Father snorted a quiet laugh and turned his stunned gaze toward me. “She is your grandmother, just as she said.”
My lips thinned into a straight line. “Are you positive, Father?”
“I am.” The shock began to wear off his features and quickly started to morph to one of fury. His regard swung back to his mother. “Who killed you?”
One side of her mouth curled up into a malicious grin. “Follow the drums, my king. They won’t lead you astray. There you will find my murderers, arranged to be slain.”
As alarming as this unnatural marvel before me may be, my back snapped up straight. If this spirit didn’t lead us to death, I would trust my father and her word that she was indeed my grandmother. But I would be there to protect my father if this was a morbid spell from the Caster Kingdom.
I growled, “I’m going, too.”
Silver eyes pierced mine. “Happy hunting, my dearheart.”
* * *
Pink, blue, green, and yellow flower petals scattered the king’s foyer as my mother stormed up the grand curving staircase.
Minnie paused halfway up and glared back at my father. “I cannot believe you are allowing our daughter to go with you.”
The king shook his head, his sigh reverberating in the silence. “Would you like to talk some sense into her, love?”
My mother’s golden, expressive eyes, a gaze full of fear for me, fell onto my person. She shook her head in dismay, more flower petals falling from her seafoam green hair in her distress, then swiftly swept her strained concern back to my father.
“She got her stubbornness from you. If anything happens to her, I will blame you for eternity!”
“I understand,” Father said stoically.
Minnie huffed and cast one more glance in my direction. She mumbled under her breath the entire way up the rest of the stairs, hundreds of flower petals sprinkling the air and floating back and forth on their way to the ground. Her short, curvy body trudged away from our view.
I cleared my throat and shouted, “I love you, Mother!”
“I love you, too!” Her voice rang clearly. “And don’t you dare get killed. I want your elven butt home right after you make those damned criminals bleed.”
“Yes, Mother.” I tilted casually toward my father and lowered my voice. “She does know we’re going to kill them, right?”
“Of course she does. She’s simply being polite about it.” King Traevon pivoted on his heel and strode out the front door when a servant opened it for him. I quickly ran after him. Father waited until we were clear of listening ears before he stated, “Ask your question. I know you’ve been waiting.”
My chest rose and fell in exasperation. “You don’t always know everything.”
“I know almost everything. Ask.”
“Fine. Why didn’t you tell Mother about Grandmother’s spirit?”
“Because she doesn’t need to know. As I said before, what happened to your grandmother is extremely rare. Anyone who knows could be at risk. Many people would obsess and take horrifying actions to try to find a way for their loved ones to come back from the dead. Including hurting you or me for information.”
“Howdidit happen?” Not that I believed it was actually my grandmother. Not yet, anyway.
Father shook his head. “That’s the dreadful part. No one really knows. Your guess is as good as mine, or even your grandmother’s, for that matter.”
My soft soled shoes tapped lightly on the cobblestones beneath my feet as we walked through the castle gates that had opened for us.
“What is your guess?”
“Only a pureblood Fae can completely bring someone back to life, as they did with the five originals who kept killing each other. So I believe Isabella has been Fae blessed, sent for a higher purpose, even if she is without her earthly body.” Father’s eyes caught on mine, gleaming under the wrought iron streetlamp. “You must stay quiet on this, Trixie. Knowing is dangerous.”
My heart-shaped lips pinched in annoyance. “I won’t speak a word of it. I don’t want anyone in danger. You should know me better—”
“I do know you better than that,” King Traevon cut me off. “But there are times when a ruler must say what he already understands someone knows. Some thingsmustbe said aloud.”
