Page 70 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

An otter scurries toward the bank, and she stills, her attention completely focused on where it disappeared into the water.

“Was that a purple otter?”

“Yes.”

“It was purple,” she states slowly, bright eyes wide.

I grin at her wonderment. “Yes, Ada. That’s what they look like.”

“Otters are brown on Earth,” she whispers as she looks around. “That’s the first animal I’ve seen since I arrived. What else is here?”

“Antelope, boar, moose… Skullies…” I purse my lips as I contemplate telling her about the island animals instead of just the ones in the Mongrel territory.

“What?”

“Will calls them bastard seagulls. I don’t know why.”

She nods as wanders closer to me, something devious sparkling in her eyes. I take a step back, narrowing my gaze when she smirks.

Ada pulls a flower back and releases it, splashing me with the collected water in the petals. Her laughter flows around me as I growl her name in warning and give chase.

* * *

We barely make it out of the forest before the sun sets completely, and it’s dark by the time we’re passing the guards’ barracks. There’s light shining through the window of Talodus’s apartment, so I stop to see what he’s doing. I turn the handle, walking right into his space.

“Don’t you know how to knock,” Ada gripes.

Connak chuckles. “No. He never knocks.”

“What are you guys doing?” She glances around, eyeing them as if they’re up to something.

They probably are.

“I stopped in to grab clothes. They followed me because they couldn’t find you and didn’t have anyone else to aggravate.” Talodus smiles when she snorts.

“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” She yawns. “I’m ready to go home, but feel free to stay and aggravate each other some more. I need a bath, dry clothes, and sleep.”

I swallow my urge to stay with her, knowing she needs freedom. With the palace being so close to the barracks, I can be protective without being overbearing. But soon, we’re going to have to find her stalker. We haven’t seen him since moving her, which means he could be anywhere.

Giving her a five-minute head start won’t kill either of us.

I grin at her. “Can you make it back to the palace on your own, or do you need an escort?”

Her eyes flare. “I only need an escort if someone is going to carry me there.”

I scoff, though no one opposes the idea.

“I’ll make it home just fine,” she continues. “It’s not that far.”

“We’ll be right behind you,” Connak assures her. “If we catch up to you, I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

As Ada leaves, Imryll peers out of the window. “She’s out of earshot.”

I scrub my hands over my face. “You three should just move in. There are plenty of rooms and space for all of us. Going back and forth has to be exhausting. You’re practically living there now. Connak has already claimed a bedroom.”

“We were talking about that before you got here, too,” Tal says. “It’ll be easier for me. Imy and Nook need to sort their house out.”

“I don’t think we’ll have much of an issue,” Imryll admits. “Raf wants to move closer to the clinic. We can work something out with him.”