Page 29 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

She stands, so I do the same, unsure of the protocol. Then she surprises me by embracing me. “Thank you for listening to a mother’s worries. I have matters to attend to. Will you be all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” I assure her.

“See you for dinner, darling.” She sweeps out of the room.

I linger when she’s gone, eyeing some of the more exotic vegetables left on the table. Feeling adventurous, I pluck something that looks like asparagus but thinner—like cut grass. It’s halfway to my mouth when the gnomes troop back in.

“Don’t eat that!” Ned looks horrified.

“Why not? What’s wrong?”

“It’s a … vegetable.” Ted shudders.

“You ate the sugarsnaps,” I point out.

“The sugarsnaps tasted almost like candy. Almost,” Fred says.

“The food is… Some of it is good,” Zed says, forehead crinkling in thought.

“Some isn’t,” Ted adds.

“But we love it here,” Zed finishes.

The gnomes all nod in unison.

“I’m glad,” I tell them.

“And that’s why…” Ned wrings his hands.

“What is it?” I ask.

He sighs and glances at Fred. Fred makes a face and nudges Zed. Zed stares me straight in the eye and drops a bomb. “We never want to go back to the library.”

My heart skips a beat. Because, for a fleeting moment, neither do I. Is it so wrong to want my biggest problem to be an argument over eating their vegetables?

Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury.

“But we do want some candy,” Ned quickly adds, and they all nod again.

I force a smile at them, letting their declaration pass for now. “Tell you what. I’ll search the kitchens until I find you some candy,” I promise. Every single one of their little faces lights up, and they cheer. “You guys don’t get into trouble while I’m gone. Okay? Promise?”

“We promise,” they chorus.

Famous last words.

I slip out and attempt to find my way back to the kitchen without help. The Athenaeum is huge, but it’s nothing compared to this place—it’s a literal castle after all—and I soon get hopelessly lost. Patting my pockets, I realize I’ve misplaced the bell Lucinda gave me. Probably left it behind in Blossom’s room.

Giving up on finding the candy for now, I attempt to retrace my steps to an area that looks familiar. Finally, I recognize the guest hallway and wrack my brain for which one was theirs.

I knock on a few doors, but there’s no answer until finally Mag opens a door. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey.” I exhale, both relieved and a bit defeated.

If I can’t even navigate myself through the castle, how can I possibly hope to defeat Constantine? Or face off with an army of orcs?

“How are you holding up?” Mag asks, opening the door wider to invite me inside.

I walk over to a chair in his room and sit. He closes the door and crosses over to perch on the edge of his bed.

---