Page 41 of The King’s Queen

I must find a way to make us work. Imust.

“So.” The Paragon popped a chocolate donut hole, then slurped his tea. “Since you’re pleased that there’s a shadow left, are you willing to help?”

“Certainly,” Noctus said.

The Paragon jolted in his seat as he seemed to simultaneously inhale and choke on his tea. He coughed so hard he had to cling to the arms of his chair so he didn’t throw himself out of his seat. I set my tea and donut down and patted his back.

I stopped, immediately, as my fingers could feel toned muscle under his robes that my eyes couldn’tsee, and the itchy, sneeze-inducing feeling of his glamour smacked me, so I had to back off to get my magic to leave the glamour be rather than peel it back like it wanted to.

The Paragon recovered without my help, though he nearly emptied his teacup in the process. “What did you say?” he asked, his voice rough from all the coughing.

Noctus studied his teacup with a relaxedness he typically reserved for baiting Aristide with jokes about nostalgia vampires. “I said certainly.”

“You mean you’ll actually help?” the Paragon asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because whenIask you for help, you say no!”

“The shadow was a very dear companion. And I have helped you—I have identified elven magic for you before. Just because I refuse to answer the question of your obsession hardly makes me unwilling to help,” Noctus said.

The Paragon made a snuffling noise and stuffed a donut in his mouth—probably to keep from blurting out something offensive.

Noctus’s shoulders moved in a barely noticeable shrug before he turned his gaze on me. “I’m afraid there isn’t a book that would be of help to you, Chloe Anderson, given the shadows’ extinction predates the invention of the printing press. There are, however, elven records. Charon will have to translate them for you as they’ll be in elvish.”

I really wish he’d stop saying my name. He sounds so…familiar.

“Thank you,” I said to the space above his head. “That would be very helpful, and much appreciated.” I mechanically turned on my heels so I was pointed at Charon—who had positioned himself by the door. “Thank you in advance for your translation work.” I didn’t let myself look at Charon’s face, either. I fixated on his left shoulder.

“Of course.” Charon started to bow. “As—”

The door popped open. It would have smashed Charon flat, except he caught it with his hand and braced himself for the impact.

Aristide, tapping his white cane on the ground, entered the drawing room and kicked the door shut behind him so quickly that I barely had time to register the blur of black and red fur before the door closed on Ker, locking her out.

“What’s that, we have visitors?” Aristide declared, looking in the Paragon’s and my general direction—most likely tracking our heartbeats. “How stupendous. Ilovevisitors.” He threw his arms wide with the declaration, whacking Charon in the shins with his cane—revenge, I was betting, for shutting the door on him when Charon arrived with the tea and donuts.

“Aristide,” Noctus acknowledged. “You’ve met the Paragon before. He brought the newly discovered shadow over.”

“Yes, you mentioned that. How wonderful to meet you, shadow,” Aristide said. “Are you healthy? Your heartbeat is going so fast I’m concerned for you.”

Charon stepped in front of Aristide. “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be going. Aristide can help me find the scrolls and sources that mention shadows in the library.”

“And how,” Aristide began, “am I going to do that when I can’tseeanything in the scrolls?”

“Perhaps you can track them by scent,” Noctus said. “You do have an affinity for old things, after all. I imagine they remind you of yourself.”

“Ha-ha-ho!” Aristide belly laughed. “Aren’t you crabby—maybe I should call for Ama?”

“Oh, yes!” The Paragon wriggled in his chair. “I haven’t seen Ama for months. I do so miss her—you’ll love her, Chloe. She is absolutely charming, nothing like her owner!”

Noctus, proving he was a thousand times better at this subterfuge stuff than me, yawned as he reclined on the settee. “I believe I told you Ama would not be present for your demands because you stress her out.”

“I would never!” the Paragon declared.

Safely positioned just behind the Paragon, I absently shook my head.Mm, no, Noctus is right. You are more stressful than my clocktower training sessions.

“If you leave an address with Charon at which you can be reached, he will deliver the materials to you when he is finished with the translation,” Noctus abruptly said, his voice the tiniest bit flat.

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