Grandma studies him intently. “Okay, I will forgive you, but you'd best do it soon,” she says, ignoring his whining. “And official invitations are important. Don’t skip protocol.”
“All right, I can’t take it anymore. We are basically half the town.” Imogen suddenly exclaims. Daphne and Ivy stop arguing and look at their older sister.
“Massive exaggeration, Imogen,” Lorelei says.
“We should be able to figure out who this author-in-hiding is!”
The bacon I was eating sticks to the roof of my mouth as I try not to panic.
“Oh, yes, I heard about the author. So what? Let there be a mystery. Don’t you know that’s what’s helping sales. Why unmask her?” Grandma asks, buttering some toast. She looks up, and for three long, long seconds, she stares at me, and I realise that she somehow knows it’s me. Guess I’m going to see Grandma soon.
“Because she is amazing!” Imogen shouts. “Those books are incredible, and I love them.”
Lorelei turns to her daughter sharply. “How did you get hold of those books? I was sure I said you couldn’t read them.”
Imogen shrugs and starts eating with single-minded intensity.
“She is right, of course. We should be able to unearth one little author,” Sofia says, waving a forkful of pancake around.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be found. Why can’t we respect that?” My mum says. I want to cheer.
“Well, I mean, we could, of course. But where’s the fun in that? She’s a celebrity. We’ll keep her secret. Besides, poor Fox andKatsu have a right to confront her. It wasn’t nice to write about them without permission.”
I play with my eggs, feeling the guilt of that. ‘I didn’t know’, I want to shout. They lived in my head, they weren’t real.
“So, who do you think, Sofia?”
Sofia hums and looks around the table conspiratorially. “I think it’s that beta. You know the quiet one no one knows well. She moved here not long ago.”
Felix slaps his fork down hard on his plate, glaring at Sofia. “It’s not her.”
The whole table turns towards him, staring intently.
“How do you know?” Sofia asks carefully.
Felix curls his lip, his scent getting strong and overwhelming, then he stands up and just walks off.
“What is his problem?”
Asher shakes her head. “I’m not sure. He’s been strange, though, for a couple of weeks. I should go check on him.”
“I’ll go,” Sebastian says. He picks up a roll, shoves bacon and eggs on it, cuts it in half, drops a kiss on my head, gives Katsu and Fox a deep look before he disappears.
“Fine,” Sofia sulks. “It’s not her.”
“Well, who could it be?” Lorelei asks. “It’s someone with time because writing a book takes a long time, obviously. So, who do we know who has that? I can’t think of a single person. Speculating about them feels a bit wrong,” Lorelei says. “We should focus instead on supporting all the visitors and tourists here for Light Knot Night.”
“You are obsessed,” Sofia drawls. “Which is more important, the matches or the marketing?”
Lorelei gives Sofia an arch look. “Both are equally important.”
There’s a beat of silence, and then she looks down.
“But it’s gotten really big, and people are coming from a long way away just to witness what we’re doing.”
Grandma stares at her. “Be careful, Lorelei, you are playing with fire. Those fingers might get burned.”
Lorelei flushes.
