"Thank you, I’m starving. But tell them to hold off for a little while, first I need to speak with the queen.”
Griswold clasped his hands together as the beginning of a frown started across his lips. "I'm afraid your mother did not make it to her chambers last night. She has been working late into the night in her library, and has asked not to be disturbed."
I smacked him on the shoulder blade and he lurched forward from the force. "Trust me, she will want to see me. And I promise if she gets me in any trouble I'll be sure to tell her that you did everything you could to stop me."
"Very good, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you have a plan for your feathered friend outside?”
"The guards will take care of Alizeh, but if you could put together a few of my mother's favorite snacks and put them in a bag that would be wonderful."
"Planning a picnic to cheer her up? That would be lovely. She’s been extra dreary with your father still missing and you disappearing for so long.”
"Not exactly. But I do hope it will make her feel better."
I ran for the stairs and stopped short where the rug met the tile. "One more thing, Griswold, has anyone come to the castle looking for me?”
Griswold shook his head. ”No, sir. Should I be expecting someone?”
My shoulders dropped as a sharp pain of disappointment stabbed into my gut. "Apparently not."
Lantern light flickered from under the library door and painted pictures with spark and shadow across the stone floor. I wrapped my knuckles against the wood. No one answered.
Instead of waiting, I turned the knob and slowly pushed the door inward so as not to frighten my mother if she were lost in thought. The last time I'd accidentally done that, she knocked over the lantern and nearly burned down an entire half of the castle.
But this time she sat upright in her ornate armchair, rather than hunched over her desk. Her head had fallen back against the chair, and an open book still sat clutched at her waist. I watched her chest rise and fall as the slow, steady breaths of sleep escaped from her open mouth. Dark blue tired skin ringed her closed eyes.
I shimmied the book from her grasp and her hands flopped limp into her lap. I glanced at the pages. A spellbook written in an ancient text. Symbols and primitive line drawings edged the margins of the pages and I shivered at what some of these writings might mean. What evil they might intend to conjure. I’d had enough of magic for a while.
I pulled a quilt from the large trunk near the shelves of picture books I used to scan through as a kid, and laid it gently over her chair tucking the edges around her shoulders. She looked small curled up in the blanket. Fragile in a way she never let show in daylight. Wouldn’t show if she knew these moments even existed.
"Sweet dreams." I kissed her forehead and lowered the lantern light. Shadows darkened across her face and I tiptoed toward the door.
A soft murmur stopped me at the threshold.
"Fallon, honey, is that you skulking away in the dark?”
My hand hovered over the door handle. “Yeah, it's me. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you."
"Well, hopefully not too soundly. I've heard I snore when I'm exhausted."
She shifted in the chair, positioning herself more upright as the quilt fell loose into her lap. She grabbed the hem and twisted her fingers through the multi-colored squares of cotton. "Did you just get back? What time is it anyway?”
I walked back across the room to her side. "It's not long after dawn, and yes, I got home about fifteen minutes ago then came straight to see you." I took her hand and enveloped it with my own, her fingers cold as ice against my skin. "And by the way, Griswold wanted me to tell you that disturbing you in here was completely against his instructions."
She chuckled, a glimpse of her old light shining for a brief second. "Of course, he did. I'll be sure to commend him for his obedience, as always."
"But I couldn't wait. I have news."
She turned her body toward me, every part of her tuned into my announcement.
"I found Dad. He's still in his beast form, but he's okay."
"Oh my gosh, Fallon. You have no idea how much relief that brings me." She dove forward wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing tight. I struggled to breathe against her grip but rested my head in the crook of her arm, the familiar rarity of it giving me a sense of calm that I so desperately needed.
"So is he here?" She tried to let go and jumped to her feet, but I held her steady in her chair.
"No. I found him on one of the highest mountain peaks. He'd gone to visit one of the wise men of the temples and he's still up there with him."
"Oh," her excitement dialed back several notches. "But he is safe, right?”
"Yes. He’s locked in a cage —"
She jerked forward again. “A cage? He's not an animal, he's…"
"I know. But as long as he is still not responding to his human side he is a threat to himself and everyone else. At least in the cage, we will know where to find him when we find a way to break the curse. Have you had any luck with that?" I nodded toward the open book on the desk.
She rubbed her hands over her face and stood, stretching her arms above her head with a tiny squeal. "No. I've been searching, and I've enlisted help from some of the oldest witches in Enchantia, but no one
