CHAPTER 39

It was hard to figure out which angered the queen more. The idea of a banshee falling in love with a human, or that of a human gaining access to faerie magic.

"Hmm." The queen regarded her coolly, as she did every time they had this discussion. Sometimes it was days, or even months between these chats, and the queen would occasionally pontificate for hours before getting to the point.

Cecilia held her breath, waiting for the question that was coming.

"Would you like me to fix you?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"As you wish, silly child." The queen smirked and turned her throne around. Raising her hands, she clapped twice, and the day's proceedings began with selkies flying through the waterfall and bringing the queen news of the outside world. Servants appeared, too, scurrying about as they provided refreshments for every creature, from the common brownie and the tylwyth teg to the noble families themselves. Some came for the parties, others for the political intrigue, but attendance was definitely mandatory on their part, and more than a few of them watched the proceedings with bored expressions until they could fill their bellies with wine.

Cecilia sat in her cage, her gaze on the court. The queen could fix Cecilia, and return her to her prior state. However, by doing so, Cecilia would forget everything that had transpired since her last trip here, when she had ferried Emily's soul across. She would forget about Mike, who she sincerely doubted would just sit around if he found out she was being held against her will.

The queen's other option was to simply wait until Mike died. On his death, his soul would depart, and that part of Cecilia he carried with him would return.

Cecilia dreaded this day as well. Not because it meant she would never be with Mike again. The idea of never being with Mike again broke her heart, but she was consoled by the fact that he would forever be beyond the queen's wrath.

No, what scared her was how angry the queen would be when she discovered that the tiny piece of Mike's soul had taken root, like a seed. Unlike the other girls, Cecilia's entire being was composed of Old Magic, which was little more than raw potential. It was said that nature abhors a vacuum, and the roots had spread. What had started as something else was now becoming much, much more.

Cecilia was slowly growing a soul of her own. She swung back and forth on the swing and closed her eyes, her thoughts on Mike.

"A chiste is a stór," she whispered. "O, my cherished love! Please... stay away."

Beth stepped out of the secret tunnel into the center of the Labyrinth, her shoe catching a rock and sending it skittering across the cold stone.

Up above, a large gemstone shone like a tiny star, warming the entire room to a comfortable temperature. Large tables were covered in different magical items in various states of disrepair, and rats moved around in the shadows, carrying what looked like rocks of different sizes.

Ratu was leaning over a stack of books, her kimono hanging open and revealing a patch of scales that traveled along the inner curve of her breast. Her kimono had a phoenix on it that flew in circles and occasionally leapt off of the silken fabric to cross over bare skin and then dove back in.

Across from her was Sofia, who was mumbling to herself while tucking bookmarks into a book. She set it aside and then picked up a new one, an assortment of bookmarks held between the fingers of her free hand.

"Hmm?" The cyclops looked up at Beth, who was followed in by Asterion. "Oh, hey. More news from above?"

"That, and a delivery. Wait, where's Yuki?"

"The fox is helping the rats." Ratu sat back and adjusted her kimono. "You see, when the earthquake hit, it apparently fractured large areas of the Labyrinth and they are now being flooded out by the river. One of the only reasons we aren't underwater right now is because of her ability to freeze large bodies of water with her magic. So tell me about this delivery of yours?"

Asterion stepped forward and lowered his bundle.

"Oh, you have my full attention now." Ratu abandoned her books and stepped around the table. "Who do we have here?"

Sofia closed the book she had been looking through, her eye wide with interest.

"No idea. We think she was in the new part of the house." Beth knelt down over the woman on the floor.

Her hands and feet had been bound, but she was still unconscious. Her frizzy hair was caramel colored, with a pair of ears sticking out of them, and she had a human face with just a slight cleft lip. Patches of black hair started around her neck, and her entire torso was covered in a thin layer of fur. Her belly was white, however, and a matching spot was also on the end of her tail.

"Fascinating." Ratu knelt down over the woman, her tongue flitting in and out of her lips. "Her facial features suggest post-adolescent reconstruction, and she smells of... wood polish and dust. And what's this?" She traced her finger along a patch of the woman's skin that transitioned into fur. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?" Beth, genuinely curious, took a seat nearby.

"Oh, the skin beneath her fur is different than her exposed skin. Like, on a cellular level." Ratu pulled out a magnifying glass from her sleeve, her green snake-eye magnified through its lens. "Human hair follicles here, but the fur of a cat elsewhere." She licked her lips, her tongue elongating and hovering over the cat girl's slumbering form for a second before disappearing. "So she's human, or was, anyway."

"Someone made her like this?"

"Oh yes. There are many artifacts across the world that can affect such a transformation. Not much different than that time you were turned to stone, only in this situation, the results were more organic." Ratu tucked away the magnifying glass.

"Wow. Is there any way to undo it?"

"Experimentally? Perhaps. Without knowledge of the method of her transformation, I'm afraid that anything we did would be extremely risky. Besides, I think we should probably talk to her first. Maybe she's this way on purpose."

"I guess." Beth rubbed her arms. There was a chill in the air. "Other than the flooding, any other problems?"