“You look fantastic!” Lavender gushed, hurrying over to give him a quick hug. “The treatments with Poppy are going well?”
Poppy flushed very prettily and cast an adoring look at J.G. that was hard to miss. “Totally.”
Lavender drew back and glanced at her sister and J.G. “Oh?”
Poppy suddenly jumped up and down with a quick clap of her hands and threw her arms around her sister. “I have some, like, totally awesome news!”
I exchanged a glance with Nicky, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable at the tension I could feel in the air. “You know,” I said, scooting my chair back, “maybe Nicky and I should—”
“We’re getting married!” Poppy announced.
Lavender’s face went slack. “Wow. That’s . . . well . . . I’m happy for you guys, I guess, but are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, J.G. was in pretty bad shape. . . .”
J.G. put his arm around Poppy’s waist and drew her close, planting a big wet one on her cheek. “And I still would be if it wasn’t for this gal right here! She’s the shit—and seriously fuckin’ hot, too, you know what I’m sayin’?”
“Oh, God,” I mumbled when I saw the king’s jaw tighten ominously. “Nicky.”
He nodded and pushed his chair back from the table.
“And here’s the best part,” Poppy was saying as Nicky and I stood to go, “we thought we’d do a double wedding with you and Seth!”
“Ah, shit,” I breathed.
“I beg your pardon?” Lavender gaped, purple sparks dancing all around her now.
“Over my dead fucking body!” Seth snapped, standing abruptly, his eyes glowing with anger.
“Seth, honey,” Lavender said with a glance at her parents. “Please.”
“No, Lav,” he replied, his voice growing louder. “Now, if you two want to get married, have at it. Good luck and congratulations! But you are not hijacking our day.”
Poppy’s eyes welled up with tears. “But I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” Lavender screeched. “Are you serious? Why would I be happy about having to share my wedding day?”
Nicky and I started edging to the door, hoping to duck out before magic really started flying.
“Ms. Muffet and Mr. Blue,” the king’s voice boomed. “Please do not leave on account of my children’s little squabble.”
“Oh, yes,” Mab interjected. “By all means—please stay and witness the tragedy that is my family. I sit here surrounded by my husband’s bastard daughters and my future sons-in-law who are a werewolf and a gossip peddler. Yes, do stay and add your own low-born blood to my lovely assembly.”
Now it was the king’s turn to launch himself to his feet. “Mab! I would speak with you. Privately.”
Everyone in the room went instantly still, their eyes focused on the king and his queen. Mab rose to her feet in a shimmer of golden fairy dust that just about made J.G.’s eyes roll back into his head. Then she peered down her nose at each and every one of us before sweeping from the room.
The king made a courteous bow and offered us a smile. “Please,” he said, gesturing to the table, “enjoy the feast. I shall return momentarily.”
“It was Mother’s idea,” Poppy said quietly as soon as their parents had left the room.
Lavender shook her head. “I’m sure it was, dearest. You and J.G.—well, I wish you every happiness. If you love each other, then I’m excited for you. But you deserve your own day.”
As they all resumed their seats and began to eat in silence, Nicky and I looked at each other again, weighing our options. Part of me wondered if we should still slink out and leave the family to settle their issues in private. But then another part of me didn’t want to squander the chance we had to speak with the formidable king and possibly get some answers to our questions about what was going on with the Agency.
“Please stay,” Lavender said, grasping my hand in hers. “I haven’t seen you since you left The Refuge.”
My gaze snapped toward where Poppy was cooing over J.G., trying to sooth the sting of her mother’s tirade. The Refuge. “J.G.,” I said, “when you were investigating Sebille Fenwick and the cult at The Refuge, did you come across any information on Dracula?”
J.G. shrugged. “Yeah, sure. They were in league for a while.”
I nodded. “We need to chat.”
“That bloodsucker was a helluva lot better at covering his tracks than Sebille,” J.G. said, snipping off the end of a Cuban cigar that had been part of the king’s personal stash in the study. “I couldn’t ever find out anything concrete on the guy—just rumors and innuendo. That kinda shit. Nobody was willing to flap their gums and risk ending up dead, you know what I’m sayin’?”
“That must be what I was picking up on when I was asking around during the werewolf murders,” Nicky mused. “Nobody was talking. Nothing tips me off faster that something big is going on than when Tales won’t talk about it.”
J.G. grinned around the cigar as he lit it up. “I like you, Blue. I don’t care what anybody says.”
Nicky jerked back a little. “What are people saying?”
“So how do we get them to talk?” I said in a rush before J.G. could spew out whatever gossip he’d heard about Nicky.
“Just gotta ask the right questions of the right people,” J.G. said. “I was focusing on Sebille before, not that bloodsucker Dracula.”
“And who would those right people be?” Lavender asked. “Trish and Nicky need something to go on.”
J.G. blew out a long curl of smoke and nodded. “If it was me, I’d start with Renfield.”
“Renfield?” Seth scoffed. “That guy’s freaking crazy. He lived in The Refuge for a while after Dracula went off the grid. But he started wigging out again and had to be sent back to the Asylum. No offense, J.G.”
J.G. shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I was in the room next door to the guy and had to listen to him rant and rave all fuckin’ night. Thank Christ Poppy came along and got me the hell outta there.” He sent a wink her way that made her blush fiercely. I had to wonder if I ever turned that particular shade of red when Nicky looked at me.
“So, we’ll make a trip to the Asylum,” I said with a determined nod. “Renfield might be a total lunatic, but if he can help us track down Dracula’s lair, then it’ll be worth the visit.”
J.G. shook his head. “Nah, he’s not going to know how to find Dracula. The count wouldn’t trust that crackpot with anything like that. If you want to find the lair, you’re going to have to track down whoever built it. It’s a shitload of dirt to move around, so it’d be a big job.”
“Everyone knows Dracula is wanted by the FMA,” I said. “Who would take on a job like that?”
Seth and Nicky exchanged glances, and I heard Seth curse under his breath before they said in unison, “The Piggs.”
I frowned. “I thought the Pigg brothers were indicted for fraud for their shady home building practices before the housing bubble burst and were serving time in the Ordinary prison system.”
“They got out a little over a year ago,” Nicky said. “Perfect timing.”
“Just don’t tell ’em you know me,” Seth warned. “If they find out they’ll send you packing.”
“What the hell happened between you guys anyway?” Lavender asked. “You never have told me.”
“Let’s just say when I was first a wolf, I sometimes had a tough time determining what was off-limits for dinner,” Seth replied. “It was all a big misunderstanding.”
“You almost ate them,” I pointed out with a grin. “I think that goes beyond a misunderstanding.”
Seth gave me a sardonic look. “Have you ever met the Piggs?”
I was about to ask what he meant when the study door opened and the king entered, his manner more aloof than it had been before. “I apologize for the disruption during your dinner,” he said to all of us, pointedly waiting for J.G. to vacate his chair behind the desk. His future son-in-law stared at him for a moment, but then finally caught on and hopped up and turned the chair toward the king.