Page 10 of A Castle of Broken Memories

Gods, I'd forgotten how obsessed Jack's dad was with pedigrees. He’d been over the moon when we announced our intention to bond. “It's good to see you too, Lawrence.” I forced a civil smile. We needed his cooperation if we were going to scale the beanstalk outside their village without any additional trouble.

“And I see you’ve already reacquainted yourself with Sean.” His gaze brightened as it shifted to his youngest son. “He’s grown into quite the young man, has he not? Turned eighteen last autumn.” He beamed. “He can barely walk through the village without a swarm of admirers flocking around him, he's so popular. What do you think, Mariana? He'd make a fine mate. Nowhere near as flighty as his brother was.”

Sean's face flushed with embarrassment. “Dad, please.”

“What?” Lawrence retorted, all innocence. “It's true. And just think of the children the two of you would produce. They'd be magnificent!”

“I'm not in the market for a mate at the moment.” Particularly not one twelve years my junior. “But I'm sure Sean will make someone very happy someday.”

Lawrence sighed. “Drat. I was so hoping to find him a werewolf to bond with, but they're mostly all men aside from you and your grandmother.”

“Doesn't mean he couldn't bond with one of them, if he was so inclined,” Tenebris murmured. “Or perhaps a handsome young witch?” He cast Sean a sly look.

Calum grumbled under his breath.

“The reason we're here, Lawrence,” I hurried to interject, knowing we were rapidly approaching an argument I didn't have the patience to moderate, “is about this.” I held out Abuela's letter.

Lawrence took it, his gaze dropping to the signature at the bottom. “A letter from Elena? How is the old girl?”

“Young enough to kick your ass for calling her an old girl,” Tenebris muttered, grunting when I jammed my elbow into his side. I swear, it was like he was trying to make this difficult.

“She’s doing all right, although it seems the barrier is getting to be a bit too harsh for her to traverse. Her magic’s still top-notch, however. Visions and all.” I nodded to the letter, and Lawrence looked back down at the sheet. His thick, brown eyebrows rose as he read it over.

“So. You’ve come for the beanstalk,” he said, solemnly refolding the letter.

“At Abuela’s request, yes.”

“And you think these… beans… will allow you to pass through the clouds safely?” Skepticism dripped from every syllable, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from making a snarky retort. As if Abuela would send her only granddaughter on a suicide mission.

“I do.”

“Well.” He stroked his short, dark blond beard, his expression growing thoughtful. “It’s certainly an intriguing idea. No one’s seen the Sky Castle in, what? Sixty years? I was only a little scamp of a thing when the barrier took over the clouds and cut us off. Too young to go visiting giants. My father, on the other hand, spoke of it often. He was quite fascinated with the world above us.” He hesitated. “If those beans work like your grandmother claims, I’m surprised he never used his to attempt the climb.”

“Grandpa Braun has a magic bean too?”

“He was on the council when Elena joined, so I would assume so,” Lawrence replied. “Not that he ever mentioned it before, and now… well. His memory isn’t what it used to be.” This, for once, did not come as a surprise. Grandpa Braun’s struggle with what the outside world would call Alzheimer’s had begun well before I left Mondue.

Lawrence tapped the letter against his palm, his expression clearing as he gave me his full attention. “To heck with it. If the three of you want to risk your neck climbing through those gods-forsaken clouds, who am I to stand in your way? If the bean doesn’t work, and you fall to your death, I’ll at least have this letter to prove it was Elena’s foolhardiness that sent you up there in the first place. That said, you’ll still need to get approval from the council. There are wards in place around the base of the beanstalk, and while I have no doubt a witch of your caliber could undo them on her own, it would be best if we did things by the book.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. “You’re the council leader. If you’re in favor of letting us ascend, I doubt anyone will protest.”

“A few years ago, I would've agreed with you,” Lawrence said. “But our newest member has proven to be quite outspoken and persuasive, and I suspect he’ll have a thing or two to say about it.”

I arched a brow. “A new member? Who?”

“Someone you know, actually,” Lawrence replied. “Noah Kraus.”

I blinked in surprise. “Noah Kraus is on the village council?” Just saying the words out loud felt weird. Two years younger than Jack and I, Noah had been a constant companion in our youth, always eager to go along with whatever wild scheme Jack or I came up with. He'd never taken point, however, or offered up his own ideas. He was a follower, not a leader. Or so I’d thought.

Lawrence nodded. “He's grown a lot in the ten years since you've been gone. Become quite the outspoken man. I wouldn't be surprised if he replaces me as head of the council when I retire.”

Little Noah, a future village chief. I would have never seen that coming. “And you think he'd object to our plan?”

“I can't say for sure,” Lawrence admitted. “But he’s been lobbying for the beanstalk’s destruction for years. Claims it’s a liability to village safety.”

“He wants to destroy it? Really?” He certainly hadn’t felt that way when we were kids. In fact, if I remembered correctly, Noah had always been just as intrigued by the beanstalk as Jack and I. Maybe even more so. “I would have thought he’d be the first in line to climb it, given the opportunity.”

“People change.” Lawrence’s gaze softened as it settled on my face. “Noah took Jack’s abandonment pretty hard, and when you up and left shortly after…” He shook his head. “That well and truly crushed him. He was never the same after that.”