The worker’s lounge seemed to be much bigger than necessary from Ru’s perspective considering there were only two people manning the castle at a time, but she supposed it was difficult to find a normal sized room in a palace. Either enormous chambers or small spaces previously used by servants were likely the norm.Surprisingly, the walls here were not stone, as Ru had assumed they would be. Someone had hung sheetrock, or another substance to serve the same purpose, and the room was painted a cheery buttercream color. The one window was draped in white curtains, and the round table where she sat across from this strange mother of hers had a matching tablecloth. Across the room, at least twenty feet away, there were the normal small appliances one might expect to see in such a place; a coffee maker, microwave, dorm room-sized refrigerator. A package of Styrofoam cups and some sweetener sat at the ready, but when Maggie had offered her a drink, she’d declined,

“I am aware of the portals, honey. Your father mentioned knowing where the one in Reaper’s Hollow was, that’s true. He had used it. While he stopped all contact with the Reapers the moment he found out about you, he had used the portal. But he never told me where it was—or the other two. And I wouldn’t have asked. We had our own mission to fulfill, darling.”Still shocked that Maggie didn’t know where the portals were, Ru attempted to stay focused. She’d have to tell the rest of her team, somehow, that at least that part of their trip had been in vain. “Mom—I mean, Sera… uh, Maggie,” she stammered. Taking a deep breath, she muttered, “Damn,” under her breath and then, embarrassed to have cursed in front of her mother, she apologized. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to call you.”Maggie’s cheeks were tinged with pink and a broad smile spread across her f

Ru drew her phone out of her pocket and snapped a few pictures, hoping she got enough of the details that Lyric would be able to use them to do some more research. “Thank you,” she said, reaching over and lightly touching her mom’s arm with one hand as she slid her phone back into her pocket with the other.“Certainly. I hope that it helps you find the portals, Ru.”“I wish we had time to sit and chat,” Ru replied as her mother took her hand between hers. “But I think we should go. I know you feel confident that Nat means you no harm, but I don’t see the reason in bringing him here to find out if we can avoid it.”“I understand,” Maggie replied. “Besides, you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss the tide. If you get stuck on the island, there likely won’t be any place for all of you to sleep.”Laughing, Ru said, “You don’t think we’ll fit

Ru had seen Cutter shocked before, but nothing like this. She thought if his eyebrows raised any higher, they would end up on the back of his head. “How is that possible?”“Whoever thought Larkin had told her was mistaken.”“No, but… she…. We knew that…. Everyone said….”“I know what we thought, Cutter, but she really doesn’t know. She said she’d do some searching, but for now, my mom is not the key to the portals.”“Shit….” The word was whispered so quietly, she almost didn’t make it out.“The good news is, there’s no reason to tell Sky that we even found her.”“I guess so.” Clearly, that was not consolation enough. “I just can’t believe it. Damn. I really thought she’d know.”“I’m sure she didn’t. I think she would’ve told me if she knew and jus

It was almost impossible to avoid his eyes, or the sincerity in his voice. He sounded as if he was genuinely scared for her safety, though there was a nagging in the back of her brain reminding her that he was the enemy. He could’ve been making this argument to avoid his own destruction. “I’m sorry, Nat. I don’t really have a lot of control over what the team decides to do.” It wasn’t true, and she could see in the way that he arched his eyebrows that he wasn’t buying it. She wanted to say more, to attempt to justify her reasoning, but she knew for certain now that someone was approaching. She turned her head to look behind them and saw a speck of a silhouette in the distance, gaining quickly. “You need to go.”Nat could see it, too. He stared for a long moment before he returned his attention to her. “Just think about it, Ru. Think about your father. He may never be able to get out of his predicament if