Page 103 of Gilded Wicked Mirrors
“Quinnevere Ashelle, what in the world were you doing in the Nature District?” Uncle Matias’s voice dripped with disappointment.
Quinn’s brow furrowed, and her shoulder blades drew together. “I—” She gulped. “I don’t fully remember.”
“You don’t fully remember?” Uncle Matias’s voice was a low hiss. “Get your things. You’re coming home now.”
“It is far safer for her here,” Emrys said lazily. “We can protect her.”
Uncle Matias’s head whipped to the prince. “Like you protected her from the vampire attack?”
“I saved her life.”
“After you put her in danger.”
“Wait, what?” Quinn cut into the verbal sparring match. “Emrys wasn’t with me. I sent him away after auditions.”
“I thought you didn’t remember.” Her uncle crossed his arms.
Quinn sucked in a breath. “I don’t remember the attack or how I got there, but I remember what happened before it.”
“Precisely why you’re coming home with me now.” Her uncle pointed at the door. “He very well could’ve attacked you, and you wouldn’t know it.”
“Emrys didn’t attack me.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do. And I am not a child.” She folded her arms in a way that completely undermined her point, but she’d already done it, so she committed fully to the movement. “Ihave reached the age of majority, and you’re no longer responsible for me.” She paused, letting the fire in her voice settle. “I would like to stay here.”
The blood rushed from her uncle’s face, and a storm gathered on his features. “If this is your wish, then I'll leave.”
As he reached for the door handle, Quinn said, “I love you, Uncle Matias, and I hope you can forgive me, but I have to see this through.”
He hesitated with his back to her. Quinn’s heart froze, and her mouth tasted like misery. Hurting the people she loved felt like eating poison. Guttural agony. Uncle Matias pivoted and tilted his head slightly before turning the handle and disappearing into the hall.
Silence dripped through the room like melting tar. Everyone was completely unsure what to say after that exchange. Especially Quinn. She’d never been so disobedient in her life. She was a rule follower.
Orderly. Precise.
“So, we have a problem.” It was Giselle who finally cut through the tension.
Eight confused eyes landed on the beautiful brunette, but it was Emrys who answered in his practiced bored response. “What is that?”
“Vampires,” Giselle said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You have the Suitor Ball in two days, and it seems like a vampire is threatening our lives and possibly the humans at the ball. We need to find a way to protect them.”
Jevon leaned forward in his chair, the noise catching everyone’s attention. “What are your weaknesses?”
Emrys rubbed his chin, pondering the question. “We only have two. But only one you might be able to manipulate to your benefit.”
“And do you plan on telling us what it is?” Giselle raised a walnut eyebrow, clearly annoyed by him dodging the question.
“Silver,” he said, a devil-may-care smile dancing on his lips. “Even the smallest amounts of silver can slow us down and incapacitate us, but it won’t kill us.”
Embers popped and crackled in the fireplace as the group contemplated the new information. “Would a lot of confetti laced with silver incapacitate you?” Giselle asked.
Quinn snorted, knowing exactly where her best friend was heading. Giselle was the inventor, but Quinn often helped with her experiments and pranks. One of her pranks was even integrated into the Viridian shows—her confetti bombs.
“Yes,” he said.
A fiendish smile that matched Emrys’s usual demeanor spread on Giselle’s face. “Yeah, we can definitely make that work. Do you have a vacuum?”
