Queen of Nothing

19. Queen of Retribution

Tristan and I laid low for the next couple of days. The truth was, once the adrenaline wore off and I realized just what I'd done, I was scared. Daphne invited me over for a magic lesson, but I declined and explained the situation to her. She replied with 'I hope you know what you're doing,' which wasn't the least bit comforting. But the worst part was waiting to know whether my plan had worked; whether JC would give me the opportunity to use the truth serum on him and expose his crimes to the two people whom he'd never dare to cross.

My answer came sooner than I expected. Tristan texted me the good news on the third day. Good was a relative term here, as his uncle made it clear the two of us were in deep shit. The important thing was JC and his dad would be there, and if everything went according to plan, he'd be the one taking the brunt of the fall.

I told Tristan to make sure the meeting take place over tea. I needed some way to sneak the truth serum into JC's drink and this was the best one. Then I put on a white blouse and navy pencil skirt that made me look so respectable, I could easily be mistaken for a librarian. Once ready, I called for a cab to River Road and had to talk myself out of stopping at a liquor store and buying a celebratory bottle of champagne. Tonight, John Charles Sinclair was going down.

Tristan waited for me on the front porch. He was dressed in dark jeans and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was slightly disheveled and he had the frazzled look of someone who hadn't slept properly in days.

"They're in there and they're pissed," he said as I came up the steps. "And I still have no idea what you're planning, but the staff made tea like you asked."

I pulled the vial of truth serum out of my purse and held it out to him. "Pour it into JC's cup. And make sure to remember which one it is. The whole plan hinges on whether or not he drinks what's in this vial."

Hesitantly, Tristan took the vial from me and examined it closely. "What the hell is it? Some kind of drug?"

I pursed my lips. There was no explanation I could give him that didn't make me sound insane. Ideally, I wouldn't involve Tristan at all but this was his house. It would be far less conspicuous for him to slip into the kitchen and spike JC's drink than it would be for me. But I'd come too far and done too much to let this plan fail because of Tristan's skepticism and my secrecy, so I opted to tell the truth for once.

"It's a truth serum."

Tristan's brows furrowed in confusion. "A what?"

Smiling coyly, I patted him on the shoulder, hoping my nonchalant demeanor would put his worries at ease. "Just trust me that it'll work. But only if JC drinks it, so we have to make sure he does."

Tristan sighed deeply and shook his head. He must have had more questions, but instead of voicing them he pocketed the vial. Then he held his hand out to me and I graciously took it, allowing him to lead me inside the house. We stopped at the kitchen and he ducked inside. A moment later he returned, giving me a swift nod to say that the deed was done. I breathed a sigh of relief. The easy part was over with. Now it was time to face the king's wrath.

Tristan led me into the same sitting room where I'd met Sheridan and Amelia the last time I was here. This time the reception wasn't nearly as friendly. The king reclined at the end of the sofa, elbow propped up on the armrest, watching me closely. On a loveseat across from him sat JC and a bulldog-faced man that must have been his father. The man was also a vampire — a fact I'd conveniently forgotten — which didn't put my mind at ease at all.

"Good evening Your Majesty, Lord Sinclair, JC," I said innocently with a bow of my head.

The king nodded for me to sit and I obliged. His anger was restrained under a veneer of poise, but I could tell it was there. Michael Sinclair, on the other hand, was snarling at me with bared fangs. JC simply hunched in the seat next to his father, sneering at me with contempt.