The Queen’s Triumph (Rogue Queen)
Page 22
While Bianca could have easily ordered food from the synthesizer, she preferred cooking. And, truth be told, synthesized food had nothing on Bianca’s cooking, so I was always delighted to eat at her table. Today she didn’t disappoint. The informal kitchen table was laden with four different kinds of pastries, all homemade, as well as bacon, eggs, and roasted potatoes.
The round table seated four. I sat next to Bianca. Alexander took the seat across from me and Aoife sat on my left. If anyone else noticed the tension in the air, they didn’t show it. I was generally very good at reading people, but Alexander gave me nothing other than that he had good manners. I had to force myself not to stare at him.
“How goes the investigation?” Bianca asked.
My gaze cut to hers, but I couldn’t tell what she was doing. “I don’t want to bore your guests,” I demurred. Why would she bring up House business in front of strangers? I was looking into Ferdinand’s kidnapping. Both Hannah’s husband, Pierre, and House James were involved, and that wasn’t information we wanted shared.
“Not guests,” she reminded me, “friends. And they are here to help.”
I kept the shock and suspicion off my face. “Help how?”
“From what I’ve seen, you’ve wrapped up everything you can do here. What is your next step?”
While Bianca had been chasing after Ferdinand, I’d muscled my way into the investigation here on Earth, and I’d refused to give it up once she returned. Bianca had reluctantly agreed to let me help, but only if we worked together.
No one trusted me to be able to do anything on my own.
We had found the ties between Pierre and House James, but hadn’t been able to tie House James to any of the other Houses or the Syndicate, despite Bianca’s uncanny ability to gather intelligence. Either House James was acting alone or they were being very, very careful.
But so was I.
Over the last two months, I’d slowly expanded my circle of friends to include Lynn Segura and Chloe Patel, the two young women who had been caught talking shit about Bianca. Lynn was a genuine delight. Chloe was not. But both of them were friends with Stephanie James, youngest daughter of House James.
And every year, Stephanie James hosted a summer retreat at House James’s estate outside Honorius. It was part vacation and part informal networking event, but mostly it was a chance to get out of Serenity and have some fun away from censorious eyes. It also coincided with the stunning annual Bouman meteor shower.
When guests weren’t busy trying to steal kisses while watching space rocks burn up in the atmosphere, Honorius had some of the best haute couture shopping in the ’verse. House James also offered an assortment of entertainments on their sprawling estate, including an excellent hover bike rally-cross racecourse.
Invitations were highly coveted in Stephanie’s circle of friends and acquaintances, and this year Chloe was finally old enough to help her best friend host—a task she had taken up with gusto.
Based solely on our brief friendship, Chloe had been cheeky enough to invite me, and through me, Ying Yamado, the daughter of High House Yamado. She was aiming high, which is exactly what I had expected. If even one of us accepted, it would be a major coup for her.
I had let her stew for two days before accepting, and then I’d talked Ying into accepting, too. But now I had to break the news to my overprotective older sister. In front of friends.
“I’m attending Stephanie James’s house party in two days. I will be gone for at least two weeks.”
Bianca smiled, which immediately put me on guard. That was not the reaction I’d expected. “That’s perfect,” she said.
Concern whispered through me—something odd was going on. “I thought you’d be against it,” I said, fishing.
Bianca’s smile softened just a tiny bit. “I don’t love sending you into danger, Cat, you know that, but we need information, and right now, you’re the one best positioned to get it.”
I glanced at our silent dining companions. They were both pretending to focus on their food, but I caught Alexander’s gaze. His eyes were a rich, warm brown. Despite his guarded expression, he had kind eyes, not what I would expect from a man with his build. Once again, I was struck by the fact that he looked like a soldier—or a bodyguard.
And then, like a light blinking on, suspicion hardened into certainty. I turned back to my sister. “Bianca,” I said slowly, “why are Ms. Delaney and Mr. Sterling here?”
Bianca’s smile never faltered. If anything, it got brighter. I was not going to like whatever came out of her mouth next.
She proved me right when she said, “Aoife is going to be your bodyguard while you’re in Honorius.”
“I already have a guard,” I reminded her. “Several, actually.”
“None like me,” Aoife said without an ounce of humility or arrogance. It was less a boast and more a statement of fact, one I was inclined to believe based on nothing more than her attitude and confidence.
I might be the most sheltered of my siblings, but I was still a von Hasenberg. I’d grown up around—and trained with—all types of people until the side effects of my childhood became too difficult to hide. Aoife had the calm self-assurance of someone who knew that she could take anyone in the room and come out ahead.
I briefly wondered how she would fare against me.
It was a silly thought because I’d given up real fighting long ago—it was too dangerous for me. But that didn’t mean I was going to roll over. “That may be true, but I’ve worked with my current guards for years. I know and trust them.” I also understood how they thought and how they might be influenced.
Aoife’s flawless composure was impossible to read, but I smiled apologetically at her. She inclined her head slightly, seemingly not offended.
My eyes snagged on Alexander. For such a big man, he had a way of fading into the background that was almost uncanny. If not for my humming awareness of him, I might’ve overlooked him completely.
“And you?” I asked him directly. “Why are you here? Are you Ms. Delaney’s partner?” I glanced between them. “Or husband?”
A slow smile broke over his face and he chuckled quietly. My breath caught. He was utterly captivating when he smiled and for the first time I envied the beautiful woman next to me.
I felt his gaze like a physical weight and fought the prickling awareness trickling through my system. He focused on me intently, but I’d bet half my fortune that he also remained aware of everything else happening in the room and could react in a heartbeat.
What would it take to capture all of his attention?
I shoved the question away. He wasn’t for me. Someday, I would marry for the good of the House, and until then, I preferred my men more manageable.
“We are partners,” he said. His voice was low and delicious, a velvet rumble I felt in my chest. He had no discernible accent.
Partners could mean anything from business partners to romantic partners. Without knowing which, I had to stop mentally ogling him. I didn’t pursue taken men.
I turned my attention back to Bianca. Mischief flittered through her expression before she smoothed it away. “Alex is here for you.”
I forced myself not to react to the tiny thrill of pleasure I felt at the words. I frowned at her, not liking where this was going. “What do you mean?”
“He’s going with you to Honorius as your plus one.”
Buy Chaos Reigning today!
Also by Jessie Mihalik
The Rogue Queen Series
The Queen’s Gambit
The Queen’s Advantage
The Queen’s Triumph
The Consortium Rebellion Series
Polaris Rising
Aurora Blazing
Chaos Reigning
About the Author
Jessie Mihalik has a degree in Computer Science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video ga
mes with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.
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