Page 34

THE PALACE

O n our way to the Palace, Eira and I swung by my house to pick up Snow. Years ago, my mom’s cat Angel had given birth to seven kittens. When they’d grown old enough, she’d given one kitten to each of the kids born the same day as me. Seven kids, seven kittens.

Snow had gone to me. He was a big boy, even bigger than his mother, which might have made him the largest cat to ever walk the Earth. His coat was white with black spots, a perfect snow leopard pattern.

Eira’s cat was a pretty girl named Bonbon. Like all of Angel’s babies, Bonbon was a blend of her parents. She was white with big black splashes on her body, like the spots of a cow.

Bonbon was waiting for us when we stepped inside the Palace. As soon as Snow saw her, both cats took off running up the stairs. The two of them were as loud as a herd of bison. Luckily, Grandpa Damiel had reinforced every part of the Palace to withstand a battle.

Grandma Cadence was sitting in the kitchen when we entered. “Home already, Eira? Did you run out of—” She stopped. “Something has happened.” She pulled out two more chairs. “Tell me.”

“I had a vision,” I said as Eira and I sat down.

I told her about the rings, the theft, and the mysterious person, cloaked in shadow, just past my field of view.

“Visions rarely give you everything on a gold platter,” Cadence said. “Tell me more about these symbols you saw on the rings.”

“They’re words in some ancient language. I think.”

“Show me.” She slid a pen and a pad of paper across the table.

I filled several pages with words I didn’t understand in a language I couldn’t speak. When I was done, I slid the pad back to her.

“The same symbols were on the book the thief had. The one who broke into the Legion research facility four years ago,” I told her.

“I recognize the symbols.” Cadence tapped the pad. “They’re from a very old Immortal language.”

I leaned forward eagerly. “Can you read it?”

“No,” she said. “There’s an old book written in that language. It’s called Transformation. That is all I know of it.”

“Do you have the book here?”

“No, it’s not in our home library. I believe Eva and Jiro have a copy in their library.”

I jumped out of my seat. “We should go there.” My stomach gurgled.

Cadence looked down at it. “I think you should eat something first.”

“There’s no time to eat. The fate of the universe is at stake!”

“What, again?” Damiel said casually as he strolled into the kitchen, smiling.

“How much did you hear?” I asked him.

“Everything. I’m an accomplished eavesdropper. And very nosy.”

“He’s not wrong about that,” Eira sighed. “He knew Lycus Dragonblood was going to ask me out even before I did.”

I spun toward my best friend. “Why didn’t you tell me that Lycus Dragonblood asked you out?”

“Because he didn’t,” Eira said sourly. “Not after Damiel Dragonsire, former Master Interrogator and current pain in my ass, went to him and had the Talk.”

“What Talk?”

“The Talk is when your overbearing father goes to any boy who likes you and scares the living daylights out of him.”

“My dad doesn’t do that.”

Eira snorted.

“What?”

“Of course he does that, Sierra. My brother is just way more subtle about it than my dad. Nero scared him so badly that he didn’t tell anyone what happened.”

“What happened?” I asked. “And who is this ‘him’? Who likes me?”

“It doesn’t matter. He won’t do anything now that Nero got to him.”

I frowned. “I’m moving to a place where no one’s ever heard of my parents.”

Eira sighed. “Take me with you when you do, ok?”

“Are you two quite finished with your hysterics?” Damiel asked us.

“Your dad’s doing that thing again where he’s acting like an angel,” I told Eira.

“He hasn’t stopped doing that thing since the day I was born,” she replied.

My stomach growled again, louder this time.

“Sit.” Damiel pointed at my empty chair. “Eat.”

“But the universe?—”

“Can wait,” he cut me off. “You won’t be saving anything if you collapse.”

“I just ate. Call my Aunt Bella if you don’t believe me.”

“And you have teleported how many times since you last ate?” he asked, brows lifted.

I didn’t answer him. He was just being unreasonable.

“Exactly,” Damiel said. “Now are you going to sit down and eat, or do I have to tie you to that chair?”

“He will totally do it,” Eira warned me. “He’s done it to me.”

“Fine. You win, you old coot.” I pulled out my chair and sat down. “But if the universe explodes while we’re sitting here eating, you’ll be sorry.”

“If the universe explodes, I doubt I’ll still be around to feel sorry about anything,” he said lightly.

“You really do have an answer to everything, don’t you?”

He smiled at me. “Do you want me to answer that?”

I said nothing.

“Smart girl.” He retrieved an apron from the cupboard. “So, what will it be, ladies? What would you like the Immortal Chef to prepare for you today?”

I glanced at Eira. “Did he just call himself ‘the Immortal Chef’?”

“I try not to listen to a word my dad says.”

“Focus, please.” When Damiel said ‘please’, it sounded an awful lot like ‘or else’.

“I’d like pancakes,” I told him.

“Oooh, good idea,” Eira said.

“Pancakes are a little odd for dinner, don’t you think?”

I braided my fingers together and rested my chin on them, smiling up at my grandfather. “It isn’t dinnertime where I live.”

He chuckled. “Good point.” He started gathering ingredients for the pancake batter.

“Besides,” I said. “It’s always the right time of the day for pancakes. Especially your pancakes.”

Damiel pointed his mixing spoon at me. “Bonus points for the flattery, Sierra. I’ve almost forgiven you for calling me an ‘old coot’.”

“Make those pancakes with chocolate chips and I might forgive you for threatening to tie me to my chair,” I said sweetly.

“Done,” he said, then grabbed a bag of tiny chocolate chips and emptied it into the batter.

Over the next half hour, Damiel cooked, we ate, and we all discussed the impending end of the universe. In other words, it was a typical meal for our family.

“When we’re done eating, we should visit Jiro and Eva,” Damiel said, flipping more pancakes onto my plate.

“They have built up an extensive library. In addition to the book Cadence mentioned, they have many more ancient books from the time of the Immortals—and some even older. If anyone alive knows anything about that ancient language you saw, they do.”

“They have books from before the time of the Immortals?” I spooned fresh whipped cream all over my pancakes. “What was there before the Immortals?”

“No one is quite sure,” said Cadence. “There are all these myths, but who knows which are true and which are just crazy stories.”

“A trip to the library with my girls.” Damiel licked the batter off his fingers. “How exciting!”

“Let’s hope it’s not too exciting,” Cadence said.

“It’s just a library, my love. What could possibly go wrong in a library?”