Page 51 of The Evernight Court

“I don’t know—the messenger who brought it here said,it’s for a doll.”Goose bumps rose on my flesh instantly. “Not sure if that’s you, but since that’s your name, I thought I’d ask. Maybe you know who this is from.”

Oh, I thought I did. I knew exactly who the letter was from.

There was only one person in the world who’d called medoll, and that was Mama Si.

I knew that I should have walked all the way out of the bar without the damn letter. I didn’t care what Mama Si had to say. Ishouldn’thave cared about her sending me fucking letters at a bar in the Whispering Woods she had no business knowing I even frequented.

But that’s the thing about my curiosity. It burned me worse than any fire, and I couldn’t control myself when it came to it. I couldn’t help but reach out my hand for that envelope as my thoughts raced—but Toss pulled his hand back.

“Hold on, wait. You have to answer a question before I can give this to you—it says so right here.” And he pointed at the other side of the envelope. “If I don’t get a correct answer by the end of tonight, I’m supposed to burn the letter. These were the instructions.”

I flinched. “Are you serious? It’s just an envelope.”

“And the sender paid me well to deliver it,” Toss said with a wink. “So, what’s it gonna be? Do you want to try to answer that question?”

“Yes, Toss, I do.” I sighed. “Sure, give it to me.”

“Very well,” he said, tapping his fingertips to the countertop like a drumroll. “Here it is: what does it smell like in heaven?”

I paused.

Heaven.I knew a place thatwasn’tit, even though the name would have you believing that it was. The Paradise—the gorgeous white and pink mansion where I’d lived like royalty for over a month and had learned how to feel at ease in my own skin.

That was the only heaven I knew, if only by name, and it always—alwayssmelled of… “Roses.” The scent hung in the air constantly, a version of it in each room, from the gardens outside, to the pool areas, to the dining room, and the party rooms as well. Always some version of the scent of roses.

Toss looked disappointed. He frowned, looking down at the envelope. “That’s… correct.”

“Oh.”Mama Si.It was most definitely Mama Si.

“You could have made it more fun,” he muttered as he put the envelope on the bar in front of me. “I’d have given you hints but, oh, well. Here’s your letter.”

I took it, half expecting a burst of magic to come out of it or the feel of Mama Si’s hands on me through the letter. I didn’t. It was just an envelope.

“Thank you, Toss.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get to the tower and open it. Half of me had the urge to look at what was inside right now, but that would be a bad idea. Toss was right there, and Quinn was watching me from the table, too. So, I put the envelope in my pocket until I drank my ale, said good night to Quinn, and made my way back to the castle again.

I was being watched. I knew that. I had no clue how Mama Si had known that I was at Mina’s, but she wasn’t the only one watching me. I felt eyes on me as soon as I was in the woods, and even when the guards let me through the door tothe castle. Whether it was Tristian or Emil or Romin—even Valentine—I had no clue, but they all knew when I left the tower. They all knew, and they didn’t stop me. I never saw any of them while I hurried from the gate to the greenhouse with the animals that Zane tended to daily.

The questionwhyhaunted me, but as long as they didn’t get in my way, I wasn’t going to complain, just pray they continued to stay away.

I stopped to look at the cougar, half asleep in her cage. Tonight would be her last night in this tower, according to Zane. She was all healed, and he had a plan to take her to the woods where Grey had captured her and release her from her cage. She was capable of protecting herself now, and she needed to be out in the open.

I don’t know why that made me sad, or why I wanted her to stay right here.

Maybe because she reminded me of Grey.

“I wish he was here to take you back home himself,” I whispered to her as she watched me through half-open, glowing yellow eyes. All she gave me was a growl, and I liked to think she wished the same thing, too.

Then, I made my way upstairs to my bedroom, and when I was finally alone and sitting at Grey’s desk, I opened the envelope.

Inside it was a folded piece of white paper that smelled exactly like the Paradise with only three lines written in cursive, in pink ink:

I haveno eyes but I can see

I have no voice but I can reveal

What am I?

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