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“Eliminating the distance should fix it,” Daphne said quickly, as if changing the subject. “If not, then I’ll figure out as much as I can on my own. But I might need help.”

My instincts flared with warning. Daphne’s biggest fear was not being good enough. Being the one who caused problems. This situation might have been her fault, but it didn’t mean I wanted her to feel guilty.

Even if the logical part of my brain was screaming at me that she should.

“Try what you can,” I said, the side that wanted to defend her winning. Against all reason. “Then we can talk about going to someone else.”

Daphne huffed, her cheeks painting pink with frustration. “Sabina knows more about power issues.”

Was her stubbornness always that fucking hot?

“Well, that’s only one of our problems,” I pushed back. “How much would she know about a conspiracy?”

Daphne’s eyes lit with challenge. “Maybe about the imagery. The circle tattoos and the word maiden, but…”

She trailed off, getting lost in her own head. “What, Daphne?” I prompted.

“There may be someone I could ask. A human.”

“Who?” I asked. She knew plenty from her time spent at universities.

Daphne breathed in deep. “Reyna.”

“Romulus?” The last name came out as a curse, Dominic and Rose’s voices overlapping as they both leaned forward in shock.

Reyna was not only a Romulus, but the people’s princess. Everyone loved her, idolized her as much as they did the gods.

“Yeah,” Daphne said, not bowing under the force of their shock. “We went to university together. She knows the wealthy families well. Obviously, I wouldn’t outright ask, but I could press about things that seemed odd.”

My instincts buzzed at that. “She’s smart as a whip from what you’ve told me. She might get suspicious.”

Daphne grumbled, “Probably.” She hated it when I was right.

“There’s another option.” I spoke to cut off my mouth from turning into a grin. One that would likely earn me a glass of wine to the face. “Most of those families are coming to the Harvest Moon celebration.”

Daphne’s hazel eyes glowed like that same moon. “It would come across as more of a coincidence then.”

“It’s convenient timing,” I agreed.

“It would be a way to reintroduce me at court. To explain why I’ve been gone.” Daphne’s eyes narrowed at the end of her sentence, silently communicating that she knew there was a story that I’d been spinning to rationalize her absence.

Smart girl.

“Told everyone you were spending the year at excavation sites to wrap up your research before the wedding.”

Daphne’s face drained of color, her normally flushed cheeks losing their pink hue. Her eyes flashed with something close to pain and I had to look away. Whatever reaction she had to that statement wasn’t my fucking business anymore.

“Well,” Daphne said, the word stretched thin. “Regardless, the celebration will be good. Everyone loves a party.”

Parties were how you kept people's favor. My mother taught me that one. Distract them with good food and alcohol at an event that makes them feel important to get an invitation to and they were more pliable.

There had been a lot of parties the year I took over.

“Fine,” I said, even though the thought of parading around a ballroom with Daphne on my arm, acting like she hadn’t dropped a bomb on our friendship sounded about as fun as going head-to-head with a whale.

“Is that all?” Daphne asked Rose and Dominic.

Dominic leaned forward in his chair. “Adrian has some things to add, I’m sure. He didn’t want to overwhelm your welcome.”