On the morning of the third day, I no longer had any patience left. While I was pretty certain that I would get my ass handed to me either as a leopard or in human form if I tried to bully my way through the manor, I was tired of sitting around.

The novelty of the suite wore off—at least for me—around the middle of the second day. It was about the size of a small apartment, with a sitting room right inside the door followed by a small breakfast area. The bedrooms lay on opposite sides of the suite, each with their own bathrooms. The chairs and sofas looked right out of a Renaissance painting or museum exhibit and at first, I was afraid to do anything more than perch on the edge of them. But my reticence wore off quickly and soon, Rachael and I were lounging on them as if we were back home.

But of all the things in the apartment, I really loved the bed. It was a magnificent, comfy, four-poster complete with curtains sporting a variation of the rose pattern on the walls. That first night, I actually slept through the maid bringing in breakfast.

Rachael endured our confinement as only a teenager could: by playing on her phone. After she realized that the battery wasn't going to hold its charge for much longer, she conjured up entertainment for herself by opening every drawer, poking into each closet and removing all the paintings, looking for hidden clues or passageways. To her dismay (and strangely, mine), there were none.

There was a small balcony that afforded us a view down into a massive hedge maze and garden. Admittedly, spying upon elven nobility from up high was fun—for a day. But all they did was stroll. That was it. You mean to tell me that all those period dramas had it wrong? That no one got into fist fights or challenged someone to a duel over a pretty lady in a garden?

"Would it kill anyone to give us an update?" I asked aloud, draped across one of the chairs in the sitting room. We had just had lunch and the maid who brought it had no information for us.

Rachael lay half on one of the couches, half on the floor, thumbing through some of the books a footman brought up the other day. Neither one of us could read the elven script, but the illustrations were pretty.

"Does that mean you're going to do it?" she asked, sitting up and curling her legs beneath her.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Although it was cool in the manor, my black locks had taken it upon itself to start curling wildly in the Summer climate. Pulling a hair tie off my wrist, I twisted my hair up into a ponytail. "Yeah." I leaned back and stared up at the scrolling vines that weaved their way across the ceiling. "I mean, I'm not asking for us to be included in a raid upon this doomsday cult, or whatever it is."

"You just want some common courtesy."

"Yeah," I said, chucking wryly. Although there wasn't anything "common" about royalty—human or elven.

"Just go," Rachael insisted. "Unless you want me to." She wriggled her eyebrows comically.

"Oh, hell no," I told her, smiling. Turning my head, I looked at the door. My smile faded. I was going to have to do it.

Just rip off the band-aid, I thought, getting to my feet. Jaw clenched tightly, I crossed the suite and reached for the door knob. As I twisted it and pulled the door open, a footman stood there, his hand raised to knock. I yelped and jumped backwards, alerting Rachael. She rushed up with surprising swiftness to stand at my shoulder.

For his part, the footman flinched but recovered smoothly. Straightening his waistcoat, he inclined his head to us. "His Royal Highness has requested your presence in his study, my ladies."

Well, that was serendipitous, wasn't it? "Uh, right now?" I asked, glancing down at my pajama pants and bare feet.

"Immediately," the footman affirmed. "A selection of dresses have been made available for your use," he continued, motioning to someone in the hall. Before I could reply, two maids hustled in and pushed past us into the sitting room.

"Ah, shit," Rachael moaned. "I hate dresses."

The footman ignored her. "I shall wait in the hall," he told me. "Do hurry." He stepped back and allowed me to close the door in his face.

Surprised, I turned to Rachael. "Well, that wasn't hard after all."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself. I haven't shaved in forever."

"Neither have I," I said, putting a hand to her back. "Let's go."

Once properly outfitted in presentable attire, the footman led Rachael and I down the hall and across the small catwalk that connected the two sets of main stairs. We passed a hallway much like the one our suite was in, but the footman kept going: up a short flight of stairs and around yet another corner. With everything in the same shades of white, green and gold, I found myself feeling rather lost.

The footman stopped suddenly outside a white door with a giant, carved oak tree at its center. Two large vases with red roses flanked the door.

"Wait here," the footman stated. Rachael and I hung back and exchanged glances. The footman rapped once on the door, then entered without waiting for an answer. Rachael leaned forward, trying to peer into the room before the door was quickly shut.

"There's about four people in there," she reported in a whisper. "Two of them look like military guys—one of them is holding a weird hat under his arm."

"Maybe they found something?" I murmured, a small kernel of hope blossoming in my chest.

Just then, the door was wrenched open sharply. "This way, please," the footman said, gesturing us forward.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered my skirts and entered the room with Rachael not far behind. Before I could take a second step, the footman held out a rigid arm, blocking us. "Your Royal Highnesses, Lady Alina and Lady Rachael, as requested."

Crown Prince Kesio sat at a wide desk at the far end of the room; massive bookshelves that reached to the ceiling fanned out to either side. Books, large and small, as well as other trinkets, filled the shelves. Leihalani perched on one end of her brother's desk, while two men in crisp white and green uniforms sat in chairs facing the crown prince. A third man in uniform, holding a tri-corn hat with a large blue plume under his arm, stood off to the side. And lastly, a Tsola bodyguard who wasn't Arun or Garin watched everything next to a wide bay window.

