Page 1 of Hunted

CHAPTERONE

Moments ago, I had escaped Fate… now I was a fugitive. I stood at the door to my grandmothers’ house and business, theMagic Shopon Carnaby Street. All three of them—Helen, Pepper, and Evie—were staring at me as if a ghost had just washed up on their shores; a ghost, her pet, and the man she’d clearly dragged through thebogshe had just crawled out of.

For a long, breathless moment, I was certain they were going to reject me; certain they had forgotten me.

But then Grandmother Helen pulled me in and embraced me.

“Child,” she had asked, heightened concern in her voice, “What in theworldare you doing here?”

I hadn’t replied. Instead, I held onto her and cried. I cried from the pain of losing my home, my family, and my life. I cried because it was my fault I had lost it all. But I also cried out of relief. Whatever spell had been cast upon me, whatevercurseI had been befouled with in Arcadia, it hadn’t had an effect on my grandmothers.

So, really, I cried for hope.

“You haven’t forgotten me,” I said into her chest.

“Forgotten you? Why would we have forgotten you?”

“I thought you would have. Everybody else has.”

“I… don’t understand,” said Helen, embracing me more tightly. “The last time we saw you, you were a beautiful little girl of barely ten. For us, that was only a few months ago. And now here you are, a grown woman… and yet still our little girl. Perhaps it took me a moment to recognize you, but forget you? Never.”

“Not to break this tender moment up,” came Tallin’s muffled voice, “But you’re squishing me.”

I pulled away from my grandmother, half-crying, half-laughing. “Sorry,” I said, wiping my tears away. “I got carried away.”

“Come,” Helen said, stepping into the shop. Evie and Pepper backed away to give her space. “Come inside, it’s freezing out there.”

“Compared to where we just were,” Valerian said, entering the shop after me and adjusting the topknot he held his silvery hair in. “This is summer.”

“And who is this, dear?” asked Pepper. She had a warm, bubbly smile on, but behind those half-moon spectacles was a woman ready to defend her home against potential intruders.

“This is Valerian,” I said, “He’s a friend. And this is Tallin.”

“He’s so cute!” came Evie’s excitable shriek. “Can I pet him?”

“I’mnota pet,” Tallin objected, then he paused. “But a little rub between the eyes wouldn’t go unappreciated.”

Evie delicately approached, but Helen took her arm and gently pulled her back into her place. With a flick of her wrist, she forced the Magic Shop’s door to slam shut behind us. “Alright,” she said, composing herself, “Pepper, why don’t you go boil a kettle for us? And Evie, my love, kindly see to it that Dahlia’s old room is prepared for our granddaughter to spend the night in, would you?”

Pepper nodded, then offered me a warm smile, while Evie joined her fingers together and made them into the shape of a heart. “I can’t wait to catch up with you!” she said, and then she and Pepper moved into the back of the shop, disappearing past a beaded curtain.

This left Tallin, Valerian and me standing in front of Helen, feeling like I had just been summoned for a telling off. Her demeanor had changed at the drop of a hat—first, shocked that I was here, and now gravelly concerned. She wasn’t panicked or scared, though, but ready to ask all the questions, and get as many answers as she could.

“Something has happened to you,” Helen said.

I nodded. My cheeks were still a little wet, so I wiped them down with the back of my hand. “Yes,” I said.

“Something bad. Where is your mother? Is she safe?”

“She’s in Windhelm with my father, and I think they’re both safe.”

“You think?”

“I haven’t been back at the castle for a while,” I paused, and fresh tears threatened to spill. “I really screwed up,” I added, barely able to contain the words.

My grandmother approached and placed a warm, comforting hand on my shoulder. “My sweet granddaughter… you’re safe, here. Take your time… tell me what happened.”

“It’s… kind of a long story,” I said.And not all of us here know the whole truth yet.

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