“We can’t kill hatchlings,” Savage says earnestly. “That’s the problem.”
I shake myself of an awful feeling of dread. “Ghoul didn’t reveal all that much during our time…together.” I say slowly. “But it’s clear to me he’s beentryingto help me for a very long time.” Everyone is quiet.
“Well, he didn’t do a very good job, did he?” Savage says angrily. “All those things you went through? Where was his help with that?”
“He was still sworn to my father,” I say calmly. “I’ve seen the markings on his face. They are ancient enslavement markings, meaning he cannot defy, betray, or plot against my father in any way. He can’t reveal his secrets either. What he could do was limited. He’s been bending the rules as much as he can. I had to—” Nausea roils up my throat again. “I had to hurt him to make sure he wouldn’t come after me for some time.”
“Oh, Lia,” Minnie says, squeezing my hand. She is the only person in the world who understands what I’m going through. Stacey’s face flashes in my mind for a moment, but it passes.
“It’s fine,” I lie. “I mean, I’m sure he’ll befine, I just…He asked me if I’d kill him if we needed to.” I have to swallow. “When I told him I’d put him down if it came to it, I… sawpridein his eyes.” I look at Scythe in disbelief. “He was…proud of me.”
“That fucker,” Xander mutters.
Minnie frowns. “He’s confusing.”
“I think he gets off on being confusing,” Lyle says. “There are clearly things he knows that we don’t, Aurelia.”
I nod at my lion. “One thing is clear to me for now. We need to talk to Eugene.”
Chapter 83
Aurelia
Eugene has been roosting with Stacey and Yeti on alternate days. So when Savage fetches him that evening, he arrives trailing an eager Stacey. “I’m happy for any distraction right now,” she says as I sit her down with a cup of tea. “Etienne and I are making zero progress, and I don’t think he even wants to see me, but I go down with Beak anyway.”
“Make sure you never go alone,” I say worriedly. “There’s something in the air that’s making monsters out of beasts.”
She nods sadly and pats the arm her rex shot. “I’m not going to forget this anytime soon.”
Savage sets Eugene on the dining room table, though Xander mutters and insists on wiping his feet first. We all wait patiently until Eugene is ready. He stares out at us all, his bedazzled goggles missing some diamantés now that Connor hasn’t been here to replace them.
“Eugene,” Scythe says, sitting at the head of the table. Eugene’s claws clack as he turns himself to look at his boss. “Do you remember that you are sworn to me?”
Eugene cocks his head before ducking it. Savage makes an excited noise before fetching a piece of A4 white paper anddrawing three words, surrounded by uneven circles—YES, NO, and UNSURE.
Scythe continues. “And do you remember what happened in the days before you swore yourself to me?”
Eugene pauses, glancing at me, then Savage, then Xander before pecking the NO circle.
I sit back in my seat. “Poultry are known for memory loss,” I say. “They think it’s a side effect to do with the fast-forward flashes they get. And I’m guessing he’s been a bird for so long that it’s eaten up his memories.”
Eugene pecks YES.
I perch on the edge of my seat. “Do you remember the basilisk, General Ghoul of Serpent Court?”
YES.
“He let slip that you might know some things that will help us solve a mystery. Ghoul was at Halfeather House before it burned down. But we don’t understand how he got there. Do you know anything about that?”
UNSURE.
I glance at Scythe, nodding for him to continue. “Eugene,” my shark says. “Do you give us consent to look through your memories? To see if there is something in there that can help us?”
YES.
“Wait, you guys can do that?” Stacey breathes.
“It’s not normally done,” Savage says. “But between my telepathy, Scythe’s psychic powers, and my regina’s Boneweaver powers, it’s possible.”
