The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(90)

“We can do that soon, but I don’t have time this morning. I’m making protective charms for the girls who are trying for the betrothal, and for Kellan and Nessa, and the potion will be ready this afternoon.”

“So you thought you’d come out here and enjoy the fresh, early-morning air with an old woman?”

“There’s nothing enjoyable about early morning. Unless you have peach tea and a fritter or two?” She gave Grand-mère her best hopeful look, and the older woman laughed.

“Come inside. I’ll fix you a meal. And then we can talk about whatever brought you here.”

“How do you know I want to talk about something?” Blue asked as they went inside, Pepperell at their heels.

“Because I have my granddaughter memorized.” She waved her wand and set the teapot on to boil while the ingredients for maple fritters began assembling in a batter bowl. “Which is why I also know that you’re starting to look at Kellan like he’s something special.”

“He is something special, but not for me,” Blue said firmly, and willed herself to believe it. To let it be the truth that ruled her instead of the pointless longing to wrap herself around him and listen to him share the things that were hidden in his heart.

“You’d best keep that in mind.” Fritter batter hit the skillet that had warmed itself on the stove while a teacup left its hook and floated over to the teapot. “He’s a good boy. That reckless impulsiveness and thirst for proving himself that got him in trouble when he was younger has grown into steady courage and a strong will bent toward protecting his kingdom. But that same strong will is what will keep him from acting on the feelings he seems to be developing for you.”

Blue risked a quick look at Grand-mère. “Kellan can’t have feelings for me.”

Grand-mère snorted. “That boy was in and out of this cottage as much as you were over the years. I have him memorized too.”

The fritter flipped itself, and the tea poured into the cup, releasing the juicy sweet scent of peaches. Grand-mère whisked open the kitchen window, letting the breeze dance through her wind chimes.

Blue held the idea of Kellan truly having feelings for her close for a moment, letting its bittersweet ache pierce her, before gently setting it aside. She couldn’t change what was written in stone, and neither could he. And there were far more important things at stake than the way she felt for the prince.

“I didn’t come here to talk about Kellan,” she said as the fritter flipped itself onto a plate and headed toward the table. “I came to talk about the wraith.”

Grand-mère’s lip curled.

“And about my magic.”

The older woman slowly pivoted away from the window, pinning Blue with a look. “What do the two have to do with each other?”

“Don’t you have a guess?”

Grand-mère held Blue’s gaze for a long moment while the plate clinked against the tabletop and Pepperell heaved himself onto the windowsill, his tail sending the closest wind chime swinging. Finally, the older woman moved to the table and sat heavily in the chair across from Blue. “Tell me what happened.”

Careful to include every detail from the moment they’d entered the Wilds, Blue told the story of finding the children’s bodies, trying to arrange Ana so that she looked peaceful, and then suddenly finding herself reaching for the wraith until Kellan tackled her and held her back.

Grand-mère reached her arms across the table. “Let me see your hands.”

Blue laid her hands in her grandmother’s and sat quietly while Grand-mère examined them. When she got to the small cut on Blue’s index finger, she stopped.

“When did this happen?”

Blue frowned. “While I was trying to fix Ana’s dress. I guess I caught it on a thorn or something beneath her. I’m not sure—”

“Your magic turned from a buzzing to a firestorm after you cut yourself?”

Blue nodded slowly.

“And that’s when you felt like you should touch the gate?”

“Not just the gate. The wraith itself. I thought if I just touched it, I could destroy it. And it seemed to be waiting for me to do that because it looked right at me. Came straight for me. I don’t think it ever looked at Kellan once.”

Grand-mère pulled her wand and waved it over Blue’s hand, muttering under her breath.

“What is it? What do you see?”

Grand-mère lowered her wand. “Nothing. I thought if there was some kind of curse on you, some spell that would cause you to be the wraith’s next meal, then we’d have a clue as to who was behind it all. Only one person with a motive has been close enough to you lately to have cursed you.”

Blue considered her words. “You think Dinah could be behind this?”

“You don’t?”

“I know she’s a disagreeable person, but it’s a big leap from disagreeable to murderer. Kellan told me her guardianship document held up under our verification process, so while she’s difficult to be around, I can’t accuse her of anything else.”

Grand-mère made a noise of disgust. “I don’t believe for one second that she was friends with my daughter. Certainly not close enough for Valeraine to give guardianship to her instead of to me. Maybe she did a good job of it, but Dinah faked that guardianship agreement, and it must be because she wants something. But what could you possibly have that she wants?”