Page 33 of A Touch of Poison
“Thanks.” She shot me a smile softer than her others, like this one came from somewhere deeper. “Much as I love Tenebris, fae can be so ridiculous sometimes.”
“No arguments here,” I muttered.
From the corner of her eye, she gave me a look that felt more knowing than I expected, but when she stopped outside a shop and opened her mouth, it wasn’t for a probing question. “Here’s our first jeweller.”
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Kat
The fae behind the counter wrinkled her nose as she eyed my necklace. “No, not me.”
Not a promising start.
But I was out of Bastian’s rooms and I wasdoing something, so even her expression couldn’t sour my mood.
“Any ideas who might’ve made it?”
More nose-wrinkling as she shook her head and wished us a good day.
“Don’t worry,” Rose told me as we left and started along the road, “there are plenty of jewellers to try.” She widened her eyes. “Dozens, in fact.”
The next place, Clio’s, with a moon forming theCyielded similar results. It was only when I glanced back at the sign as we were leaving that I registered. These were people from Dusk Court. I didn’t know who unCavendish had worked for, but since he tried to kill Bastian, it seemed most likely they were from Dawn.
“Maybe the necklace was from a Dawn jeweller, rather than a Dusk one. We could focus on them instead?” I glanced at Rose, all nonchalance.
Her brow furrowed. “If you think so. Seems weird that Bastian would buy a necklace from a Dawn jeweller.”
I barely kept the wince from my face. “It… wasn’t from him.”
“Oh.”
Even though I avoided looking at her, I could feel the closeness of her attention. She expected an explanation that I wasn’t going to give.
Still, the weight of her attention pulled on me, especially after she’d been so friendly, so I threw her a quick smile.
“We can go to some of Dawn’s jewellers—there are a couple on the next street. But, I warn you, they’ll charge us more and won’t be as welcoming. Especially when they find out this is to go on Bastian’s account.”
“What?” My eyebrows shot up. Since I wasn’t planning to actually buy any jewellery, paying for it hadn’t crossed my mind.
“Anything you want to buy is taken care of. You might want to make the most of that, since it’s a deep well you’re drawing from.” She chuckled.
I frowned and pulled my arms tighter around myself as we passed a large group of fae who watched us. Their darker clothes suggested they were of Dusk, yet their attention prickled over me, unsafe.
“And the price is different depending on who you are?”
“More… Dusk sees you as one of their own—they do with me, too. Dusk looks after Dusk, and Dawn… well, they might turn a blind eye if you were on fire.”
I scoffed at the image, and her grin widened. “It’s not entirely a joke, is it?”
“Afraid not. Welcome to a city of two courts.”
Although the city’s appearance changed with the sunset and rise, most streets tended to be dominated by one court or the other. This one we walked down was full of shop signs with constellations and crescent moons, decorated in the deep sunset colours of Dusk Court.
A palace divided by two planes of existence. Two courts divided by day and night. And, so it seemed, a city also divided.
Still, I had a mission, even if it might make Rose believe me a spoilt aristocrat. “Well… I still want these earrings to match, so…”
“Dawn jewellers it is.” She shrugged and led me to the next road over.
