Page 138 of Rage of Her Ravens

So far,Drae answered as he kissed my cheek.

No sign of Sol and Bertram, if that’s what you’re wondering,Blaze said as he went straight to the server with the wine. He poured me a goblet of wine, but he poured an amber-colored liquid into small glasses for his brothers and himself.

Drae leaned against the wall, one ankle crossed over the other. “Learn anything new?” he asked while nodding toward the book.

I grimaced. “I have more questions than answers.” I shifted in Nikkos’s lap, leaning toward Ember while clasping my goblet in both hands. “Em,” I called to my niece. “Why did your friend want me to have that book?”

Ember looked up at me as she was brushing her doll’s hair. “Because she wanted you to know the truth.”

“Where is your friend now?” I asked her.

“She’s here,” she said sweetly.

“Em’s friends are always with us,” Aurora added, seemingly unconcerned that they were followed by ghosts as she stacked blocks in a row, making a fortress that looked much like the shifter stronghold.

I shared nervous looks with my mates before plastering on a smile for Ember. “Can you please ask her some questions for me?”

Ember shrugged. “Okay.”

I swallowed back my nerves as I prepared to ask the first question. No turning back. I had to know the truth, even if I wouldn’t like the answers. “Ask her if she thinks your grandparents are evil.”

Ember shook her head. “She says, ‘no, Flora and Derrick aren’t evil.’”

I released a shaky breath. “She knew Yaya and Pappo?”

Ember nodded. “She knew them.”

I set down my goblet, my hands trembling as I prepared to ask her the next question. “Ask her if Malvolia is evil.”

Ember fluffed her doll’s skirts. “She says ‘no.’”

Drae uncrossed his ankles, his eyes blazing as he slowly walked toward Ember. “Ask her if she knows who killed Lord and Lady Inferni.”

“She knows,” Ember said as she pretended to make her doll drink from an empty miniature teacup.

A bolt shot through me as I clutched Nikkos’s arm. “Who killed them, Em?”

Ember squinted up at the ceiling. “Huh?”

Was she talking to the ghost? Was it hovering above my nieces? All moisture evaporated from my mouth. I could hardly think, much less speak.

“What is she saying?” Drae demanded, his voice coming out on a harsh whisper.

“I don’t know.” Ember scrunched her face. “I don’t understand what she means.”

Drae knelt beside her, his eyes wild as he took her hands. “Just repeat to us what she’s saying.”

Ember looked at him. “Mind spinner.”

My world fell out from beneath me, and I was falling into the abyss.

Drae looked to me, his face contorted in pain. “Mind spinner?”

Nikkos tensed beneath me. “The mage who changes memories?”

“His name is Thorin,” I said, somehow finding my voice.

Ember nodded. “She said ‘yes.’”

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