“We don’t want to eat any of the food at the gathering tonight, so we are loading up on breakfast. You will most likely miss lunch, and we need to have plenty of energy without having to rely on questionable food.”
“That makes sense, but why is the food questionable? They wouldn’t poison their own people, would they?
“No, but there may be mind controlling substances in the food and drink.”
“Ohhh… when were you going to warn me?”
Kait laughed. “Right now. I didn’t want you obsessing over it.”
I mock-gasped. “I do not obsess. Much.”
We went back to eating as Kait went over the plan one more time. It was basic, so I may have zoned out in the middle of the discussion. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
“Kait. You said that Stefa would need to be executed, right?”
He went very still. “Yes.”
“When will it be done? Can I see her before it happens?”
“Soon. And no, you may not.” His dismissive tone had me bristling.
“Why not? I deserve to say goodbye!”
“Two reasons. First - we don’t know if she is still in contact, through telepathy or whatever, with anyone still in the Svikari. You may give something away without meaning to. Second - because you seem to be under the misguided notion that she cares for you, and that is good for your mental health to be in contact with her. Which is not true, and I will protect you, even from yourself, as much as possible.”
I deflated. While what he said should have made me mad, I had to admit, at least to myself, that there was a grain of truth in his last statement. “Fine. When is soon?”
He shared a look with David and Travis. “I’m sorry, Princess, but I can’t tell you. There are several reasons, the least of which is that I don’t want you to be distracted tonight. And before you say anything, no, it’s not happening tonight. We will talk about it after the mission, okay?”
Crossing my arms, I glared at him. After weighing the options in my head, I grudgingly nodded. “Fine, but don’t think this conversation is over.”
He held up a hand. “This time, it’s about more than just you. Stop whining.”
There was a knock on the door. Kait’s eyes unfocused for a second. “That’s the hairdresser. I’ll be right back.” He left the room.
I looked at David. “What did she knock on, and how did she know where to knock?”
He just shrugged as he laughed.
Kait shot me a look as he led a willowy young man into the room. “She’s not done eating yet. If you want, you can have some breakfast.”
The hairdresser turned up his nose, and said in a nasally voice, “No, thank you. I will wait in the other room until the missus is ready.” He spun on his heel and left the room.
“Pleasant guy. Really, Kait, where did you find him?”
“He’s one of Angel’s, that’s Travis's mom, hairdressers. He has high security clearance and is a nicer person that he just appeared.”
“Uh huh.” I finished the rest of my breakfast quickly, since I didn’t want to make him wait. “Kait, what’s his name?”
“Brad.” Kait seemed to be serious, there wasn’t even a hint of a smile.
“Really? He’s Shadoewynne, and his name is Brad?”
“Who said he was Shadoewynne? I just said he was a hairdresser.”
“True. Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
I followed Kait into the living room. As soon as we entered, he started questioning Brad. “You have the general idea of what we want for hair and makeup, right? Did you get the picture of the dress?”
“Oh, yes. It is a gorgeous dress, too. She will look ravishing in it when I am done!” I ignored the backhanded insult. Like I’m not ravishing now, with sweats and a messy bun? Kait stifled a laugh, causing him to cough.
When he was done with the coughing fit, he said, “Come on, I’ll show you where we set up for you to work. I don’t know if the lighting is right, but we got the rest of your requests filled.”
What did that mean? I followed along behind them, as they headed to a room I haven’t been in yet. Kait stopped in the doorway after Brad had gone in, blocking my way. He leaned in close to my ear. “I think you look ravishing all the time. Brad is just blind.” He glanced inside, then back at me, his brown eyes dancing as he lowered his voice further. “Please be nice to him?”
I scoffed. What did he think I was going to do? “Of course.” I brushed past him into the room that had been set up as a makeshift salon. There was a barber’s chair, a giant mirror, and tons of lights that all shone on the chair from different angles. A small rolling table was set off to the side with a hairdryer, curling iron, flat iron, and bags of makeup and makeup tools. Since I didn’t really do my hair or makeup, most of the tools looked completely foreign to me.
I gave Kait a wide-eyed look as he smirked and closed the door on his way out.
Chapter 20
Brad gestured to the chair, with a small smile.“Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll take good care of you. Kait mentioned you may want a trim before we start styling?”
“Oh! You can do that? I’ve been thinking about cutting it, but things have been so crazy. Yes, please!”
“Okay. How do you want it cut?” His voice was still nasally, but it wasn’t as bad as before and he seemed to have thawed some.
I hadn’t
