Chapter Thirteen
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
The next morning Scarlett stared at the thick fog outside her window. Brayden was probably outside doing drills. Would their paths cross today? They’d never have enough time together, but especially not on this short visit.
Forcing herself out of bed, she pulled on a black camisole, a sweater, and a pair of black pants—without underwear, because she had none. She’d just finished dressing when there was a knock at the door.
Scarlett opened it to find her smiling grandmother standing with the help of a cane. Next to her, Flora stood holding a tray with a pot of tea, fresh fruit, and toast.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.” Manon’s hair was in its typical neat bun, and she was wearing a purple velvet dress.
“Good morning.” Scarlett stepped aside for them to enter.
“Morning.” Flora set the tray down on a small table between two armchairs.
“Thank you, Flora,” said Scarlett. “You seem to be here every time we need help. Do you live here in the castle?”
“Yes, I do,” Flora answered cheerily. “It’s quite a good gig. Five days on, two days off, and I never have to worry about buying milk.”
“I appreciated your help yesterday. I’m not sure I thanked you properly for the bath. I was so tired. I’m not sure bathing people is part of your job description, is it?” Manon sounded apologetic.
Flora waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry yourself. You’d been through it, and I was happy to help. I hope someone would help my granny if she were in a state and far from home.”
“You’re very gracious,” said Scarlett.
“No bother. Anyway, I’d best get on with it. Enjoy your breakfast.”
“How are you?” asked Manon once Flora had gone.
“Much better after a good night’s sleep. I need to find somewhere to buy underwear and pajamas. Beni forgot those two essentials.”
Manon chuckled as she used the cane to hobble toward the fireplace. “He didn’t pack any socks for me, bless him. We’ll sort that out today. Not to worry. They’ve got wonderful boutiques here. I’ll pick up some pajamas and maybe get you a couple of extra dresses.”
“That would be great. Thanks. You look well. I can’t believe you’re out of the wheelchair already. Energy healing is incredible.”
“It’s great to be walking, although I’ll admit I’m not one hundred percent. It doesn’t work as well when you’re old.” Manon lowered herself into an armchair. “But still, no wheelchair is a definite win.”
“It’s criminal that the healing they have here is unavailable in Soleil. Think of the lives that could be saved.”
“Yes. It could’ve saved your mother.” Manon looked out into the fog, her eyes distant, before returning her attention to Scarlett. “Everyone here thinks it’s absolute madness medical magic was ever made illegal in Soleil.”
Scarlett sat down in the chair opposite Manon. “Yes, the government banned the good magic along with the bad after the war crimes all those years ago. I’ll be trying to correct that once I’m back in Soleil. Anyway, have you seen the news yet? I’m dying to know what the papers are saying about us.”
“Today’s papers will come in on the afternoon train.”
“Good to know.” Scarlett poured out two cups of steaming tea.
“I’d wager there won’t be anything. Laylani’s in a tricky spot. She told the country we were bedridden. If she calls the police or the media, what will she say? That we’re dead? That the two people who were comatose for weeks woke up and stole her son?” Manon sipped her tea.
“I wrote to Alastair and Elestine last night,” said Scarlett. “Brayden has the letters. He’ll mail them today.” She filled Manon in on the details of what she’d written.
Her grandmother pressed her lips into a thin line. “I’m not thrilled about advertising we’re in Clair de Lune. What if Elestine tells the press?”
“We won’t be here long anyway,” said Scarlett, thinking. “I need to get back. Should we contact the Soleil media ourselves? We could use the press to get ahead of Laylani’s lies.”
“Give me a moment,” said Manon. She got that faraway look in her eye Scarlett associated with her decision-making process.
A good thirty seconds later, she snapped out of her trance and spoke.
“We need to gather as much hard evidence as possible before we act. Right now, we have a couple of piss bags and your brother’s testimony, which isn’t enough to take down your stepmother, let alone Moira. ”
“Then we wait to get the results from the urine and confirmation my petition with the courts was approved before we return, preferably with some serious protection,” Scarlett said with a shrug. “In Soleil, with me in Parliament, we’ll find a way to incriminate her and Moira.”
Manon’s brow furrowed—with worry or confusion, Scarlett wasn’t sure.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“We should remain here longer than that,” said her grandmother. “You’re not ready to go back.”
Scarlett’s gut clenched. The idea of waiting here longer than necessary made her nauseous. “Why? Don’t you care about what’s happening in Soleil?”
