Page 122 of Down from the Tower

Half of Dorah’s children gather in a circle around us, along with a couple travelers that I see on occasion. News of Tressa is already spreading. Those with seeing stones are gossiping across the land, and I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone knows within the next day.

There’s rumors about the Mad Queen, but none that match what happened. Wild conspiracies fly around about Midas, and this is something we’ll have to deal with in the coming days.

“But did you die?” Trey asks. He’s one of Ray’s youngest siblings. “You don’t look any deader than you did last time I saw ya.”

“That’s rude,” Elsie snaps, shaking her head at him. For all her standoffish attitude, she’s as eager as the others to ask questions. “Did you hear about the Kraken that struck down 100 ships from Arthur’s fleet?”

The conspiracies are wild indeed. Rapunzel chokes on her drink, pulling the foaming mug back to slam her fist against her chest. I pat her back, winking when she glances up at me.

There’s sadness surrounding her today, and the reality that both her parents are gone is setting in. The life she knew is over, and she has to learn to adjust to whatever comes next. But she’s trained to keep up appearances, and when she flashes a smile at the gathered audience, the facade falls into place. “A lot of things happened. I can’t say I saw everything that happened in Tressa.”

“But there is no Tressa anymore,” Thomas says, handing out drinks around the table. The tavern isn’t all that crowded at this hour, though that, too, could be because of the news of Tressa. “I saw some travelers early this morning claiming to go to the City of Gold to find their riches now that the wall has fallen. They are going to reap the benefits of the dead King’s fortune.”

I exchange glances with Rapunzel. We didn’t go back through the castle to see if the rest of the gold disappeared when Midas died, but there’s a chance it did. The poor people trekking all the way across Mystica hoping to get rich will be sorely disappointed. The only gold might be in the bodies of the dead, if nothing’s happened to them since Midas passed. That kingdom that once teamed with life is all but abandoned now. I didn’t even see anyone swim in from the fallen ships.

“There are no benefits,” Rapunzel says quietly, looking back at the group. “Only sadness. Good or evil, Midas’ downfall led to the demise of the kingdom. So many are dead who needn’t be. Most of the civilians would be alive if things went differently, if my father didn’t make selfish decisions in the end.”

I press a hand to her shoulder, stopping her before she rambles. Some of the secrets from Tressa shouldn’t be shared, and we haven’t had enough time to process what happened in the kingdom. We certainly haven’t discussed anything about what to say to everyone.

There’s no hiding her. People will know soon enough the golden princess came down from her tower, and there will be questions and cruel accusations when people meet her. I doubt she’s mentally ready to deal with that after yesterday.

“So are you a princess anymore if you don’t have a kingdom,” Trey asks and I’ve never had such an urge to smack a child in the back of the head. He knows exactly what he’s doing from the mischievous glint in his eye. He just wants the juiciest rumor so he has something to hold over his brother’s and sisters.

“Trey,” Thomas chastises, and better he said something than me. My protective instincts burn at every question, and despite her strength I just want to shield Rapunzel for now. Adjusting to life without a kingdom and two dead parents will be hard.

That doesn’t even cover the long-lost possibly-still-dead sister.

Genny appears as Trey rattles on, and one of the hunters in the group asks Rapunzel if Tressa has any good game in the woods surrounding the castle. That sliver of Sherwood that disappeared behind the wall for many years could have different animals, but I seriously doubt it.

From the look on her face she has no idea what that means. But Genny pushes her way through until she reaches me, her gaze hard when she touches my shoulder. It distracts Rapunzel who doesn’t bother with an answer. “Ray needs you.”

My brow twitches, already prepared to say no since Rapunzel is being swarmed by vultures. But the princess grasps my hand, and I glance over at her again.

She offers me a tight smile. “Go ahead. There’s not much left to say anyhow. They all want an epic tale, but I don’t think anything too curious happened.”

“Nothing curious?” Saul asks, distracting everyone. “Your freaking palace exploded! That’s pretty cool.”

“Cool isn’t the right word,” Genny snaps. Her brother shrugs, and when she tugs on my arm I give in, glancing back at Rapunzel.

“You come get me for any reason at all, even if you just need to escape,” I tell her, tapping her chin. Rapunzel nods, her fingers going to comb through her knotted hair, and Genny tugs me out of the way to take my seat.

Outside, Ray is leaning against the tavern wall. He glances up at me, twirling an arrow between his fingers as he slouches in place. This is the first time we’re chatting since arriving, and I half expected to see Dahlia out here too. “You made quite a mess.”

I hold up my hands. “I didn’t kill anyone.” When he stops spinning the weapon to glare at me, I try again. “I didn't kill anyone that important.”

“There’s thousands of spirits loitering in Tressa and you claim you didn’t kill anyone. There’s unrest amongst the spirits. Can’t you feel it?”

“Of course I can feel it,” I snap, “but I couldn’t take on that many dead alone and get Rapunzel away from Tressa. Even with my powers at full strength I would never be able to reap so many souls all at once.”

He nods. “I know. It’s too much, But they will cause a lot of problems if we don’t do something soon.”

“We can go back together and reap some,” I suggest. “But two of us won’t be enough, either. To get through all of them we probably need a day or two.”

His brow twitches before he finally nods. Neither of us like the sound of that. The longer the souls sit together, stewing in whatever traumas hold them to this world, the more likely it is that they will become vicious and volatile in their rage. I haven’t seen Modred since The Barrens, and I’m certain his soul is dark and twisted with rage by now.

Looking down at the arrow, Ray blows out a breath. “So, you want to tell me the real story about the Mad Queen? Because I’m pretty sure she didn't arrive in Tressa to offer an alliance with Rapunzel.”

“That’s what people think?”

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