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“Do you know what’s going on?” Her eyes are pleading for me to make sense of it all for her.
“I do, and I will explain what has happened. Right now, I need you to gather up as many people as you can and tell them to meet me in the entryway. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll do that right away.”
Anya goes down the hallway, knocking on doors and calling out to anyone she finds.
When I make it to the entryway of the castle, I find Boris with his arms resting on the balustrade, watching people down below. He looks almost amused by their panic.
“You know, that could have been you down there if Emily hadn’t stepped in,” I say.
“Well, true enough, poppet. I can’t help it if I find it a bit funny that all these lords and ladies don’t have a clue who they are. For all they know, they could be the help, or the poor fella who has to shovel the shit out of the horse stalls. How are you going to sort them all out?”
I take a deep breath as the weight of my new responsibilities finally sink in.
“One person at a time,” I say. “That’s the best I can do.”
Boris holds out a crooked arm for me to take. “And I’ll be there by your side to help you through it all.”
“Yes,” I say. “By the way, shouldn’t you be in your wolf form this time of day?”
From the bright sunlight streaming into the entryway through the double doors, it’s obvious the sun is well up in the sky by now.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you,” he says excitedly. “With everything else going on, it escaped my mind. I won’t be transforming anymore. Emily fixed me.”
“Fixed you?” Then it dawns on me. “She got her machine to work?”
“Apparently. As you can see, I’m in fit human form, and it’s been at least two hours since twilight.”
I hold a hand against my stomach to stop its butterflies. “I’m not sure I can take more good news today.”
Boris laughs. “Well, poppet, you’re going to have to stomach a lot of whining from people here in town, so soak up all the joy you can to see you through what happens next. But as I said, I’ll be with you every step of the way. You don’t have to do everything alone.”
I feel the weight of responsibility lift a tiny bit, but I know my work is just beginning.
As I speak to those gathered in the castle, I use words like hope, a fresh start, and kindness. I tell them that the only way we are going to get through the next few days is if we all remain patient and kind toward each other. Most of the people seem to feel better after my speech, but there are some whose nature is to wait and see what kind of leader I am before committing. I don’t blame them. Leading people is new to me, and I feel certain I’ll make mistakes along the way.
Around mid-afternoon, Boris and I finally find a moment to ourselves. Boris has a carriage brought around, and we tell the driver where to take us.
“Do you think they’ll be there?” I begin to chew on a fingernail. It’s something I haven’t done in years, but it shows just how nervous I am.
Boris shrugs. “It’s the only place I can think to look. They weren’t at the castle, so they must be there.”
“What if they’re not?” I ask in a panic. “What if Agatha put them somewhere we’ll never think to look?”
Boris pulls my hand away from my mouth and holds it. “We’ll find them. I promised Margaret that we would be together again, and you know I never break a promise. If they’re not there, I will travel to the far ends of this world trying to find them.”
“Maybe Agatha would help us if I asked.”
“Maybe.” Boris doesn’t look particularly hopeful that plan will work. “Or maybe she’s made it easy on us and they’re exactly where we think they are.”
For the rest of the ride, we remain silent. I can’t speak for Boris, but I use the time to pray to whatever higher power there is in the universe. If there was ever a time I needed a miracle, it would be right now.
When the carriage pulls up in front of Margaret’s cottage, I find that my legs can’t move, and my lungs don’t seem to be able to expand enough to take in all the air I need. I’m petrified by fear that the man I love isn’t here, or if he is, he’ll look straight through me like a stranger.
“I’m scared,” I admit to him.
“I’m scared too, but we have to try.”
