Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
brANDON
A knock comes at my door promptly at five a.m. I don’t have to ask who it is. I swing the door open and find my grandfather, already dressed for the day, standing there.
“We have much to talk about, son.” He gestures behind him. “Can we start with that?”
I look over his shoulder and sigh. Isabel is lying across the couch, still in last night’s dress. Pieces of hair have fallen off her bun, laying messily across her face. Her face is scrunched like she’s not having the best night’s sleep. The couch is small, so I’m not surprised.
I move out of the room and pick her up. She must be exhausted, as she doesn’t even stir. I’m crossing the space to her room when the suite doors open, and in comes Roman.
His hair is a rumpled mess, with his white shirt wrinkled and untucked, while his suit jacket is nowhere to be seen. His blood-shot eyes narrow on me as his mouth gapes, trying to figure out what to say.
“Save it.” I’m tired.
He didn’t know Isabel would wait for him. Should he have known? Whatever this might be, they have to put it on the back burner; we have more pressing matters at hand. I take Isabel to her bed. Lexi Blue is already awake. She’s lying in bed with the cursed book in her hands. I notice the page she’s on and assume this must be her third time reading it.
“Anything interesting?” I ask her. I hope she can see more than I could.
“Many things,” she says as a matter of fact.
“In that specific book.”
“A few.”
“Make a note of them. Grandpa will wish to ask you questions.”
She doesn’t react to my announcement. Unlike most people, conversing with King Oscuro doesn’t phase Lexi Blue. To her, it’s all the same. From her side table, she pulls out a notebook and starts jotting down notes. I make sure to close the door quietly behind me.
The front door of my wing is thrown open with such force that it bounces off the wall. The bang echoes around the room, grabbing everyone’s attention. All conversation stops instantly. Two bodies covered in green goo run inside, only stopping when Roman raises his hand and blows them backward. Their weight pushes them into the air and drops them onto the rug.
It takes me a second to recognize Alejandra and Bianca. They’re covered head to toe in a disgusting-smelling substance.
“What on earth is that?” Jesse takes a step back. His hand is dramatically pinching his nose, and his eyes look concerned that the goo will jump at him.
I recognize it, and the smirk on my grandfather’s face tells me he does as well. The Kai family hires Lou Carcolhes to secure their vault. Since this part of the world is the only one to allow their habitats, I’m not surprised.
As a child, I considered those sneaky things to be creatures from nightmares. I hated the idea of them. If Bianca thought the water imps were bad, I can only imagine what she thinks of these things. They make my skin crawl.
“I see you have encountered a Lou Carcolhe.” My grandfather’s tone is full of humor.
Both women snap their heads in his direction. “King Oscuro,” Alejandra greets, jumping to her feet. In their hurry to get inside, they missed him.
He waves Alejandra down. “Take a deep breath. I’ve never known Lou Carcolhe to be fast. Is that why you two raced here?”
Both girls look at each other and then at me, conflicting expressions are evident in their eyes. I incline my head. “I’ve updated my grandfather on this group’s ongoing activities.”
The relaxed expression on Alejandra’s face clues me to the stress I’ve put on them. Skimming and lying to the King is no simple task. They might not outright lie to him, but by keeping secrets and moving on to shadows, it must have felt like it. The act probably didn’t weigh the same for Alejandra, who grew up under my grandfather, and Bianca, who never met him.
“I’ve never seen a Lou Carcolhe, or whatever these things were, but they were fast and tall,” Bianca explains from her place on the floor. Her eyes find mine. “They knew who I was.”
“Who we were,” Alejandra corrects.
“Lou Carcolhe often does.” I sit next to my grandfather and lean my elbows on my knees. “Their knowings are temporary, though. It’s their gift, per se. They know everything about the person they encounter to better attack them, then forget all about your existence when you’re out of sight. ”
“That explains a lot, actually.” Alejandra looks down at her arms and clothing with disgust.
