She takes my hand and leads me toward the center of the village, where people hurry to bring whatever foodie delights they had stored in their homes. Do they just have these on hand for visitors, or are they enjoying fine dining every sundown? I think I could be happy here.
Penny draws me close to her side. “Thank you for having the strength to return. They were truly broken without you.”
I swallow the knot in my throat and press a hand against my chest. “They would have been okay.”
“Hart was about to usher in an era worse than his pretender father ever lorded over, and the Idols had all but declared victory and were starting to make moves to tighten the parameters of the narrative.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before rejects and survivors were out of sight and out of mind, but rumor has it we were on the chopping block.”
“They were ready to kill anyone who didn’t make the cut?” I check. That’s drastic, even for egotistical Idols with control issues.
“That’s what the whispers said,” Penny confirms. “But then the side characters started fighting back.”
I grimace. “Yes, we’ve witnessed that with the dwarves.”
Not that they don’t deserve their own destiny; everyone does. It’s just a case of making sure we unravel this world in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone.
“You look like you need a good meal and a hot bath.”
“Both would be welcomed. I fear I smell worse than Beast’s socks.”
“Do beasts wear socks?” she wonders. “Wouldn’t they shred?”
My lips twitch. I like Penny. I like her a lot. “That was part of the problem. The little straggly pieces of wool would cling to his claws.”
She makes a face and mock shivers. “I was never a Beast fan anyway. Selfish twit couldn’t see past his own nose until a literal beauty landed in his lap. Make better choices, is all I’m saying.”
She feels like family. My heart swells with more acceptance and love than I’ve ever known before.
“I heard about your villain intervention,” she whispers. “You’re a legend already, Daphne Stone.”
“Because I was born with this blood,” I muse.
“Now who is being an idiot?”
Definitely family vibes if we have got to the insults stage. “What I say isn’t untrue.”
“No, but you’re not the first Grimm bloodline. In fact, there are many generations who came before you, and they didn’t measure up.”
I tilt my head in thought as she halts our walk and stands in front of me. “I think I understand.”
“Do you?” she muses. “Only time will tell. Now, what’s first? Food or bathing?”
That’s a hard one. My stomach feels like it’s eating itself, and my skin itches like I’d walked through a patch of poison ivy.
She pats my cheek in understanding and winks at me before snapping her fingers. Three damsels rush over. “Daphne needs a bath drawn in the salt steam room and finger food delivered.”
They dart in different directions to fulfill Penny’s directive.
“Thank you.”
She glances over my shoulder, a shadow crossing her face. “No, thank you. I feared I’d lost them.” She shakes her head as if she can rid herself of the dark thoughts, but it doesn’t work. I’ve tried, but the little buggers cling on harder than a troll booger. “But now you’re here and they’re once more grounded. Just don’t die. Again.”
“Deal, but I have a question of my own.”
“Hit me.”
