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"What trouble have you gotten yourself into boy?” she asked.
Shelby turned slightly to look back at Ace, his grandmother’s gaze following his. Her face drained of color as they made eye contact.
Dang it!Ace cursed herself. She wasn't supposed to make eye contact!
"What sort of demon have you brought me?” his grandmother gasped.
Ace grimaced. Being called a demon was exactly why she wasn't keen on showing off her face. It was partially the reason she preferred to be alone these past twelve months. Though she had to admit it was nice to finally have people who could actually acknowledge the fact that she was real and not just a ghost stealing off the streets of Maipeg.
"Not a demon,” Ace shrugged.
"Well, then what is she?" the old woman said to her grandson, her frame still filling the doorway not allowing them inside just yet.
Shelby shrugged. "Supposedly the gods brought her back from death." He ran a finger across his throat and his grandma looked at him and then stared at Ace’s throat. "She and the gods have made us a promise. They're going to free all the warlocks."
The old woman shook her fist at Shelby. "Do not use that word in this house." She put her finger up and Ace had half a mind to tell her that was a bit dangerous, but Shelby didn't smackherhand away.
"Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Grandma. Now, will you let us in?" Shelby asked.
The old woman stared at Ace and Ace stared back. "I promise, I mean you no harm. I really am here to help.” She chewed her lip for a minute. “And I need the help.”
His grandma snarled at that but waved them in and pushed them toward a table with two chairs. She closed the door, spinning back around. Her little cabin was one open space with a bed, the table, a couch that pointed toward the fireplace, and a small kitchen. There was only one other door. Ace assumed it led to some sort of bathroom.
"Another human girl taking advantage of my grandson. How wonderful." She shook her head. Shelby sat down in one of the chairs and when Ace hesitated his grandma walked by, grabbed her shoulder, and pushed her into the seat. "Sit. I might not be too excited to hear about whatever is happening with you two, but I'll be damned if I don't take care of you."
She gave Shelby a sad smile and brushed a kiss against his cheek once before patting his shoulder and walking into the kitchen where the sound of a spoon hitting the sides of a pot started.
"Last I heard you were taken by the queen. How did you get away? Did she sell you?"
Shelby turned in his seat watching his grandma dish something out into two small bowls. "Actually…we are sort of running for our lives."
His grandma snorted. "Running for your lives? Been there, done that. So what's your plan?"
Yes, what was his plan? Ace was quite curious too as she crossed her arms over her chest and examined the cabin. She noted the mirror hanging on the wall with a curtain pulled tightly closed over it.
"The plan was to come here and make a plan."
"How am I not surprised the first time I see you again and the first time you bring a girl home it's in these terrible conditions? Your mother would probably find it humorous."
"She always had a way of laughing at things that weren't particularly funny at all." Shelby looked out of the corner of his eyes at Ace as if to insinuate that they shared that characteristic as well.
"Yes, I miss your mother dearly." She waddled out of the kitchen, liquid sloshing out of the bowls and running down the side. She set them down on the table in front of Ace and Shelby, placing her hands back on her hips and staring. "Eat."
Ace picked up the spoon, stirring what looked like soup with large chunks of chicken and vegetables. "How long has Derfla been dead?" Ace asked before sipping on the broth.
"She's not dead!" The old woman smacked Shelby on the back of the head and he grunted, glaring in return. "She knows your mother’s name yet you say she is nothing more than some runaway girl who needed your magic! Don't tell me you fell in love with someone who is supposed to be dead! Her presence means that something isn't right. You must feel that," his grandma hissed.
And she was exactly right. Ace’s presence did mean that something wasn't right because Aceshouldbe dead. Yet here she was running for her life again, sitting in a cabin in the middle of the woods with a warlock, his grandma, and some cold soup.
"Grandma, I just met her two days ago. How could I be in love with her? She's literally the most annoying person I've ever met. And if she hadn’t agreed to help me with the power of the gods to free us, we would not be together."
His words made something like an ache form in her chest. She set her spoon down, placing her hand on her heart as if she could keep the pain from radiating through the rest of her body. Ace cleared her throat. "Soup is delicious."
"Thank you. I didn't have anything on hand but luckily my magic is not too rusty."
“You have magic? I was taught that magic was only passed down to the men."
