“Did you stay with my grandfather long?”
Eloise shook her head. “No. As you know, all your aunts have different fathers, and your mother was no exception. I couldn’t risk the curse.”
“That was wise of you. Did you pick them specifically?”Careful, Cora, careful. Honey, not venom.
She scoffed. “Of course. I am not fooled by a pretty face and notions of love.”
No, because you wouldn’t know love if it slapped you in the face. No risk there.
She jerked her head at Liz. “Her father was a renowned air elemental from France.”
Liz didn’t react, but I could sense all my aunts soaking in their mother’s words.
My grandmother went through my living aunts, confirming she had genetically planned each of them to cover the four bases of the elementals. My grandmother had birthed herself a quad, but failed to nurture them. So instead of mindlessly following her, they hated her. But that left a burning question, and I just had to hope I’d laid enough groundwork for this to seem a natural extension of the conversation.
“And my mother?”
Eloise pressed her lips into a thin line. “A mistake.” That stung. She glanced at me, reached over Hudson, and patted my hand. “But all mistakes have silver linings, and that was you, Cora.” She glanced at Abaddon. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think your mother would seduce an angel. I underestimated her, but I guess that’s my mistake, given I had underestimated her father.”
“What do you mean?”
“He almost had me.” A wistful smile appeared on her face, one I’ve never seen her wear before. “I was done with children. I had my four, and I had no time or desire for a connection beyond that.”
“But?”Gently, Cora. Make it seem like her idea.
She smiled in full. “I guess with where we are, there’s no need for secrets now. I am posed to rule this world, so what’s the harm?”
“I’d love to hear about it,” I coaxed.
She nodded. “Your grandfather wasn’t an elemental, Cora. In fact, he wasn’t anything special at all. He was a human. A strong, but utterly ordinary, human. I think I let my guard down because he wasn’t a threat. He couldn’t hurt me or steal what power I held. He was safe, and so for a short time, I let myself believe in love.”
She chuckled like it was a ridiculous notion. “Did you fall for him?” I wondered.
She shook her head. “For a time, perhaps. Until I realized I was pregnant, then I had to make decisions. Pregnancy can make us weak.” She tilted her nose up and stared at me. “Remember that, because the hormones play havoc on your body and mind. They make you think you are not the most important thing on earth and fool you into putting your child first. It all disappears once they are born, though.”
Wow.
“Did you leave him?” I asked.
“No, I killed him.”
And any notion that my grandmother had a heart evaporated.
“Who was he?” I whispered, because deep down, I was holding on to hope that perhaps I could meet him. It was a wild dream, anyway.
She sighed. “No more, Cora. The meal is drawing to a close. Perhaps it is time to discuss why you invited me?”
Maggie jumped up and helped Aira clear the dishes. The rest of the supernaturals stayed firmly in place to listen to the end of our conversation.
I folded my arms and leaned back. “Are you aware of the ghost problem in White Castle?”
She tilted her head. “Ghosts are everywhere, Granddaughter. Be more specific.”
“There are a very large number of them, and they have shown themselves to the living.”
Her nose twitched. Ah, so she knew what that meant, but not why they were here specifically.
“They are remnants,” she stated.Ugh, tell me something I don’t know.“I’m aware their numbers have increased lately.” Yup, because you are responsible. No one said it, but we all thought it. “However, there shouldn’t be a concentration of them, and they certainly shouldn’t be here in White Castle.”