“I do, but it’s not my top priority. You’re here.” She held her hand high above her head. “Then comes everyone else we care about.” She lowered her hand just a bit. “And Soleil is somewhere down here.” She hovered her hand as low as she could without stooping.
Scarlett sighed. She was desperate to return to Soleil in a fiery blaze of revenge, but she could save this argument for after the urine tests came through.
“We’re waiting either way for now. While I wait, I want to go to your house and see where my mother used to live.
And the Forest Temple with Beni, if he’s up for it.
Brayden used his fire magic in front of me last night, and I want whatever magic I can get. A soul light, a valor—I want it all.”
Manon gave her a long look. “Are you sure? You’ll forever be more of Clair de Lune than you are of Soleil if you seek your magic.”
The note of warning in Manon’s voice made Scarlett tense. “You said no one in Soleil would be able to tell, right?”
“Right.”
“Then I’m sure. Being here without magic is showing me how much I’m missing out on. And I already feel other in Soleil, so I don’t think I’m giving much up. I want to explore these things myself and potentially spread them to others who might have better lives with magic.”
“Well, let’s get to it, then.” Her grandmother’s cheeks rounded as she smiled. She was still beautiful, even at seventy. “Let’s go to my house first.”
“I’ll check in with Beni and meet you back here. Then we can go.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Scarlett slipped out of her room and crossed the hallway to knock on her brother’s door. Beni answered half-dressed, with wet hair.
“Hey,” he said as he made way for her to come inside.
Scarlett sat on his bed, eyeing the mess of clothes and shoes he’d scattered across the floor. “How are you? We haven’t had time to talk about everything since we got here.”
He started towel-drying his hair. “I’m all right.”
“Do you miss your mum?”
He kept drying his hair and said nothing.
“It’s okay if you do. She is your mum.”
He stared at her. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the only family I have.”
Scarlett searched his face. If only she could take away his pain. She wrapped her arms around her baby brother, who was nearly as tall as her, and made a mental note to look into counseling for him when they were back home. Hell, she needed some counseling herself. Maybe they could go together.
“I’ll always be here for you, Beni. Manon loves you too. Don’t forget that.”
“Thanks.” He took a couple of deep breaths before pulling away.
Scarlett sat back down on the bed. “I wanted to ask, did Alastair come by while I was asleep?”
Beni looked at her as he brushed his hair. “Yeah, he did.”
“Was he helpful?” asked Scarlett.
Beni went to his suitcase, selected a shirt, and pulled it on over his head.
“He asked me if I needed help. I didn’t know what to ask him for though.
He brought his mum over once, but my mum sent them away.
” Now fully clothed, he sat down in a chair by the door, facing Scarlett.
“Then I met Brayden, and he helped me figure things out.”
Scarlett sighed with small relief that Alastair had been decent enough to try.
“You shouldn’t get back with him because of that though,” said Beni, his brow furrowed. “Brayden helped way more than he did.”
Heat spread across Scarlett’s face. “Don’t worry, I won’t. I just… wanted to know he hadn’t abandoned me. And you.”
Beni stared at the ground. “I get that.”
Scarlett stretched. “Enough about Alastair. Has anyone mentioned soul lights to you? Or valors?”
“At archery yesterday, Tommy and Patrick asked why I don’t have a light. They thought it was weird. Why?”
Scarlett went over the concept of the soul light with him, the same way Manon had for her.
Then she told him of her experience in the forest. She left out the part about her running into danger like a fool, focusing mainly on Brayden’s fire magic.
Then she asked, “I want to meet my light today and get my valor. Do you want to come check out the Forest Temple with me?”
His eyes lit up for the first time that morning. “Of course. I want magic powers too! Charging my phone with my hand? Hell yeah.”
Scarlett chuckled. “We’re going to my mum’s house first, but we’ll come back in a couple of hours and head to the temple then. You gonna be okay here for a while?”
“Oh yeah. I’ll go to the gym.” He flexed his skinny arms. “I need to work on these guns.”
A rush of fondness for her kid brother swept through Scarlett. Part of her wanted him to stay young and innocent like this forever. “I’ll see you later.”
Manon opened the door to her tree house with a set of keys Scarlett had never seen. The tree house looked similar to Minnie’s on the outside. On the inside though…
“It’s good to be home.” Manon let out a contented sigh.