I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to demand answers: why didn’t you find me, why didn’t you come for me, why did I spend my whole life alone when you were right here?
But all I could do was sit there, shaking, as the world I thought I knew crumbled to dust around me.
Archer brought me some water, and I clasped it with my shaking hand. The water tasted cool rolling down my tight throat.
Darius put his hands on my shoulders. “Alice, how are you feeling?”
“Numb. Angry. Confused.” I glanced up at Grump. His eyes searched my face—desperate, hungry, like he was looking for someone else in my features. All the loneliness and sadness threatened to boil over. “The assassin said my father was dead.”
“When have the Cormacs ever told the truth?” Bitterness dropped from Grump’s every word.
“If that’s true, why did you abandon us?”
He lowered his head. “I didn’t. Your mother fell through a portal like you did.” He stared at the pocket watch. “She was beautiful. Perfect. I fell for her the first time I saw her.” He chuckled. “But she needed to be persuaded.”
I stared at him, not knowing what else to say. I knew nothing about my parents and didn’t even know if he was just spinning the tale. Or if it was even true.
Darius looked at me like he already knew what I was thinking. “You don’t believe him, do you?”
I shrugged but didn’t answer him. Did it matter? There was no way to prove he was telling the truth. He may or may not be my father. Nothing seemed right. My world was being shaken apart again. None of the pieces fit.
Darius locked his gaze with Grump. "How badly do you want to prove to your daughter that you're telling the truth?"
Grump frowned, but then his scowl melted away. "Bring it."
Darius tilted his head. "Chester, get the hat."
Grump's face went pale, but he didn't protest.
"The hat, the hat," Chester purred, his luminous eyes appearing first, followed by his grin, then the rest of him shimmering into view. "Such a dangerous little thing. It plucks secrets like petals from a flower." He cast his gaze over Grump. "He loves her. He loves her not. He loves her..." The grin stretched wider. "Shall we find out which petal falls last?"
"Chester." Darius' voice held a warning.
"As you wish, Mad King." Chester dipped into an exaggerated bow, his body rippling like smoke. "One truth-telling hat for one truth-telling Grump."
Grump grabbed a chair and sat down, bracing his back against it, his hands gripping the armrests as if preparing for a blow.
I couldn't believe he was doing this. The hat was dangerous. Painful. Maddening. I knew what it felt like to have it rip through your mind.
"You're really going to wear the hat?"
He met my gaze. Steady. Unflinching. "It's the only way you'll truly believe me."
No one had ever done anything like this for me. No one had ever been willing to suffer just to prove something to me.
My throat tightened. "But is this truly necessary?"
"Yes.” Grump’s knuckles went white on the armrests. “I need to prove to you that I am your father. I owe your mother that."
The rest of the Uncrowned Seven surrounded us. None of them looked happy. Heat broke out across my skin. They were going to demand I be cast out. Only Darius, Caterpillar, and Chester had accepted me.
My heart pounded. The hat would lay everything bare. I didn't want to hurt Grump—not really. But I'd spent twenty-one years believing lies. I deserved the truth.
The hat floated over and lowered onto Grump's head. He stiffened and gritted his jaw—ready for pain.
Chester vanished, his grin lingering a heartbeat longer than the rest of him.
Darius snapped his fingers. “Tell me about Alice’s mother.”
