Aurelia bounced a little as she giggled. “I’m a brownie. Don’t you know?”
“No,” Theo replied. He was happy that he remembered something else from the journals. He was kind of on a roll. He could probably work with this. Brownies took their jobs very seriously. It was all Theo had. “I’ve never been to this realm.”
Aurelia sniffed. “You do smell weird.”
Well, that wasn’t nice. “Like what?”
“Sort of mildew and mold?” Aurelia sounded confused. “But in a good way.”
How was that good? “I am a feline shifter from the human realm. One of the chosen.”
Aurelia pressed her lips together. “I know the chosen. You are not the chosen.”
“I’m the new chosen,” Theo replied. “This generation’s chosen.”
“That must be why the king wants to see you.” Aurelia nodded. “Yes. That must be why. I must acquire a nice suit for you. A very nice suit. Maybe blue or green. Yes, you have pretty green eyes. Or purple. I like purple.”
And the little brownie was no longer listening to him. Theo needed to get the brownie to focus on him. Not on some stupid clothes that Theo would never wear anyway.
What had Bywater’s orders been exactly? See to Theo’s needs. Well there was only one thing that Theo needed in the moment.
“Aurelia!” Theo called softly.
The brownie turned to him with a smile. “Yes?”
She really was a cute little thing with her wrinkly pink skin and big brown eyes. Her hair, which might be the brightest yellow that he had ever seen, was done up in pigtails with red bows that matched the red dress she wore.
“Bywater said to take care of all my needs,” Theo reminded her.
“He did.” Aurelia bounced again. “Do you have needs?”
“I need to see my friends,” Theo told her. “The gargoyle and the troll that were brought in with me. It is very important that I see my friends right now.”
Aurelia frowned. “That is not getting you clothes.”
“But I need to see my friends. To make sure they are okay,” Theo insisted. “It’s like the most important thing to me.”
She nodded before she popped out of sight.
Theo sighed. That could have gone better. Should he have said that he needed her to take him to them? Or maybe she was bringing them there? That would be amazing. Theo really couldn’t count on that.
He pushed off the bed to cross the room. It wasn’t easy to ignore the pain in his feet but Theo was a man on a mission. And that mission was to escape.
It was a nice room. The furniture looked expensive and a little too breakable for Theo’s taste. The carpet was thick enough that Theo’s sneakers sank in as he hurried to the door of the bedroom.
Turning the handle, Theo wasn’t surprised that it was locked. Of course. Walking out would have been way too easy. Windows! Theo tried the windows yet he couldn’t do anything with them either. Maybe they were magically locked. That was what Theo would have done if he had a prisoner.
What a weird freaking thought. Theo totally didn’t plan to have prisoners. Like ever. That was horrible.
Next Theo checked the bookcases and every drawer in the room, looking for anything that might help him get out of this situation. He jumped, letting out a startled squeak when Aurelia popped back beside him.
“I found them,” Aurelia said. “We must hurry and not stay too long.” She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and he was transported again.
The chill in the air was instant. It was freezing wherever he was.
Inside a cell, Garrett and Bo were sitting side by side. At least they both looked back to normal. Well, mostly. Garrett appeared the same as he had the entire time they’d been in this realm. Not his stone form from back home.
“Garrett! Bo!” Theo rushed to the bars. “Are you okay?”
