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She gives me a sweet smile and pats the cushion next to her on the couch. “Have a seat. I’d love the company.”

So much for the alone time, but she does appear genuinely happy for the company so I sit next to her. “I’m Marra.”

“I know who you are. It’s a pleasure to meet you, young princess. I’m Elaine, the eldest resident of Valora. I remember when your great-great-grandfather was a young prince.”

I give her a double-take. “You remember when my great-great-grandpa’s father ruled?”

She nods. “The idyllic days of my youth. All the girls in the kingdom were in love with your great-grandfather. He was a looker, that one.”

I grin while mentally trying to figure out how old she must be.

“That was a couple of centuries ago, but I remember his golden hair and indigo tail as if he were just here yesterday. I got to meet him on several occasions when my parents came here to the castle.”

“Must have been something.”

She nods, looking lost in thought. “Those were the days, I tell you. People weren’t full of the angst they have now. Everyone was nice to each other because they wanted to be. It’s really a shame that wasn’t able to last.”

“I wish I could’ve seen it.”

She tells me a story, but I quickly get lost in my own thoughts. What if she knows something about Queen Sirena that the rest of us don’t? No, she isn’t ancient, but she is Valora’s oldest resident. She might know something useful that isn’t in any of the manuscripts.

I wait for her to finish her story. “That sounds amazing, Madame Elaine.” I pause and my heart races. “Tell me, do you know anything about the legend of Queen Sirena? Were there whispers in the days of your youth that haven’t been spoken since?”

She glances at my hair. “There were certainly more whispers in those days.”

“About?” I lean closer.

Elaine takes a strand of my pink locks and holds it close before looking at me. “My friends and I often play acted, taking turns pretending to be the mysterious queen of old. It was common for girls our age.”

“I wonder what changed between then and now.”

She looks me square in the eyes. “Your grandfather.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had a temper—we know where the former King Drake got his—and he couldn’t stand the fact that his eldest son, the heir to his throne, was obsessed with the story. Most everyone has had a curiosity about her, but in all my years, I’ve never seen anyone with quite the enthusiasm as your father.”

“Never?”

She shakes her head. “No. He made it his goal to collect every book, every trinket—anything he could get his hands on regarding her.”

“What did my grandfather do?”

“Took it all away. Banished anything to do with her from our kingdom. That’s why people stopped talking and why the books became so hard to find.”

I give her a double-take. “That’s harsh.”

“It was, and I felt bad for the prince. But who would stand up to your grandfather? Yes, he was overall a good and fair king, but when he had his mind made up about something, there was no going back. Not even your grandmother could convince him to change his mind.”

I let her words sink in. “I never knew any of that. Why didn’t my dad just revoke the law banning the mention of Queen Sirena once he came into power?”

Elaine frowns. “Your grandfather enacted a five-century law. Under no circumstances can it be altered in that timeframe.”

“Seriously?” I exclaim. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It is what it is. Your grandfather didn’t want this getting in the way of King Tiberias’s rule.”

I lean back and try to make sense of it. There has to be a way for my dad to get around it. He’s king!