Chapter 22
I wake up in my own bed. I’m assuming Marik moved me here, but it’s alarming that I didn’t wake up when he moved me.
I must have been exhausted. I check the time.
It’s already past noon, the sun peeking through the closed curtains.
Elle didn’t wake me for our training, which I’m thankful for.
She does, however, wake me up by bringing me breakfast in bed: three pancakes, three scrambled eggs, three slices of turkey bacon, and a blueberry muffin.
All served on one yellow tray by one smiling Elle.
The smell of the turkey bacon snags my attention first. My mouth begins salivating as soon as she steps into my room with the tray.
“For you, Your Wounded Highness,” she says, holding the plate out.
I adjust my legs and sit crisscross on the bed, then take the plate from her. “You’re being so dramatic. I’m fine, and I could have gotten my own breakfast.”
“It’s brunch, actually,” she retorts as she crosses the room and flings the curtains open.
I throw my hands up to block the sudden onslaught of the sunshine now filling the room. “Mother, Elle,” I curse.
She walks over to the bed and plops onto the end, a grin on her face. “So, I take it you feel fine for your date with Barrett this afternoon?” she asks.
I take a huge bite of the buttermilk pancakes after dousing them in butter and syrup. I nod, my mouth stuffed with fluffy, syrupy, buttery pancake. I moan at the taste.
Elle unties her boots and tosses them toward the door, mud flaking off as they hit the ground. She brings her legs up to the bed and asks, “How are you feeling about the princes so far?”
I sigh and put down my fork. “Honestly, I hate this whole thing. I like all of them, minus Barrett. I just don’t know him, but I’m sure I’ll love him, too.”
Elle raises an eyebrow. “Even Asmo?”
I shrug and say, “He was sweet to me last night. It’s not love, but I no longer loathe him.”
“Is anybody in the lead?”
“Yes. No. It changes every day. So, I guess no?” I say, unsure of my answer. “I have enough crushes. Do I have to go out with Barrett tonight?” I ask before stuffing another massive bite of syrup-doused pancake into my mouth.
She looks at me, and her jaw drops. “Mae! Yes! I mean, technically, no, but you should give him a chance like you’ve given everyone else.”
“It’s just getting so hard already, and I’ve only had one date with each of them.”
She steals a piece of my bacon and nods. “I can see that. I can’t imagine dating five different males at the same time. All of them gorgeous. Poor you.” She rolls her eyes at me.
I snatch back the piece of bacon still in her hand. “You don’t get to eat my bacon and make fun of me.”
“Sorry,” she says with a pout.
“Apology accepted,” I say, and hand her back the bacon.
Elle grabs it, smiles, and shoves the whole thing in her mouth. “You’ll have fun tonight, though. Barrett is a sweet guy, and he’s a lot of fun.”
“Can you come with me?” I plead.
“And crash your date? No, come on. You’ll be fine. Hey, what are you thinking for your group date on Saturday? I was thinking of a pool date. It will be cold soon, so this is kind of the last chance to do it. Plus, it’ll be fun to see all the princes shirtless.” She winks at me.
I shrug and say, “Sure, let’s do it.” I finish my pancakes and move on to the eggs.
I look around the room, searching for coffee but not seeing any. “Coffee?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I’ve been up for hours. I didn’t even think about it.”
I level a glare at her.
“Sorry,” she says with a shrug, grabbing another piece of the crispy bacon. “Maybe don’t sleep through training,” she says with a smile.
I set my fork on the tray. “Elle, those things were freaky,” I say quietly.
Her smile fades. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been.”
“Asmo said they’re created by witches using dark magic. Is that true?”
She places both hands behind her and leans back on the bed. “Yes, he’s right. I’ve never seen one before. They and other creatures used to roam the land when witches were plentiful. It’s been hundreds of years, though.”
“What happened to the witches?”
She shrugs. “Well, before they overtook the Fae Kingdom, they were hunted by the Fae and went into hiding because of it. That’s why we assume they targeted the Fae Kingdom.”
My jaw drops. “What? Why would the Fae do that?”
“Well, like Asmo said, the witches were notorious for using dark magic. They were persecuted for it,” she says nonchalantly. Her tone doesn’t sit right with me, but I don’t ask any additional questions. Not right now, at least.