As we entered, the two seated elves stood up; the one with the hat turned slightly. He was markedly older than all the others, with threads of silver shooting through his short-cropped brown and green hair. He was also the first elven man I'd yet to see who sported any sort of facial hair: a carefully-groomed mustache and goatee.

"Ladies," Kesio greeted dryly from behind the desk.

"Your Royal Highness," I replied coolly, dipping into the lowest approximation of a curtsey I could manage.

The man with the tri-corn hat arched a thick, greying eyebrow at my tone. Kesio blinked, a frown creasing the corners of his mouth. He indicated a short couch behind the two chairs. "Please, sit."

We slowly crossed the room, mindful of their assessing gazes. Only Leihalani appeared unfazed, swinging one leg back and forth.

"Do I cross my legs or not?" Rachael hissed in my ear.

"Uh, no. Keep them on the floor," I whispered back quickly, but I really wasn't sure. Garnet would have known—she watched a lot of period dramas, especially British ones.

I fluffed out the diaphanous skirts I'd been told I had to wear, arranging them so my ankles were covered, and sat down with my feet firmly on the floor. Rachael plopped down and folded her hands tightly in her lap.

"This is General Itham Whitesword," Kesio said, indicating the man with the tri-corn hat. "Captains Nylian Tornála and Daffros Ácculár." The two men in the chairs nodded at us.

Not knowing what else to do, I gave the men a little wave. Rachael went one step further with a bright, "Hi!"

We were rewarded with silent nods.

Kesio folded his hands on his desk. "General Whitesword has been in contact with the garrison captain in Kathlona, which is the next town over from Hyelion. General Whitesword, would you please explain to our guests what you have discovered?"

Was it me, or did the crown prince grit his teeth upon saying "guests"?

The general set his hat upon a small tea table and turned to face us, hands linked behind his back. "Once His Royal Highness made me aware of what transpired in Valderon, I contacted Garrison Captain Ranaeril Genthana and ordered him immediately to Hyelion. In the predawn hours of this morning, Captain Genthana informed me that a settlement had been discovered on farmland owned by Tsaebach Tannyll Caimaris."

All of these names sailed right over my head, but the last one made the crown prince's eye twitch.

"The squadron was met with some hostility by its inhabitants—trying to divert attention elsewhere and not answering simple questions. When the squadron leader requested leave to check the property, the residents decided to attack." The general paused and pulled a sheet of paper from his waistcoat pocket. "Just an hour ago, I received word that some humans were found in one of the outlying buildings."

A short, wordless exclamation left my lips and I sat bolt upright on the couch. I turned to Rachael and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. She met my eyes, mouth stretched in a wide grin.

"Alas, my lady," the general continued evenly, "all of them were adults." He inclined his head to me as all the wind dropped out of my sails. Limp, my hand fell from Rachael's.

"What?" I breathed, stunned. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blood drain from Rachael's face.

He lifted the hand holding the piece of paper to stall me from speaking further. I had no words to give him. Was this a dead end?

"The soldiers are in the process of clearing the settlement as we speak, my lady. However, the early word is that there are more humans on the property. It will just take some time to find them all, as well as take the residents into custody."

"I—okay ..." I said, stumbling over words that my numb lips couldn't quite shape. Maybe, just maybe, Jimmy was among those not yet discovered.

Crown Prince Kesio straightened. "General Whitesword will be leaving this evening to oversee the operation at Hyelion," he said, leaning back in his chair. "In light of your shapeshifting abilities, he has requested that the two of you accompany him to Hyelion."

"Really?" I asked, shifting my gaze to the general. The older man inclined his head slightly.

"The Princess Leihalani and myself will also be present as Her Majesty The Queen wishes to be kept informed," Kesio continued, lifting one hand to straighten the edge of his collar with quick, nervous flicks.

Mutely, I nodded.

"Which one of you is the wolf?" the general asked, green eyes shifting from my bare collarbone to Rachael's. He must have been told about our tattoos. Frowning, I reached up and placed my hand over my rosettes. I didn't mind casual glances, but I didn't like being studied. The general's eyes lifted with no sign of discomfort.

Rachael's hand shot up eagerly. "I am!" she exclaimed, fairly bouncing on the couch.

"And you can track?" the general inquired, unperturbed by her enthusiasm.

"Sure can. We have a whiffle ball that we've been using to try and find Jimmy."

The general blinked in confusion when she mentioned the whiffle ball, but he nodded all the same. "Good. I shall see Your Royal Highnesses and your esteemed guests at five-bells." Bowing to Kesio and Leihalani, the general swept up his hat and set it upon his head. The blue plume of some strange bird bounced jauntily against the back of his head. The two captains rose, bowed, and followed the general out the door.

In the silence that followed, I studied the crown prince. His head was bent down and he appeared to be examined some papers upon his desk. Shaking her head, Leihalani slid off her perch. Not knowing what else to do, I stood up and Rachael popped to her feet a second later.

Leihalani walked over to us. "Come, I'll walk you back to your suite." In a surprising move, she linked her arms through ours and escorted us out of her brother's office without a backwards glance.