I peered at Gran. “You waited thirty-five years to kidnap me?”
She waved away my words. “Time is nothing when you’re alone. Days, months, years—didn’t mean a thing. My revenge was all I had to live for. I couldn’t go home to a spirit who would kill me. I couldn’t go anywhere else. So I hid. I hid, and I bided my time. I wanted to make the king pay. But that wasn’t all. I also wanted revenge on Spirit Shadow for taking my court, my life, from me. I didn’t expect it to take the young queen thirty-five spirits-damned years to have you. But I kept busy. I learned. I found out about the Tower of Terror built by Spirit Sky. Many knew of it, but no one knew of its location. Some even thought his tower to be a myth. Those who did know of it believed it to be cursed.”
“So how did you find it?”
She spread out her hands. “By exploring. I had nothing but time now. Everyone thought I was dead. I might as well have been. I felt dead. The years went by, and I became obsessed with learning more about the spirits, learning about why they might’ve been trapped in the first place. Learning about why Spirit Shadow wasn’t attacking the other courts, why he was hiding out in Sorrengard. And then, the announcement came: the queen had given birth to a baby girl.”
Loch pulled my hand into his lap, covering it with both of his as if I might need the extra comfort for this part of the story. But of Gran’s entire twisted tale, this was the least horrific part.
“So I took you. I came upon the queen one night, singing that lullaby to calm you.” Her voice shook as she looked at me, tears in her eyes. “I took you from her, the debt that she owed for her crown. I was going to kill you. That was the plan. But I fled with you to the little towerI’d made into a home, and for the first time in thirty-five years, I wasn’t living for revenge.” She cupped my cheek. “I was living for you. I fell in love with you, Poppy. I’m just sorry I wasn’t better at showing it. I guess... I guess I was afraid you’d grow up and leave, so I always made you feel like you owed me so you’d stay. It was wrong.”
“It was manipulative,” I said as tears spilled down my cheeks.
“I know. I never said I was a good person. Just that I loved you. You gave my meaningless life purpose, but I know that doesn’t excuse any of my behavior.”
No, it didn’t.
“But I wasn’t just afraid of you leaving. I was afraid if Spirit Shadow found out about my existence, he’d come after me, come after you.”
I sniffled. “So that’s another reason why you hid us away.”
She nodded. “I swear I did the best by you that I could.”
“So then,” Loch said slowly, “the question remains, why is Spirit Shadow after you?”
Gran’s fingers twitched. “Because I’m a threat. I know about his existence, know what he’s done. Know what he’s planning on doing.”
Loch and I both tensed at that.
“I eventually found out that when I freed him from his tomb, he had to go back to his court, and there he remains trapped. Until all the other spirits are freed from their tombs. He’s spent the last sixty years sending his shadows around the world trying to find their weapons, trying to free them so he can be free—and if that happens, well, then I fear for us all.”
“Holy fucking spirits below,” Loch said, dropping his head into his hands. “But then why wouldn’t he just have had his shadows kill you? Why even bring you to his court?”
“Because his shadows discovered I have information he seeks. Valuable information. I can destroy him, but I can also help him.”
This was so much worse than we’d thought. The shadow king was actually Spirit Shadow. It was... unbelievable.
“What does he want?” I asked Gran. “What is his ultimate goal? What do you know?”
She grabbed my hands. “He seeks to make us all pay for our ancestors trapping him in that tomb.” She hesitated. “He already has some ofthe weapons he needs: Spirit Earth’s bow and arrow, Spirit Water’s trident, and his dagger.”
Loch shook his head. “No, no, the sea folk have that trident.”
“Not anymore,” Gran said.
Loch swore. We had to bring this information to everyone else, to all the other leaders. I looked at Loch. But we had to get his shadow back first.
“There’s something else you need to know,” Gran said, looking at me. “About the information I have, about Spirit Sky’s bolt?—”
Just then, shadows swooped down into the forest.
“It’s too late.” Gran squeezed her eyes shut. “They’ve found me,” she said, and then they descended.
Chapter Fifty
POPPY
The shadows swirled around us, a storm of mist and fury. I tugged at Gran, Loch already on his feet.