“Do you think that my father was killed by one of those things?” I ask instead.
Elle tilts her head and purses her lips as she considers it.
“It’s possible. It’s not an angle that we had considered.
We haven’t seen one of these creatures or anything created with dark magic in our lifetimes.
These things respond to the witch that created them, so it’s possible there’s a witch out there that sent them after your father. ”
“They’d have to be invited to the house, right? Because of the spells preventing portals and funneling?”
“Yes…” She trails off, bringing her hand to her mouth in thought. “If the witch was invited to the house or accompanied someone who was invited to the house, she could have summoned the cambions and set them loose on the estate. That’s great thinking, Mae. You’re a genius.”
I smile, finally happy to provide something of value to the investigation. “Is there any way to test that theory?”
Elle frowns. “No, not that I’m aware of.”
My smile falls. “Then how does it help?”
“I don’t know. Not my job, but I’m sure it will. I’ll pass it along to Ivan.” She eyes the last piece of bacon. “Just like you’re about to pass me that bacon.” She beams at me.
I shove the entire tray toward her, my stomach feeling grossly full.
“Have at it.” Elle eagerly grabs the leftovers and digs in, starting with the bacon, of course.
“Hey, how does the librarian do her job?” I ask her.
She looks at me, eyebrows tilted, mid-chew.
“She’s fully blind! How does she do anything? ” I elaborate.
She doesn’t respond, instead staring at me, looking utterly bewildered. She swallows her food and says, “Mae, what are you talking about? She’s not blind.”
“Yes, she is! I met her in the gardens to ask her about the tale of the First Deer Queen and her eyes were all milky, and she said she couldn’t see.”
She stares at me, eyes narrowed. “Her eyes were milky? Are you sure you talked to the librarian? Our librarian is like fifty and wears glasses, but she’s not blind.” She grabs the blueberry muffin and begins to unwrap it.
“No, that wasn’t her,” I say quietly, a chill running through my body.
Wicked things are afoot. Evil is coming…
She sets the blueberry muffin down slowly. “Are you saying you talked to an elderly female on the grounds?”
I nod, trying to piece it together.
Elle sits up straight. “We don’t have anybody that fits that description that works here. Tell me everything about this person and what you talked about. We have to tell Ivan.”
“She was old. She had a cane, hair in a bun, and she was blind. I found her in the greenhouse, watering the planter boxes. I asked her about the tale, and she said it was true. She also said there were evil things in the castle and to be careful. It was weird, but she was old, so I didn’t think anything of it.
I had my net up, and I didn’t detect any lies,” I say.
Elle shakes her head and says, “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. She probably didn’t lie to you about anything, maybe bending the truth instead to get around telling a lie. Is that all she said?”
I think back to our conversation. “Yeah…” I rack my brain, trying desperately to remember every small detail, but nothing else comes to mind.
Elle stands up from the bed and rushes to the door, toward her shoes. She sits on the ground and begins shoving her feet into the black boots as she says, “I think she was a witch. I don’t know how the fuck she got onto the grounds, but I bet that’s where the cambions came from.”
“Wouldn’t I have known if it was a witch? Don’t they have like, a black aura around them?” I fling the covers back and stand, hurriedly putting my own shoes on.
“Yes, but they use glamours,” she says, tying the laces on one boot. “They’re very skilled with magic of all kinds and can change their appearance on a dime. They’re also incredibly rare and difficult to identify. I probably wouldn’t have noticed she was a witch either.”
Both shoes on, she stands up and grabs her jacket from the chair. “I need to go update Ivan. You okay?”
She eyes the shoes on my feet and says, “No. Stay here. Please. Your wing is warded, and nobody can get in without your permission. I’ll send Barrett directly to your wing when it’s time for your date.”
I nod. “Of course, that’s fine. Thanks for breakfast.”
She nods and hurries out of my bedroom. The door slams shut behind her as she leaves the wing.
If the person I talked to yesterday really was a witch, and a witch sent the cambions to hurt me, why didn’t she just attack me yesterday?
Who the hell invited her onto the grounds?
Is it possible the presence of the princes and the witches is just a coincidence?
Or is one of them really responsible for my father’s murder?