She hesitates, and I can almost see the questions burning behind her gaze. Using my true name is a calculated move, and at worst, I’ll hear from Raymundo soon about a woman in Swan Lake seeing me. That’s a bridge to cross if we get there. “I’ve never seen the wheel personally. It was kept in the palace in Tressa.”
“Was?” I emphasize, and her throat bobs. Maybe she knows more than I give her credit for. “Did Dorah tell you that?”
“Queen Dorah,” she corrects automatically, and I slot that away for later. I knew, distantly, that Midas was a married man who had a child, but that’s about as far as my knowledge of Tressa went. “A friend.”
“It’s curious the paths we follow when we befriend a royal,” I say, her brows drawing together again at my words. “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting either of the royals in Tressa. Can’t say I head that far south. But I am curious about that spinning wheel. Your friend, Queen Dorah, claims it's no longer there?”
I know this, but where is it now? I only require one piece.
Ysanna slams her mouth shut, crossing her arms as she glares. “I’ll not say a thing more until you explain what you really want with it.”
Shrugging, I stand. Her eyes widen as she takes me in, and I know exactly what she’s looking at. I’ve always been on the tall side, and her gaze sweeps over me again as she acknowledges it. At six-foot-six I’m usually the lankiest person anywhere I go. “I’m only looking for where the parts went.”
Her eyes narrow, and the thoughts flicker through her mind. She’s offering me this information freely thus far, and that seems to be drawing to an end. “How did you find me here?”
“Help from a lost soul,” I tell her, waving a hand. I let the shadows free, the digits sliding into the darkness, and she gasps as part of me disappears. “The dead share their secrets more willingly than the living.”
“You’re…” Her voice trails off, and she has to lick her lips before finishing the thought. “A Reaper.”
“Aye.”
“But, but you aren’t the Reaper who watches over Swan Lake,” she continues, frowning. “I’ve seen Raymundo many times. Why are you here?”
“I told you, Ysanna,” I say smoothly, her cheeks staining red at the sound of her name. “I need to find the pieces of the spinning wheel. Can you help me?”
Her eyes flicker over my body. I bite my tongue and wait to see if she’ll keep up the fight. Some people are more willing to argue than others, but she seems forthcoming. She discreetly moves to the side, blocking the bench and the stone she dropped. If I hadn’t seen her do so, I would have missed it lying there in the grass.
“All I know is the spinning wheel left Tressa when King Midas threw it against the wall and it became damaged. Thatwas years ago when his child was very young. The pieces are in different places–”
“Who would know where?” I interrupt. If she knew, I believe she would have told me by now.
Ysanna hesitates, her throat bobbing as she stares. I know women sometimes find me attractive, but right now, as I fight to keep my cool, my ice is threatening to break free. That’s when I become scary, and the attraction fades.
“There’s a girl in the castle here in Swan Lake,” she says in a quiet voice. Her eyes dart around as though she's looking for something, and I wonder if perhaps she knew Barty at some point since he seems to know her. “She came from Tressa, a secret Dima, my son, unearthed one day. Her name is Cindy, a handmaid for the princess. Perhaps she knows more than me.”
I'm certain she does.
Inclining my head, I swirl my hand in the air again, and the fear gathers in her gaze. “Thank you for the information, Ysanna. For your help, I won't send you into your next life.”
She gasps when I fade, taking a step toward me. Her eyes dart around as she spins in a circle before she bends, snatching the seeing stone from the ground and tucks it beneath her crossed arms. She's somehow paler when she turns, hurrying back to the home.
“Why did you do that?” Barty wails, invading my space. “She gave you answers!”
“Perhaps,” I mutter, turning my glare toward the spirit. “But she's not the person you should be taking me to, hmm? Tell me, Barty, who is Cindy?”
+++
Cindy, it turns out, is a maid in the palace. She's a little plain-looking, tired eyes brightening with fondness when I watch her feed scraps to the wildlife around the castle. She spends timewith another blonde girl, whom I quickly learn is the Swan Princess. She looks a lot like the King and Queen when I see the family together, and unfortunately, the princess happens to be fond of her handmaid.
They talk.A lot.The Princess of Swan Lake doesn’t keep my interest, so other than recognizing her by the guards and people surrounding her, I know nothing about her. This is Ray’s realm, so if something is up with the woman, that’s his problem.
Luckily, since Ray actually does his job, there aren’t many dead here. Maybe one or two spirits because, well, death happens all the time, but there’s not an abundance. The princess seems to have a lot on her mind, and after a day of wandering around in the shadows observing the family I’ve definitely decided there’s something going on with her eye.
Maybe if Cindy isn’t helpful, I’ll ask the princess myself. Someone’s bound to get pissy enough that they’ll tell me what I’m looking for.
It takes the better part of a full day in the castle to find time when Cindy is alone. Barty drifts in and out of focus most of the afternoon, making a lot of commentary about how pretty the castle is and how he never knew this or that.
The problem with Barty is that I have yet to really understand him. He claims to be a spirit cast adrift, trying and failing to pass over until his final task is complete. Unless he was killed for the purpose of luring me here, I can’t imagine what that could be.
