Intrigue

intrigue

T his campus is chock full of supes who are completely clueless. I have no idea how these idiots even function. Most of the students I’ve encountered barely realize the leadership here has changed unless they’re athletes. The sporty looking people echo sentiments I assume are coming from their well-to-do parents or bullheaded coaches. Nothing they offer tells me a damn thing about who might try to frame the bear, nor why any of them are even considered qualified to attend a university.

The gargoyle’s ex may have played games with admission standards for the college players as well as fucked up the finances.

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 Morgana ate Magnus, 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 of troubling 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.”

My lips curve up as I think about Morgana or her twitchy assistant firing the girl for her breach, then the ripple effect that will spread across campus and in the private sector. I’d feel bad about her prospects for a future, but when you are so desperate for attention that you behave like this girl, you’re all but begging someone to put a stop to it. When they do, crying foul is simply idiotic. If you make your reputation poor, that’s how you’ll be viewed.

There’s just no substitute for loyalty—not even willingness to get your hands dirty.

Pulling my phone out, I hit the speed dial and frown when my friend doesn’t answer. That almost never happens. Liam has answered in the middle of a lecture before, so I know he doesn’t give a fuck who or what he interrupts. I don’t sense danger or trouble through our bond, so he’s not in a precarious position. I growl softly, hitting the button again as I stalk to the far end of campus to head for the secluded street both the Prince and Morgana are housed on.

“If he’s left his damn phone in the car or at that station, I’ll kill him,” I grumble to myself. “I know he’s caught up in this mess up to his damn neck, but leaving me on read when I’m out doing his bloodhound shit is ridiculous.”

Very few people in the world are able to give the Prince of the Daybreak Court the same hell I do, but Liam and I have been paired for longer than this country has been around. Our families have an even longer history, so my comfort level with the heir to the kingdom is born of years of trust and companionship. He supported me when I was at my worst and never once asked for his father to replace me. I might have deserved it, but as I said, loyalty is a richer currency than almost any other.

Which is why I worry about his newest obsession so much—if Liam’s mate is a hybrid living on this side of the Veil, what consequences will that have?

His father is a major asshole, and he needs to step down to allow Liam to rule. The Court and the kingdom need a ruler who isn’t a tyrannical old fart. But falling for someone who not only has a life entirely outside of the Veil and comes with a gaggle of others from various walks of supernatural life is a tough sell for his subjects. They don’t mind the poly aspect—only the non-Fae part. It will be a big deal and I think he’s underestimating how difficult people will make his life.

“I wish I had a better view of this fucking situation so I could provide him with more than my gut instinct. He doesn’t trust me with the gargoyle because of my past, but… I just don’t know.” I turn onto the street, driving slowly so I can study the other houses in the row. They were all empty when we moved in, but there appears to have been some new residents added to the beginning of Chancellor’s Row.

Great… more people to check out.

It suddenly occurs to me that the lawyer’s team has a hacker. Perhaps if we mention new players on the board, he’ll do the mind numbing basic checking via the internet and I can follow-up afterward. That would allow me to focus on the current targets I have lined up for tomorrow. Now that I’ve identified a leak in Morgana’s admissions department, I need to go after the other ones. Picking them off one by one will narrow the list considerably.

My brows furrow when I see the car in the driveway. I didn’t think they’d be back this quickly. When I left the Prince, it seemed like he would spend most of the day at the station. Shaking my head, I ease our specially detailed SUV into our own driveway and hop out. I doubt Liam even came to our place if he returned home with them. No, he’s probably not answering his cell because he’s busy chatting strategy or some shit with Morgana and her bear.

Interrupting before the others arrive will give me time to explain what I’ve found without a crowd.

Satisfied with my decision, I hop out and head down the street to the Dean’s house. We’ll figure out how to plug her coffeehouse mouse leak, then plot which departments I should focus on first.

Liam will be pleased as fuck.