Page 29 of By Mistake

"So I have the approval of his father?"

"You had my approval when you threw him out for lying to you, as you should," the king replied.

"That meant you saw him as a person, when most of the people I know would have seen a prince, an opportunity, and taken full advantage.

You asked for nothing, save that he leave.

You have my full support, Lord Bothwell. "

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Oranti smiled. "I'll see you, and hopefully Oresti, for dinner. Enjoy the palace. Should anyone be stupid enough to give you trouble, let me know at once."

As though he would ever run to the king to whine about a little bit of bullying. No, the only person he genuinely needed to worry about was Farthing, who wouldn't do something to him right here in the royal palace. Reckless as he was proving to be, he wasn't that stupid.

"I look forward to dinner, Your Majesty," he said with a smile Oranti returned before following the servant who had appeared to escort him out, even though it was all of ten paces to the door.

Back in the hallway, Shimari waited for him as promised, dressed even more beautifully than usual. "How did your meeting go?"

"As though you weren't somehow eavesdropping the whole time."

Shimari grinned. "I couldn't, actually. The space is spelled extremely well against such things. Many parts of the palace are, in fact."

"Didn't think anything could possibly thwart you. It went well. Learn anything interesting in all your forays?"

"That people will tolerate a cat most anywhere. I already knew that, but I've been strongly reminded of it today. Exceedingly useful. I've discovered three minor demons living as private servants. Extremely minor, barely above brownie. Also a few brownies, but they're hardly worth my attention."

Andrus sighed. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me at all. At least there are no more of your ilk around."

Shimari's smile was sharp as a blade, and his eyes gleamed with mischief. "No, the only way someone could manage to summon me was entirely by accident. Doing it the way you did on purpose would have gotten them killed."

"I am never going to live this down, am I?"

"In all the countless years of my existence, little human, only one person has summoned me by accident. It's the most delightful thing to ever happen to me, utterly charming and endlessly entertaining."

"Turn back into a cat and fluff off."

"Not a chance. So what are we doing now?"

"I was going to ask Coret if he wanted to spend time with me while I'm here. I thought if you and Ori approved, I could tell him a bit about what's really going on. He seems like he could be useful, and another ally couldn't hurt, surely."

"I will discuss it with your beloved while you go write your note." Then he was gone, and with a roll of his eyes, Andrus headed off.

By the time he reached Oresti's chamber, Shimari was waiting for him. "Oresti and Greivs should be back soon, and they agree that having Coret on the team would be a good idea. Oresti and I could find nothing amiss in our thorough checks of him."

"Of course." Andrus finished writing his note and had one of the servants who seemed to be permanently assigned to Oresti's chambers take it away to be couriered into the city.

Now there was nothing to do but wait.

To pass the time, he explored Oresti's chambers, though it still felt wrong for him to be here.

On the other hand, this was far easier than securing rooms of his own, sorting out payment and all of that.

He could request it be furnished for him at additional cost, if he recalled, or get his own furniture but either way, it was a great deal of additional work for what would likely be a stay of not more than a week, perhaps two if a whole lot went wrong.

On the…other other hand? Foot? Whatever. He would be here a great deal if—

Ugh, he was giving himself a headache. Oresti's chambers made the most sense, was the short of it.

They were beautifully appointed, of course, in cool tones with splashes of brighter color, and a lingering scent of some faintly sweet incense. A handful of servants were bustling about now tidying, preparing for lunch, which was still some time away, and more.

To get out of their way, he stepped out onto the patio and looked down over the west side of the palace, which comprised gardens, walking paths, and scattered small buildings there, probably various kinds of outbuildings for the groundskeepers.

The snow had eased up at some point, but it looked as though more would be coming before the end of the day.

"Lord Bothwell."

He turned, looked at a maid standing a few paces away. "Yes?"

"Your guest, Lord Whyte, has arrived. He is awaiting you in the Gray Room."

"Thank you. Shimari, I don't suppose you know where the Gray Room is?"

"Of course. This way, your lordship."

They walked together down the stairs to the more public portions of the palace, where the second floor was for residents only, and the third floor could be accessed by certain staff and royal family only.

In the Gray Room, Coret stood looking at a painting of a ship crashing into rocky cliffs.

