A smirk played across Bri’s lips. She was exactly Delta’s type—beautiful and dainty. The fae was probably leaving from a midday tryst. She wouldn’t put it past Delta to woo lovers even from her deathbed.

“Oh,” she said, pausing in the threshold. “Can I help you?”

Bri gave her a knowing smile. “We’re looking for Delta.”

“She’s inside.” She quirked her brow. “I was just leaving.”

Bri held in her snicker.

“Are you friends of Delta’s?” the fae asked, glancing between them.

“Maybe,” Bri hedged. “Who are you?”

“I’m Saika,” she said, pulling a lock of hair wrapped in silver thread behind her ear. “Delta’s wife.”

Wife.

The words kicked Bri in the gut. Delta had never mentioned a wife before. Was this new? How new? Delta and Bri had only just been together at the Winter Solstice. . . . She stared dumbly at Saika, trying to keep her expression neutral as she combed back through her memories. Delta had a wife?

“Oh, lovely,” Carys said, recovering from her shock faster than Bri. “How long have you been together?”

Bri sent up a silent prayer of thanks to her friend as each question died on the tip of her tongue.

“Nine years,” Saika said, smiling gently.

Bri covered her surprise with a rough cough.

“Nine years? And you’ve been faithful to each other that whole time?” Carys choked on her last words as Bri elbowed her in the ribs. She couldn’t believe her friend had the audacity to even ask.

“Of course.” Saika furrowed her brow, darting curious looks at them. “Though I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“She likes to pry,” Bri said with a forced laugh, yanking Carys to the side to make way for Saika to pass. “Anyway, it was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Saika said, pursing her lips as she pushed past them into the hall. She turned to consider them one more time, her face softening. “Delta doesn’t have many friends apart from Lina. I’m glad that you’ve come to visit.”

Bri’s bravado cracked as she watched the small, gorgeous fae saunter down the hall.

“Holy Gods,” Carys whispered, knocking Bri in the side, mirroring how she was hit.

Grimacing, Bri scowled.

“We don’t have to go talk to her right now, Bri.” Carys scrunched her face. “Maybe we should come back later.”

Bri forced her whirring thoughts to the back of her mind and took a steadying breath, just like she did when preparing for battle. She could panic later, not now. “I promise I won’t kill her.”

“Yeah, but I might,” Carys said, balling her fists and stomping through the doorway into the suite.

“Car—” Bri called, but Carys was already stampeding off.

The chambers looked much like Bri’s, except this one was well lived in. Clothes hung over the backs of chairs, and jeweled trinkets covered the side tables. Bri paused next to a charcoal sketch of two smiling people. The knife twisted in her gut at the happy younger faces of Delta and Saika.