Page 71 of Tale of the Heart Queen

Garnet considers that. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Do you have any idea what it might be?”

“Something older and murkier than Fae magic,” he says. “Your father has always had a way of finding the world’s darkest places.”

I’m gripping the glass in my hand so tightly that I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter under the pressure.

“You can’t see him?” I ask. “Like you can me?”

He shakes his head. “No. He’s been lost to my sight for a long time.”

“Because of the dark magic?”

“That is my guess.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” I ask. “Why would he have wanted the ark of Heart?”

“I don’t know for sure, but with everything you’ve told me, I wonder if it’s all related to that voice.”

I consider that, biting the inside of my cheek.

“I wish I could be more help,” he says. I see the regret in his eyes. Part of me wants to stay here for hours and ask him a thousand questions about my family and his life, but I have to find Lor.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks softly, and in his expression, I see years of loss and the man my father took from me. Add that to the list of everything he’s taken. I haven’t seen my mother in many weeks, and now I can’t even get a message to her. I pray that she’s okay.

“I need to get out of here,” I say. “I have to find Lor. She might be here too.”

“Your mate,” he says, a small smile lighting his face. “You’re very fortunate. Tell me about her?”

“She’s . . .” I break off. Where do I even begin to describe her? Her bravery and her loyalty. Her stubbornness and her vulnerability. The way she rushes into anything without a care for herself and would do anything to protect the ones she loves. How do I even begin to describe how fucking alive she makes me feel? Knowing she’s out there alone, being subjected to god knows what at my father’s or Zerra’s hands, is tearing me apart.

“She makes me want to be the best version of myself,” I say, realizing how true it is. “She’s like the sun, and everything else is just the stars lucky to be moving around her.”

Grandfather smiles at that. “Well, she sounds very special.”

“She is.”

“Then you’ll need to find her.”

“What if she landed here too?”

“We’ll ask Greye. She always keeps an eye on these things.”

Garnet rises from his seat, and we enter the garden once again. A few curious stares find us as we weave through the tables. I see the same female High Fae that greeted me and Garnet waves to her.

“Can you tell us? Has a young woman found herself here?” he asks Greye.

“No,” she says very confidently. “I’ve been watching for his bonded, but no one else has entered the garden. It’s very peculiar. Are you sure he belongs here?”

“Thank you,” Garnet says. “No, he doesn’t belong here.”

He turns to face me. “She must have ended up back in Ouranos. Let’s get you back to her.”

“Can you do that?” I ask.

He nods as he starts walking again, and I follow. “Lucky for you, I happen to know the way out of here.”

We pass through the garden, where we’re met with more curious stares. My grandfather smiles and says hello as we exit out the other side, leading us back into the strangely symmetrical forest.