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I frowned. “Do you need money?” I asked, my back stiffening at the uncharacteristic ask, but Saint immediately shook his head, quashing my suspicion. I should have known better. He had never asked me for money before. He wasn’t about to start now—no matter how much I secretly wanted to help him.
“No. Not money. The construction work pays well enough. I don’t suffer financially as long as I put in the hours.”
I relaxed, but only slightly, as I looked at my friend, who refused to touch the bacon and eggs on the now exposed plate in front of him, his verdant eyes shadowed with concern. Gone were the remnants of the kid I remembered, starving and scuttling through the castle walls like a mouse. But he didn’t fool me. I knew that despite the step up he’d taken from being Glynda’s sinewy, scrappy boy, there was still a thriving ambition in Saint.
“Are you going to make me beat it out of you, Saint?” I asked, only half joking. It wasn’t like him to be so drawn out, to come tome, hat-in-hand, but it was clear he wanted something from me. And if not money…
What else could I possibly offer him?
“It’s Elix,” he finally blurted out. For a second, I could only stare at him uncomprehendingly, and he returned my steadfast gaze, waiting for me to say something. When I didn’t, he continued. “My sister?”
I felt stupid for half a second. I’d forgotten her name. Elix had been in the background of my friendship with Saint, despite the fact that she had grown up in the palace as well.
“Yes… I remember her,” I replied, but that wasn’t entirely true. I vaguely recalled the tangled-haired demoiselle who had wrestled with the other servants’ sons and often won. I knew she was under Saint’s charge. I really hadn’t given her much thought over the years, though. “What about her?”
Again, Saint shifted his hefty form, like the conversation was about to enter unchartered ground, and my curiosity spiked. I gestured for him to sit, my head cocking.
“It’s fine. I have to get to work,” he explained quickly as he remained standing. “I should just get it out.”
“Okay. Then come out with it,” I agreed. “What’s wrong with your kid sister?”
He grimaced as if my question physically pained him, but he didn’t hesitate now as he explained his real reason for being there. With a sigh, he blurted it all out.
“Her powers have come to light, and for it, she’s being pursued by a lot of suitors. More than I can keep a handle on.”
My mouth parted, but no words came out. Everything about his statement surprised me, and I found myself wracking my memory for everything I could recall about Elix.
Hazy images of a rambunctious fae, roughhousing with the other servants’ kids as her mother Glynda, a kind, sweet soul, chased after her, imploring her to act properly. An involuntarygrin quirked at the corner of my mouth at the unadulterated sass of the kid, but it faded as quickly as it came, Saint’s ask smacking me in the face as I gaped at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Saint asked.
“Isn’t she like fourteen?” I blurted, trying to remember the last time I’d seen her. Logically, I knew that couldn’t be true. She was… eight years younger than us? Seven?
Saint snickered and dropped his arms. “She was the last time you saw her, probably,” he agreed. “Ten years ago.”
Aghast, my brow raised. “It can’t have been that long!”
“Well, she’s twenty-four now, and everyone is well aware of her ability to control all four elements. You should see some offers she’s been getting…”
Holy shit. Twenty-four. She’s eight years younger than us.
I shook my head and flopped onto the couch, grabbing for a piece of toast, jamming it into my mouth before I voiced my thoughts. My gut was twisting suddenly, and the need to put something in it seemed important. “I fail to understand how this is a problem. Pick the best fit for her and marry her off. Issue resolved.”
The frown on Saint’s mouth deepened. “If only it were that easy,” he muttered. I stared at him uncomprehendingly.
“I’m really not following. What’s the problem?”
“They’re all idiots. Her power shouldn’t be tied to just anyone. The offers aren’t exactly… appealing.”
At first, I snorted, mistaking his protectiveness for that of an older brother, but immediately, I remembered something else, something darker about little Elix.
“Oh… her powers,” I muttered. Half of Glynda’s fear for Elix had nothing to do with the fact that she had been a rebellious pain in the ass. It was the fact that she had the insurmountable power to control all four elements: air, earth, fire, and water.
It was a talent I’d never heard of any other fae possessing in my lifetime, and Saint’s mother had been rightfully terrified for her daughter. Faeries weren’t forgiving, of that they didn’t know. It was too easy to blame the mysterious on dark magic.
“No, I agree. I had forgotten about her extraordinary talent,” I conceded, again feeling foolish.
“And not all the offers are innocent.” Saint’s jaw twitched when he said this.
