Page 58 of The Beauty and the Griffin

Those first days after I sent Beatrice into the griffins’ nest must have aged me a decade or more. I could only hope she had safely reached the Forbidden Palace along with the griffin eggs and their nanny. Since time behaved erratically in the Forbidden Lands, I didn’t know whether she’d crossed its border five minutes or five weeks ago in her time. The one thing I did know was that, in our time, the Gamekeeper’s barrier remained—in a weakened yet still effective state—so it still protected Beatrice, the eggs, the nanny, and my cousin.

The longer we could keep the Mirror and its minions focused on taking Faraway Castle, the better. The dozen clueless guests who’d remained at the resort despite all our warnings were certain the siege was an advertising gimmick to gain media attention and draw future guests. They kept sending complaints to the main desk regarding poor service, noise issues, and low-quality special effects, along with helpful suggestions for ways to make the danger seem more real.

The only damage to resort property at this point was due to a swarm of pixies taking revenge for being banished a few years earlier. They had somehow sneaked onto the property, broken into the empty staff cabins, and shredded everything they could find—which wasn’t much, since the human staff members had already retreated to emergency quarters beneath the castle.

On the third day, to everyone’s profound relief, Briar, Rosa, Ellie, and Omar appeared in the empty ballroom, greeted by joyful brownies. Sten and Nillie briefed them on recent events and directed them down into our headquarters.

As soon as he entered the main cave, Prince Briar asked, sounding cross, “Someone tell me, please, why guests are playing bunco in the game room while the resort is under attack?”

“They refused to leave while it was safe,” I answered, sounding even crosser, “and as long as we feed them well, they’re happy to laze about and play table tennis, billiards, and card games. If they take it in their heads to go outside, we create the illusion of a blizzard. If the situation truly endangers them, Cog and Kai have promised to help me transport them to the nearest airport and send them home. Now, tell us about Pukai. I’m assuming you successfully rescued her?”

Rosa chuckled. “I wouldn’t dare use that word in her presence, but yes, she is safe.”

Prince Omar spoke first. “Ellie ordered Queen Pukai to get away from the door. I mean, she spoke into the queen’s mind, you know, the way she does?”

“Youwent down into the oceanic trench?” I blurted, staring at the handsome young royal who was not a mage of any kind.

Omar nodded, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Briar put each of us into one of his magic bubbles,” Rosa explained.

“Which are surprisingly comfortable,” Omar added with a grin. “We could see and hear everything around us at the bottom of the deepest rift in the ocean floor. Unbelievable! The magical three opened the cave.” He indicated his wife and his in-laws. “I wasn’t of the slightest use down there, but I cheered them on.”

For a nonmagical human dragged into a magical war, Prince Omar was impressively chill.

“We brought him along because Ellie wouldn’t come without him,” Briar said frankly, then raised his hand to forestall his sister’s protest, “which was fine by all of us.”

“It required all three of us to break that horrible spell they’d put on the cave door,” Rosa added.

“And once Pukai sensed our magic, she joined in,” Briar continued his tale. “By the way, I’m afraid that cave no longer exists. We observed firsthand that sahira mer-royalty don’t take kindly to betrayal.”

Ellie took up the narrative: “Still, Queen Pukai seemed weak and shaky, so Briar popped her into another bubble, then instantly took us all to her home island—I have no idea where that was, but it’s a gorgeous place. She decided to recover there for a few days before she joins us here. She said something about her cousin bringing military reinforcements, so that’s encouraging.”

My traitorous heart gave a leap. Her cousin? Could she possibly mean Kapono?

With effort, I returned my attention to the matter at hand. “So Pukai is all right? Did you check her for fay curses or tracking spells?”

When Prince Briar directly met my gaze, my heart gave a jolt and my breath hitched.

No, it wasn’t insta-love. (Seriously, at my age?) More likely he’d sensed my heart’s reaction to the mention of Pukai’s military-commander cousin. Foolish! Why should I assume she meant Kapono? Pukai had as many relatives as an anchovy!

In the past few years, I’d heard my beastly cousin praise his wonder-boy apprentice, Geoff Bryant the Magical Creature Controller, so often that I’d fully expected to dislike the hotshot young enchanter who was really a prince.

What I hadnotexpected was to be evaluated in return.

“Ah, Lady Arabella. I am pleased to meet you.” He spoke in an undertone while the others discussed Pukai’s plans. “Your magic is familiar to me.”

My heart nearly stopped.He knew.I never would have expected this . . . this wet-behind-the-ears marvel to guess my identity and my secret. The secret I shared only with Pukai and the Gamekeeper. How could he possibly know? “Didhetell you?” I whispered.

The prince spoke into my head:Never a word. It is your story to tell.

Aloud, he said, “My twin has often mentioned you, and I owe you a great deal for rescuing her all those years ago.”

“And for teaching me how to use my magic,” Ellie added, joining our side conversation. “I thought you were holding me back, Arabella, but you simply made sure I understood the basics and ethics of magic before I attempted anything too ambitious. I owe a great deal to you.”

My heart warmed to her, and she knew it. “Yes, yes, this is all well and good,” I remarked gruffly, “but last night we had two breaches in our defenses. It’s time to rejigger our tactics, lay out some plans and contingency plans, brief our people, and start expelling these traitorous so-called mages from Faraway Castle property.”

Rosa, Omar, and Ellie agreed, but before I could escape, Prince Briar caught my eye and said, “First, we all need to hear your story.”

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