Majesty

Chapter 9: Strett Squad

After another ride on the horses back to the Majesty headquarters, Nin leads us to the sleeping room again, where I explain what she wanted, but leaving out my promise. "Good. I'll ask our documenters to write that down."

Amber is dusting her dress off, and Nin helps her. It's about midnight, and I decide a sleep would fancy me. Earla switches to another bed that's across the room. Drake takes the one she abandoned. "I suppose I could stay here for the night," mutters Nin, as he settles into the bed next to Amber's. She beams.

Drake stretches his legs, and walks over to where I'm under the covers. He tucks me in, then kisses my cheek gently. "Goodnight, Sarah. Sleep well."

I watch him go back to his bed, where he winks, then turns onto his side under the blanket. I blush a little, but relax as the snores of my roommates penetrate the cramped room.

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I wake up with a start. Drake and Amber shake me awake, laughing. "You look funny when you sleep," Amber gasps through giggles. I scowl, but head into the changing room to dress into what Nin placed on my bed to wear. Today, it's a black leather jacket with dark jeans. I step out, and discover my friends wearing similar clothes.

"Today," Nin instructs, casting a glance at Amber, who grins. "You will be with me in a special training group, the Strett Squad. Our mission, by the Queen's orders, is to spy during the night on the other coteries, but have the day free. We will be following them, but spying on her and her toadstools during the day.

"The Strett Squad consists of you three and me, but also others from the other coteries. They will be arriving shortly, and I advise you to get situated and eat breakfast quickly."

Drake sits next to me balancing a plate of croissants and rugelach on his lap. "Want some?"

I reach for a rugelach, which is filled with a strawberry paste. "Thanks," I mutter through a mouthful of bread. Drake smiles. "My pleasure."

From across the room, Earla casts an envious glare in Drake and my direction, then turns back to her cereal, which she picks at. I ignore her, and return Drake's gesture. "Do you wonder who the guests, or people, we work with are?"

He shrugs. "I bet they're okay. Probably muscular or thin, considering we're spies."

I nod, and take a bite into another rugelach. Before I can finish the pastry, however, a group of assorted teens our age file into the room, wearing a hodgepodge of colors. I wave to Wolfwind and Shadow, Ro, and Gloss. Several other girls step into the room. Nin and Drake are the only boys in the Strutt Squad, which Drake notices and points out.

The Strutt Squad forms a circle on the floor. Drake sits on my left and Wolfwind on my right. "We have gathered as a team to serve the Queen," begins Nin in an echoing voice. "But also to serve ourselves."

He explains the schedule, then says that tonight we will begin scouting the Azure coterie. They, according to him, will be in a meeting, and our job is to spy on them. We will be amongst the crowd, in the rafters, in outside the open windows. Sounds fun.

I'm instructed to blend in with the Azure with Drake and the two people I didn't know. They are friendly Natasha, a Viridescent with golden-brown hair braided with feathers, and charismatic Rose, a slightly short Scarlet. Her bubblegum-pink hair looks strange with her eyes that change with her mood, and right now are green. Our team will need to fix our looks if we want to melt into a group of Azure.

Nin and Amber pass out costumes that are supposed to correspond to our task. The girls are handed formal blue dresses with a matching shawl, and Drake receives a sports jacket and pair of corduroy pants of the same color. He smiles at me when I emerge from the dressing room, and I smile back.

Nin crams the Strett Squad into a minivan. I'm squished in the back between Drake and Rose. It's humid with body heat, which doesn't improve my growing sense of edge and dread. "Don't worry," says Rose cheerfully. "We'll be safe with the others guarding our back."

"How did you read my mind?" I sputter.

"It's been a talent of mine, including fire powers."

Rose conjures a flame in her right palm, admiring the flickering flames. I cringe as Drake grabs my hand. "It'll be all right," he murmurs. "She's right. We're safe, you and me."

My breathing and heart slow to their accustomed pace after a couple minutes. Natasha, sitting by Rose, leans over her. "We need to act calm. Panicking is not normal for the Azure."

She offers us a trick for appearing steady, even if our hearts are racing. I thank her, and lean my head on Drake's shoulder, trying to get even a wink of sleep. Nin leans back from the driver's seat, and announces it's ten o'clock. The meeting starts at ten thirty, and we're close to the location.

Minutes pass, and finally, Drake is helping me out of the van. The Strett Squad is standing in the middle of a dirt road, surrounded by fields of tall grains. A building with glimmering light filtering through the window seems a mile away, or so. The spies in the rafters and under the windows slink away, their shadows disappearing with them when they dart through the grain.

Rose, Natasha, Drake, and I nimbly crouch and walk on the road, stopping occasionally to search for any signs of life. I bring up the back, transfixed on the dirt underneath my boots.

A large group of chattering Azure stride to the building, not noticing us, about a hundred feet ahead. Our gait picks up as we join the back, and smile at each other. Natasha, I notice, looks relaxed and in place, Rose is slightly blanching, and Drake is faking a grin. I smile at him, hoping my high spirits will rise with his.

A middle aged man holds open the building's door, bowing his head as I pass. We walk into an open auditorium, filled with rough black seats. A stage stretches from the far wall toward the noisy Azure. I take a seat next to my group just as the lights dim. Out from behind the stage's curtain, steps the Queen.