Once the whole group – Argus included, although he maintained a façade of nonchalance – had settled down in the crumbling reception room of the Owl Palace, it was time for business. Naomi locked eyes with this new cousin over her steaming glass teacup.

“Cousin Argus?”

He shifted uncomfortably.

“Ask away…”

“Do you happen to know how one would go about finding someone knowledgeable in the dances of the East? I thought that – well, since my mother was …”

Naomi trailed off. Family was a touchy subject for both of them, and it felt especially awkward to express ownership of the real Princess’ mother. A few item descriptions had mentioned the owl fairies and their links to nomads in the East, but otherwise she was totally pulling this out of her ass.

Argus seemed more relaxed. Whatever he’d thought Naomi would ask about had been uncomfortable, but discussing this seemed easier. Naomi caught herself wondering about why – she’d always had this desire to understand what made other people tick. Maybe if she finally dug deep enough into what made others the way they were, they would begin to make sense.

“I couldn’t bring either associate into the palace, and I’ve heard that your trips out are restricted, so I suppose the filial thing to do would be to sneak you out. It’s a rough part of town, but you handled Arsinoe until she started punching. As long as someone is there to keep you out of a fight, you should be fine.”

Naomi would wholeheartedly agree. She wasn’t a fragile little flower emotionally, having seen a lot of things online that she wished she hadn’t, but physically? A strong breeze could probably take her out.

“We’ll need some sort of disguise – I’ll handle that. Would next week work? Honestly, I think I’m free every day, but I’m sure you’re busy.”

You could almost hear the cogs of Argus’ mind turning.

“How about in three days’ time? There are a few moving parts I’d like to straighten out.”

Naomi instinctively gave him a stinging high five.

“It’s on!”

“I’d heard that the Owl Princess was – pardon my words – anxious and frail. You seem a lot calmer than your reputation suggests.”

Melaenis was making that face again.

Naomi ruffled the back of her head, consciously trying to seem casual.

“I guess being so sick made me want to see things differently?”

They seemed to accept that. The personality changes seemed to be for the positive, so maybe that helped. Plus, the brain fog from being ill could certainly chill someone out – Naomi could testify for that. She’d had a lot of experience being ‘sick girl’, which was like a full time job.

With that, the meeting drew to a close. Melaenis found a spare bed for Alitta in the palace’s servant quarters, putting Naomi to bed early then heading off to do whatever it was she did.