Jesse's expression mirrors hers, and his hand still clips his nose.
“What happened?” Grandfather gestures for the girls to get off the floor.
Both girls jump into the story. They take turns detailing how they took a detour that ended up taking them straight to the vault. When Alejandra thought this was too easy, the creatures began surrounding them. Bianca’s gift didn’t work inside the vault, at least not with the creatures. They could see them and track them easily enough through the vault and to the exit.
“The goo was everywhere.” Alejandra shudders. “Needless to say, I believe the items inside that vault are the safest.”
“I see,” I say.
I take in all the information offered. It makes me feel better to know the items here are safe, but it also gives me no other info about who could be behind this, or how far they’d gotten in their plans.
I follow their story with my own. Connecting each dot of the story, I allow each member to add information they think is relevant or something they believe I left out. Grandfather, for his credit, sits and listens. I try not to push the idea that royal families need to be suspects as anyone else, but I’m not sure I’m good at hiding it.
“We have one more stop. It has become clear that succession needs to happen as soon as possible.”
“You think that stopping my crowning is a motive?” I turn to my grandfather.
“A young king is a powerful reign.”
“It’s not like you’re going anywhere,” I say, more to myself than anyone else.
Grandpa leans over and places his hand on my knee, reassuring me. I look into his eyes and see the promise there. I will not be alone.
When I was first announced as the heir, I recall feeling alone. The thought of having to rule and decide on my own terrified me to my core. I recall how my stiff fingers held the bowl with herbs I took to the Fates. The way they look at me and read me like a book. They knew all my thoughts and most intimate fears.
You will never meet the day when you will rule alone. That is our promise to you.
For so long, I took that as a vow. Despite every year, he grew older, and every cough got louder. They promised me I would have my grandfather to help me.
“What now?” Roman asks the room. “I need to get back to the Black Castle. Those search teams won’t organize themselves.” His rush to leave might have more to do with a currently missing group member.
“You’ll take Amy Bee with you,” Grandfather says. At Roman’s sour expression, Grandpa chuckles. “She will do the spell for the boy. No need to delay that part any further.”
He doesn’t have to say his name. We all know who he’s talking about. That I had kept Matias’s existence a secret was the hardest thing to own up to. The number of people I drag into this increases when I realize all the people who knew while the king was in the dark. I gesture for Bianca to come forward. It’s been long overdue. I’m unsure of the reason, but since I’m in the spirit of honesty, I feel the need to formally introduce her.
“Grandfather, I would like to introduce you to Bianca Blanco officially.” I let my smile spread. “Despite what might have brought her to the doors of the Black Castle, we’re glad she has chosen to stay after all is done.” I allow a pause to settle the noise in the room. I take a step closer to her .
He takes her in like this is the first time they have ever laid upon her. “A pleasure to meet you, Bianca.” His hand extends to her.
She raises her hand to take his hand but quickly puts it down as she sees the goo still covering them.
“Come.” I attempt to grab Bianca’s hand in mine but think better of it. “We might have to go outside and rinse you down.” I point at Alejandra. “You too.”
My grandfather leaves to meet his advisor while we all walk outside. We chat while the girls rinse their clothes and hair. The sticky goo is slippery but, thankfully, easy to wash off.
Grandfather calls for Jesse from inside. A few minutes later, my brother storms outside, leaving us all looking after him. Grandfather makes it to the doorway, looking after my brother. Concern edges deeply in his eyes.
“What happened?” Roman asks him.
I watch my grandfather’s profile. The deep set of his stress lines. His expression tells me right now he feels powerless.
“We got news from Ignis.” He clears his throat. “It already happened.” The statement falls with a weight of finality. “Late last night, the bonding ceremony of Janelle and Ray was officiated.”
I toss the water hose to Alejandra, who nods in understanding. I don't need to check behind me to know Roman is following closely as I head toward where Jesse disappeared.