Queen of the Darkness

dinner, and I intend to find it."
    "Rrrf." The dog bounded to the door, his tail wagging.
    She eyed him. "Well, I suppose you would know where to find the food. Just let me get ready, then we'll go hunting the elusive dinner."
    "Rrrf."
    Hell's fire, Surreal thought as she washed her hands and brushed her hair. She must be more tired than she realized if she was imagining tonal qualities in the dog's sounds that made it seem like he was really answering her. And she would have sworn that last "Rrrf" was full of amusement. Just as she would have sworn that someone kept trying to reach her on a psychic communication thread and that she was the one who kept fumbling the link.
    The dog's mood had changed by the time she came back. When she opened the bedroom door, he gave her a sad look, then slunk into the corridor.
    Prince Aaron leaned against the opposite wall.
    He was a handsome man with black hair, gray eyes, and a height and build women would find appealing. Standing next to Sadi he would come in a poor second—well, so would any other man—but she didn't think he'd ever lacked invitations to the bed.
    Maybe that explained the wariness under the arrogant confidence.
    "Since you don't know your way around yet, I stopped by to escort you and Lady Benedict to the dining room," Aaron said, looking like he was fighting hard not to smile. "But I see you already have an escort."
    The dog's ears pricked up. The tail went tock-tock.
    The corridor filled with annoying male undercurrents. Surreal briefly considered giving one of them a hard smack just to break up whatever was going on, but losing her escorts would mean trying to find the dining room on her own.
    Fortunately, Wilhelmina Benedict chose that moment to leave her room, which was next to Surreal's. After Aaron explained about being their escort, he offered each woman an arm, and the three of them, with the dog trailing close behind, began the long walk through the Hall.
    "The servants must be exhausted by the end of the day," Surreal said as they turned into another corridor.
    "Not really," Aaron replied. "The staff works on a rotation and are assigned to a wing of the Hall. That way everyone gets to work in the family wing and the wings where the court resides when it's here."
    "You mean I'm going to have the same argument with another maid?" Surreal almost wailed.
    Aaron shot her an amused look. "You mean you drew your own bath?"
    "I didn't bother to bathe," Surreal snapped. "Sit upwind."
    Smart-ass.
    He didn't have to say it out loud. His expression was sufficient.
    Surreal glanced back at her furry escort. Well, animals should be a safe subject for small talk. "He is allowed inside, isn't he?"
    "Oh, yes," Aaron said. "Although, I was surprised to see him. The pack tends to stay in the north woods when there are strangers here."
    "The pack? What kind of dog is he?"
    "He's not a dog. He's a wolf. And he's kindred."
    Wilhelmina jumped and gave the wolf a frightened look. "But... aren't wolves wild animals?"
    "He's also a Warlord," Aaron said, ignoring Wilhelmina's question.
    Surreal felt a little queasy. She'd heard about the kindred, who supposedly had some kind of small animal magic. But calling him a Warlord... "You mean he's Blood?"
    "Of course."
    "Why is he in the Hall?"
    "Well, offhand, I'd say he was looking for a friend."
    Hell's fire, Mother Night, and may the Darkness be merciful, Surreal thought. What did that mean? "I guess he's not really wild then. If he's in the house, he must be tame."
    Aaron gave her a feral smile. "If by 'tame' you mean he doesn't pee on the carpets, then he's tame. But then, by that standard, so am I."
    Surreal clamped her teeth together. Screw small talk. In this place, it turned into verbal quicksand.
    She echoed Wilhelmina's sigh of relief when they reached a stairway. Hopefully the dining room wasn't too far away and she could put some distance between herself and her escort. Escorts. Whatever.
    Shit.
    Maybe Khardeen would be in the dining room. He was a Warlord, which made him an equal caste, and her Gray Jewels outranked his Sapphire, which gave her an advantage. Right now, she wanted an advantage because she had the strong impression that, of her two escorts, the one with the more impressive set of teeth was really the less dangerous one.
    Surreal stared at the closed wooden door and wished she'd done this before eating. The thick beef and vegetable stew had been delicious, as had been the bread, cheese, and slightly