He turned as he heard them enter. "Andrus!

Good mor—" He froze, eyes going wide. "Y-you're the demon he's bound to.

A zero class, just like I suspected. I can't believe it, I wasn't entirely sure but it was all that made sense, and yet… "

Even Shimari looked astonished as he stared at Coret. "How did you know that?"

"What do you mean?" Coret asked. "I mean, it's true I've never seen your particular glow, but it's merely a matter of logic."

"Glow," Shimari said flatly. "You're an aura reader."

"Is that what it's called? I've looked and looked, but not a single book I can find ever described what I can do."

"Mercy of the gods, this is not at all what I was expecting when I asked you to visit me.

" Before Andrus could say anything further, the door opened again to a servant bearing a large, heavy tea tray.

Shimari took it from her and ushered her politely out, then deposited the tray on the table before striding back to the door and locking it.

He prowled over to Coret. "You see a glow around people, sometimes objects, and it varies in color or color combination depending on what they are, what magic they possess, and more."

"Yes. It's taken years to learn all the colors and combinations, and new ones still show up.

" He cast Andrus the same amused look he'd had in the garden, and suddenly it all made sense.

"I know all the different demons pretty well by this point.

You'd be surprised how many brownies and minor demons are just waltzing about town.

" He gave a shaky laugh. "At that, you probably wouldn't be surprised at all.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you. Either of you.

" He looked at Andrus. "I was simply taken by surprise.

I could tell Andrus was bound to a powerful demon, but I didn't think I'd actually see you. "

Andrus sat to pour tea. "Lord Coret Whyte, I make you known to Shimari of the Harvest." He looked at Coret in amusement. "You knew the whole time, from the moment you saw me, and were trying to tell me, weren't you? That whole conversation takes on a whole new shape now."

Coret laughed sheepishly. "I was, but not very hard, as I had no idea how to explain my ability. I'm sorry for knowing things I shouldn't. Believe me, I wish there was a way to turn the ability off. It can be exhausting."

"There's nothing to apologize for, please. I invited you here today to tell you many things, because I trusted you and thought your input would be of great use. If it came to that point, I would have told you all about Shimari. Sit, please. I'll tell you everything about what a twit I am."

Coret sat, and Andrus told his tale, and by the time he'd finished, with not a single helpful interjection from Shimari's smart mouth, Coret was smiling. "In a hundred years of trying, I doubt anyone could ever recreate what you did. Astounding. You must have truly impressive reserves."

"He does, and you can see auras. Combined with our intrepid investigator prince and our little half-dryad, we are quite the group."

"Half-dryad?" Coret asked. "Who—"

The door flew open, though when Shimari had unlocked it Andrus had no idea, and Oresti blew into the room in his usual fashion, followed more sedately by Greivs. The wind and the mountain, those two.

"Oh, my," Coret murmured.

Before Andrus could ask what that was about, Oresti swept him up and kissed him quick and sharp on the mouth. "Good day, my sweet."

"Unhand me and stop making a spectacle in front of company," Andrus hissed.

Setting him back on his feet with an unrepentant grin, Oresti asked, "How has your day been?"

"Most intriguing," Shimari said. "The newest little human can see auras."

"Lies," Oresti replied. "That's impossible, a myth, a fairy tale."

"I'm not a liar," Coret snapped, then smacked his forehead. "Beg pardon, Your Highness."

Andrus snorted. "No, no, you had it right the first time. He doesn't deserve manners."

Oresti grinned at him, sly and pleased. "What would I do without you to keep me humble?"

"I assume your sisters did the job."

That made him laugh as he sat next to Andrus on the sofa, Greivs taking a seat that put him to Oresti's right, and Shimari resumed his place on the opposing sofa with Coret. "So tell us what you've learned," Andrus said. "Where have you been?"

"Talking to damn near every person in the city, down to the soil collectors," Oresti said, making short work of nearly all the snacks on the tray while an amused Shimari slipped away to order more food.

"We found out why he's so adamant about the change to punishment law.

We made the stupid, amateur mistake of assuming he's just a greedy, sanctimonious noble who thinks poor people deserve to suffer just because they're poor. "