli’s statement came across a little like an order, and Kit wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wasn’t a member of the guard.

Still, taking Cassius with her wasn’t a bad idea. “All right,” she said with a nod. “I’m not sure what time I’ll be going. I need to speak to a few other people.” In actually, she only needed to speak to Danyen, but she didn’t want to cause Eli to start asking questions.

“Very well. You know where to find me.” He winked at her again, and despite the fact that Kit was standing in a room full of men she adored, he brought a blush to her cheeks.

Cassius stepped away, but Eli stood there a moment longer. Kit reached out and took hold of his arm. “How are you?” Her voice was low, but she was certain he’d hear the concern in her tone.

“Better, thank you.” He managed a small smile. Kit knew he didn’t like to talk about it. Showing any sort of weakness was a struggle for him. “I plan to return to my normal activities today.”

“I’m sure Galter will be relieved to hear that. It isn’t easy keeping track of me, you know. He’ll likely take all the help he can get.”

He laughed, knowing the temporary Commander of the Princess’s Guard was fully capable. “I am sure he can manage.”

Kit realized there was little they could discuss while standing in the dining hall. She needed to pull Danyen aside but couldn’t do so with Eli present. The silence that fell over them was uncomfortable and unusual; she couldn’t remember a time when she could find absolutely nothing to discuss with this man.

Luckily for her, Danyen was on his way over. Eli noticed. “I suppose I should be on my way. Have a lovely day, Kit.”

“Thank you. You as well.” She smiled at him and watched him walk away, thinking she’d have to track him down later to clear the air.

Danyen had a questioning expression on his face. “Is everything all right, Princess?”

“Yes. I suppose I’m just not used to having secrets from Eli.”

He nodded in understanding. “Well, I have some information for you.” He glanced over his shoulder. There were only a few Representatives left in the room, and none of them seemed to be attempting to eavesdrop, though Kit had their attention, even if they weren’t staring in her direction.

“Shall we go to the library?” Kit asked, her cheeks flaming.

Danyen grinned. “That might be dangerous.”

“Alas, I haven’t time for anything too intimate. I need to make my way out to the delivery drivers sooner rather than later.” She thought most of them dropped off in the morning and tried to leave again before midday.

“A pity,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye. He offered his arm, and Kit took it.

Once inside the library, Kit stopped him nearer the door. She didn’t want to take the chance in walking all the way to the settee they’d shared the day before, though a glimpse of it in the corner of the room brought a shiver through her.

Turning to Danyen, she asked, “What have you discovered?”

He also seemed slightly bothered by the furniture in the back of the room. It took him a moment to realize she’d spoken, and he had a thin layer of perspiration at his hairline. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Danyen said, “He left in the middle of the night again, last night.”

“He did?” Kit couldn’t believe her luck that Pierce had been so cooperative. “Did you follow him?”

“Yes, for a bit. I couldn’t go too far because I could hear guards in the hallways. But I can tell you he certainly headed toward the back of the castle.”

“Which hall did he use?” Kit was even more confused about where Pierce may have been sneaking off to now that it was confirmed he was headed away from her mother’s chambers.

“He went down the hall that parallels the one in front of the infirmary and then turned left down the second hall past the kitchen. I couldn’t follow him any further after that.”

Kit could envision the hallways he was speaking of, but that didn’t help her understand where he was going. She hadn’t been back to that part of the castle in years. That was further away from the queen than even her father’s chambers. “Did you happen to hear what time he returned?”

“Yes, about two hours later, he came back.”

“Two hours? What in the world could he have been doing for that long?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Danyen admitted. “What do you plan to do now?”

“I’m not certain,” Kit admitted. She’d have to think about it. “If he’s meeting with someone other than the queen, I’d like to know who. But it could be anyone. A member of her guard, another council member. Is it possible my mother is also going there to meet him?”

“I can’t imagine she would,” Danyen replied, shaking his head. “It would be dangerous, and I can’t believe she’d put herself at risk for no reason.”

Kit agreed. “All right. Thank you, Danyen. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your assistance.”

“As I’ve said before, Kit, I’d do anything for you.” He leaned in slightly, and Kit’s breath caught in her throat as memories of the feel of him took over. She rose up on her tiptoes only slightly to meet his lips and her hand instantly went to the back of his head to press him closer.

She had to will herself to pull away before the situation got too heated. If she was to find time to visit the drivers, she’d need to be on her way. “I need to go.”

“I understand. Be careful. Let me know if there’s more I can do.”

“Thank you.” Kit squeezed his arm and headed out to the hallway.