Page 13 of The Beauty and the Griffin

I rambled on. “I figure someone, someday, must recognize the girl, since she’ll be working amid royals and nobles from around the world. Thanks to me, she knows how to use her magic. Teaching her more would risk outing my alter ego—Ellie thinks I’m a burva, after all.”

Another groan.

“Aaaand I must boast a little about my niece,” I murmured, just loud enough to keep the merqueen awake.

“Must you?” Her eyes remained closed behind her designer sunglasses.

“Absolutely. Remember how horrid Princess Eddi used to be to Beatrice?”

“Vaguely.”

“And howheadvised Beatrice to assert her authority as the Royal Nanny?”

“By ‘he,’ I can only assume you mean the Gamekeeper.”

“Correct. She heeded his advice. Once she figured out that the entire royal household of Bilbao desperately hoped she would succeed where all other nannies had failed, and that the King himself would back her up, the tables turned. Princess Eddi respects Beatrice now.”

“Must be nice. My youngest is the same age as your Beatrice, and she won’t listen to a word I say.”

Curious, I propped up on my elbow. “Which one is she?”

“Kamoana.”

“So, what’s her issue?”

“Oh, last summer she became infatuated with ahuman.” Pukai pronounced the word like an invective. “I don’t wish to discuss it.”

“Ah.”

Naturally, she then poured out her wrath concerning her daughter’s illicit friendship. “I cut that foolishness short by blocking his memories of her. I’m sure she’ll soon recover from such a ridiculous crush and be ready to marry Prince Pike in another year or two. Any mermaid would be proud of such a match. Pike is the handsomest merman I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something.”

I had no dogfish in the fight, yet my opinion slipped out. “Hmm.”

Pukai’s head popped up, and her elbows planted in the sand. Giving me an icy glare, she snapped, “Exactly what was that grunt intended to communicate? Kamoana willnotmarry a human. You know it to be impossible.”

I arched a brow. “Stranger things have happened.”

In the blink of an eye, she flipped into the lake and vanished.

“Touchy,” I muttered.

Would my stubborn best friend ever change her mind about interracial marriage?

My stubborn heart still held out hope for True Love to prevail.

Sometime. Somewhere.

6

BEATRICE

By my third summeras Eddi’s nanny, I felt confident in my role and relatively comfortable with living in a palace. Eddi was still more often spicy than sweet, but we’d worked out a solid relationship. Each autumn, I spent a few weeks at home with Papa and my old friends, and Auntie Bella always visited at least once and spoiled me with pretty clothes.

I wondered sometimes how old my grandaunt was and where she’d been living since I left home. Papa always said Auntie would tell us anything we needed to know, but I lacked the nerve to ask personal questions directly. My best guess at her age was seventy-something, but she seemed almost ageless. Papa sometimes commented on her boundless energy with a hint of envy.

Although interesting events and people surrounded me every summer at Faraway Castle and during several week-long Winter Camps, my role as nanny set me apart from guests my age, and in my life back in Bilbao, accompanying Eddi to her various lessons and activities used up so much of my time that I found little opportunity to develop my own talents and hobbies. Young men at social events occasionally noticed and flirted with me, but I mostly avoided them. I had a hard time believing any of them would offer me love and commitment.

To be honest, I never really gave them a chance.

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