“Do you want me to tell Ray anything,” Odette presses, her eyes misty again, “when I next see him?”
Tom hesitates, peering at each of us in turn. We shouldn’t be the last to see him, but this is how it is. “Do I have to go? Ray has just fled. Perhaps you’ll find him in a day or two.”
I’m skeptical, but Lucius answers, “Perhaps we will. But would seeing your spirit comfort or crush your brother?”
“I’ll never know if you send me on now.” He looks at each of us in turn, desperately. “Please. Ray carries the burden of my death. If I leave before he can rectify that, he’ll carry the hurt for the rest of his life.”
“It’s not good for your spirit to linger,” Zarev says carefully, darting his eyes between me and Lucius. “We’ve seen the way time warps even a good soul.”
“A day?” Thomas asks, desperately looking around. “Perhaps a week? Just until we find my brother and I can say goodbye.”
“A week is a long time stuck in the in-between,” Lucius comments, shrugging. “But a few days might be manageable.”
As we sweep dirt over Tom’s body, the weight doesn’t lift from my shoulders. We’re still going to have to bring Ray’s brother’s soul to find him, someplace up the beanstalk. If he hasn’t already tried to go someplace else.
It could be a fruitless endeavor.
When the grave is covered, we all step back and stare. Earlier Zarev located a good-sized rock and I used my ice power to carve his name on it. Looking at it, it hits me that Tom shouldn’t be the first grave to accompany Jacob’s. Everything about this situation feels wrong.
“I’ll bring the family this way tonight,” Odette says, clasping her hands in front of her stomach. “After the fun with Lymara and Neve wears off. That way things are settled and everyone can see that it’s… done.”
That we buried Tom, and he’s never coming back.She doesn’t say it, but the lingering words hang over all of us like a heavy cloud.
“And then, then I’m going to find Ray,” she continues, peering around at each of us. She even glares at Tom, for all the good that’s going to do. “And if you try to stop me, I’ll make your lives a living hell.”
Before she can respond Lucius groans, and I have to home in on our surroundings to pick up on what he’s hearing. I catch the panting first. If he hadn’t made that noise, I’d be reaching for my staff.
Only one person manages to piss him off that much.
Lymara appears from between the trees, an unwelcome guest for this solemn affair. She’s out of breath, pressing a hand over her chest, using the other to point at Lucius. “Ajax is trying to reach you. The thorns around the manor must be raised again. People are getting…”
Her voice trails off, her hands dropping as her eyes widen. Lucius either doesn’t pick up on that last detail or doesn’tcare. “Ajax worries too much. We have a day of travel through the shadows to get back, so he needs to calm down. The people aren’t as dangerous as you make them out to be.”
She doesn’t even respond, staring toward Zarev and Rapunzel instead. I try to figure out what’s caught her attention, and it definitely seems to be the princess. Lymara licks her lips before holding out a hand, pointing. “You…”
“What are you staring at, Lymara?” Lucius groans. “Speak up.”
Shaking her head, Lucius’s sister looks between him and Rapunzel again. “Lu, I need your mirror.”
“Don’tcall me Lu,” he snaps.
She ignores him, crossing the space from the opposite side of Rapunzel, giving her a wide berth. “Just… give me the mirror.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Her voice trails off as she shakes her head. “I don’t think anyone will believe me otherwise.”
Sighing, Lucius reaches into the shadows, pulling a hand mirror free from the darkness.
“Show me the librarian.”
Lymara snags my full attention with her words, and turning, I see all eyes on her as she faces the mirror away from herself so each of us can see.
The woman in the reflection is surrounded by walls of books, studying a tome in her hand that’s cracked down the spine. Her long hair dusts the floor, and from here, it appears to be either brown or a dark red. The image is shaded strangely, like I’m seeing it through rose-colored glass.
I quickly switch my focus to the woman. Her deep-set eyes, hollow cheeks, and unnaturally pale complexion draw me in. The facial features are too similar to ignore.
She looksexactlylike Rapunzel, save for the hair color and the health in Rapunzel’s face. The Golden Princess stares with rounded eyes, one glaring detail sticking out above all else:
