Chapter 40

40

CHARLOTTE

C onfident nobody else is going to be coming to check on me anytime soon, I slide the velvet purse Elodie gave me from underneath my thin pillow and gently pull the strings apart to open the neck.

Holding my palm flat, I tip the contents into my hand. A tiny earpiece, much smaller and neater than the functional ones our security team wears when we need to stay connected over vast distances.

This is proper spy stuff.

Smiling again at the picture in my mind of Elodie being a super sleuth in her spare time, I briefly wonder, yet again, where she got her hands on it, and at such short notice, but decide I'm probably better off not knowing.

"Elodie," I whisper, slotting the device into my ear and hoping my sister can hear me.

There's some muffled background noise before I catch Elodie's sing-song voice as she charms whatever male is speaking with her.

"Oh, a visit to the lake house sounds charming! Although I must warn you, I'm not exactly a great sailor." She's using her high-pitched tinkling laugh, which means she hates him, not that he'll ever realise that. I can't make out his reply clearly, but it sounds like he's still keen.

"Absolutely, once the weather gets a bit warmer, me and my sister will be there," she murmurs, giving him a subtle brush off, and I roll my eyes.

"Thanks sis," I mutter. Not that it matters.

Elodie clearly has no intention of boarding this man's boat, or anything else, for that matter.

The weather will never be warm enough to get my sister on a boat, but if he's being obvious about his intentions at a table full of people, my sister is clever enough not to outright reject him.

Humiliating an alpha is not the way to make friends

"If you'll excuse me, I need to powder my nose."

Do people really speak like that?

She skilfully manages to avoid further attempts to win a date by getting out of there. I hear her fake laugh again as the man encourages her to hurry back. After a few seconds, the noise behind Elodie fades, and I hear her heels clicking as she crosses the marble floor.

"Hot date?" I ask, when the din has almost vanished. A door squeaks and then shuts, followed by a huff from Elodie.

"Shut up. This is your fault. I wouldn't be in this position if someone hadn't stolen the most eligible bachelor around. What's a girl to do?" A tap turns on as Elodie sighs. "I'm sorry I can't break you out, Charlotte. I feel so bad that you're down there. Dinner was amazing. You have no idea what you missed out on."

With a wry laugh, I sit down on my bunk and lean back against the grey wall, pushing the empty tray away from me. "I might have some idea. And actually, I think I prefer it down here to being hit on by idiots."

"I don't think anyone would be hitting on you if you were here with Killian, Charlotte." She pauses, and I can almost feel her demeanour shift from light-hearted to deathly serious. "I can't bear it, Charlotte. The tension. Something is going to happen, I can feel it, but I can't figure out who we need to worry about. Mum is… being weird. She was fighting with Tammy before we left… something about George and Priscilla…"

She doesn't need to say any more.

If Elodie is willing to admit my mother is acting shifty, then she's definitely up to something. Or, at the very least, knows more than she's willing to admit about what's going on.

"Just be safe. If you see or hear anything, tell Killian or Zane, but other than that, mind yourself and be careful." I hate being useless. I hate being trapped down here. "I'll be listening, Elodie. Come and get me if anything goes down."

A creak in the background and quiet footsteps tells me someone else has entered the restroom with her.

"Grandma," Elodie says with affection, and I hear air kisses being exchanged. "Are you okay? I heard Mum being… well, being Mum, earlier."

In my mind, I can picture the eye roll.

Tammy might be harsh, but she's an old lady now. We need to cut her some slack, even if she can still give a nasty tongue lashing when she wants to.

Tammy laughs softly. "Don't you worry, dear. Your mother just likes to drag up the past."

That's the exact opposite of what my mother likes to do. She likes to keep the past, and the facts, hidden.

"Are you alright being here? I know you were here the night of the fire, if it's too much, just let me know, and I'll get a car for you. You were friends with Priscilla, weren't you? It must be hard to be here."

There's a pause, and something about the way Grandma hesitates has my ears pricking. "I wouldn't say hard. The times before the fire were harder, so the fire that night, well, it presented the end. No more worrying what would happen next."

Elodie signals her agreement, and I hear the rustle of clothing, as my sister pulls her into a hug. "It's just so scary. I mean, what if it all starts again? Hopefully, the prince's investigation will find out who was behind it."

"He's already had a scare. You'd think he'd have enough sense to leave well enough alone." Nana's tone is harsh, and I frown.

Could my diminutive grandmother know more about what George was up to than she'll admit? Does she know he was involved and has been protecting him all these years? Does Mum?

The more I hear from my family, and about my family, the stronger that feeling of dread in my gut grows.

They have to be involved.

Elodie steps out into the corridor, the acoustics different in the cavernous hallways, and whispers into the earpiece. "That was weird."

"Elodie please, you have to make sure Mum doesn't get Killian alone. Something fishy is going on with them."

"Fine, fine, fine," she mutters. "But you know I'm not trained for this."

I laugh to myself as she launches into genial chit chat with another council member and his wife, asking after their children by name, and promising to visit with them again soon.

"Elodie, you'd be the best spy in the world if you wanted."

Suddenly, the noise of the ballroom fills the earpiece again, and I groan. She won't be able to talk again.

Lying back on the bed, I drag the thin, scratchy sheet up over me, waiting for something to happen, but praying it won't.

Closing my eyes as I listen to the inane conversations my sister is subjected to, I let my mind wander to the mystery at hand.

Who had something to lose then, and still has something to lose now?

Then the answer hits me like a bolt of lightning.

"Elodie, you need to find Zane, right now. I think I know who it is, and it's not Mum."