Page 22 of For the Strange and Surprising

I stick the torch back into the sand and drag the object farther up the beach, out of the water completely. Then I flip it over and sigh. It’s empty, of course; there are no answers to be found within it.

Disappointment plagues me as I dust the sand off my feet and put my boots back on. I turn away from the secluded alcove on the coast and head back to my home.

I’m assuming when she said an octopus was chasing her, she meant Jade. So the boat has to be Ada’s. But who made it, and how did she get around the island in it?

None of the guards’ patrols lead them to this area, which means they came for a reason. They’re supposed to tell me if anything unusual is found, and I haven’t been informed of this. The only person who can override my authority is the queen.

If my mother sent them, then why wouldn’t she tell me?

Did she know they’d find someone here?

The boat leaves me with more questions than answers about the stranger in my village.

Adelaide

Day Two

Light hits the back of my eyelids, and I groan as I stretch out in my bed. My skin is sticky from sweating through the nightmare I had, but a shower will wash the lingering images away. I sling my arm out, intending to fetch my cell phone to turn the alarm off before it starts.

My eyes snap open in panic.

Not my apartment. Not my bed. Not a freaking nightmare.

I squeeze my eyes closed once more, trying to recall how I got here—wherever here is.

Fishing. The storm. Swimming to the shore. The octopus. Man-beast guards woke me up. The Queen. The Prince and the corridor. My arm. The guard with blue eyes. The gentle doctor. The injured hunter. Attacks…

I gasp as I rub the bandage on my right forearm.

Talodus and Connak had escorted me away from the medical bay before the injured hunters were brought in. They spoke to me like they wanted to keep me calm and cooperative. I was aggravated but too tired to ask them to quit.

They had stopped me before I shut the door in their faces.

“Don’t come outside while it’s dark, Ada,” Talodus had warned me, his voice low and foreboding. “Don’t open the door for anyone. And whatever you do, don’t let them get you.”

I nodded but held my questions at bay. The last thought I remember before falling asleep was that I didn’t plan on being caught by anything. Whatever they were worried about was none of my concern. I would stay in this friendly cage until I figured out how to get home.

I sit up, dangling my legs over the edge of the bed, deeply mourning the loss of my slippers and fleece robe. There’s a chill in the air, so I pull the stark white blanket around my shoulders and survey my surroundings.

The bed is on a pedestal of sorts, floating a few inches higher than the raw wood floor. Furs line up to create a suggested path to a stone basin and a wardrobe, I think. There’s one partially cracked door, but I don’t see anything that leads me to believe it’s open to the outside.

I pad over to the wardrobe with quiet footsteps, tugging on the blue jewels that make the handles. When the panel doors part, they reveal a single pale aqua dress. I gawk for a moment, and it stares back, begging me to touch the silken fabric.

I don’t dare.

Instead, I turn my attention to the door, peeking around the frame to find a small but cozy waiting room. It’s about the same size as the living room in my one-bedroom apartment, but it looks... Fancy. That’s not the second-hand furniture that I bought at the local thrift store.

I run my hand along the polished tops of the closest chair, yet again wondering if this is some elaborate joke. There are no cameras, though. And I don’t feel like anyone is watching me.

A green ball catches my eye, sitting front and center on a beautifully crafted table. The surface looks like a giant slice of a tree trunk. The middle is carved out and filled with flowing water, but the ball isn’t wet when I pick it up.

There’s a folded piece of paper next to the ball. No. Paper makes it sound flimsy. This is thicker, more along the lines of cardstock.

Parchment, my mind supplies.

The handwriting inside is gorgeous, scrawling calligraphy that reads:

Not poisoned, but I thought about it.