“Your judgment does not matter to me,” Kiana said, rising to her full height, nearly two feet above the dean. “Let me go, and I’ll figure out a way to save my son. Or am I also a prisoner here?”
The dean opened her mouth to respond, but I interrupted her.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Kiana, but having Dean McIntosh on our side is a boon we should appreciate. She has helped our kind more than any other human. I owe her my life and the life of all the orphans who had been under my care since The Bane destroyed Faerie. She’s a powerful witch, and you should not underestimate her value to our cause.”
I expected my aunt to lose her temper this time and tell me where I could stuff my advice, but once more, she surprised me by saying nothing, and instead, giving me the slightest of nods. She was clenching her teeth, all right, but it seemed she’d learned to control her pride since last I’d seen her, a trait royals didn’t particularly embrace.
After a moment, she finally spoke. “You’re right, niece. The Habermanns are worthy opponents, and the fact that they’re wary of Dean McIntosh tells me I should welcome her as an ally. My apologies, Lynssa.”
They both inclined their heads with deference. I exhaled in relief. My aunt might have a battalion of powerful Fae Warriors awaiting her every word, but it didn’t seem likely that she could get them to the island without help.
“The Habermanns are wary of me, huh?” The dean said with a crooked smile.
Kiana nodded. “It’s the reason they are so desperate to find my son. They fear you might find him first. You didn’t, but still, you’ve found this girl,” she glanced toward the computer monitor, “so we have bested them.”
The dean and I exchanged a glance.
“How exactly?” the dean asked.
My aunt seemed surprised at the question. “Because these poor victims possess answers that can help us solve the puzzle of what the Habermanns have done to them.”
“Yes, I’ve taken samples from Daniella,” the dean said. “We’ll send them for analysis. I have friends, well-known scientists, who might help us figure out what caused their changes and how to reverse them.”
Once more, Kiana looked taken aback. “Is there no way you can communicate with the creature? Use your magic to talk to her? Your scientists might find nothing or be too late with an answer. We have no time to waste. Besides, the answer is right there.” She stabbed her finger into the monitor.
“But how would Daniella know anything?” I asked, frowning. “She’s not a scientist to understand the Habermanns experiments.”
Kiana shrugged. “Perhaps, but I have a feeling there’s more to it than just experiments. There is a reason the Habermanns were concerned you would find Sinasre before they did.”
“I’m afraid this doesn’t change things,” the dean said. “Whether or not Daniella knows anything that can help us is irrelevant. I tried to communicate with her just a moment ago, and I got nothing from her. Her mind is nothing but a jumble.”
I let out a small gasp.
“What is it?” the dean asked.
“I think… I know someone who might be able to get through to Daniella.”
Chapter Twelve
“It’s okay. You can go in,” I encouraged Becca, gently guiding her into Daniella’s room.
Vaughn was already inside along with my aunt and Dean McIntosh.
The dean’s hands hovered over Daniella’s body, a light glow emanating from them. “She’s restrained, Becca. Even if she awakens, she won’t be able to move. I promise.”
Becca swallowed audibly. Her body shook under my hand as she scrutinized the length of the prone shape that lay on the floor. Daniella’s sickly green skin, the mud caked on her bare feet, the vines wrapped around her limbs.
“She was an inmate like us?” Becca squeaked.
“Yes, she was,” I said. “She’s my friend, an item witch like you. Do you see the earrings she’s wearing? They’re her item. The Habermanns took them away like they took your ring.”
Becca glanced down at the ruby ring on her finger.
I went on, trying to reassure Becca as I kept encouraging her to get closer. “Those monsters did this to her, and we’re trying to undo it. Like I said, we think she knows something that can help us do that.”
Suddenly, Becca froze, fear playing on her pale features. “I don’t want to touch her.”
“I know, I know. But I need you to be brave. If not for Daniella… for Bael.”
Becca’s gaze snapped to mine. I hadn’t told them about Bael to spare them the pain.
“They did something similar to him,” I said at last. “They changed him.” A lump got stuck in my throat at the memory of Bael’s new monstrous shape.
“Not Bael.” Becca’s eyes filled with tears.
Bael had saved her from Regina when the vamp had been blind with hunger and tried to attack them. He’d been through many trials with us, and the bond that those shared moments of anguish created between the inmates was difficult to explain. It made you protective of each other. It made you care.
Becca nodded. “I can try.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Slowly, she took a knee next to Daniella, grasped her hand tightly in hers, and closed her eyes.
“I don’t hear anything,” Becca said, her hand trembling as she pressed it into Daniella’s naked stomach. Becca’s pale skin stood out against Daniella’s green hue as she searched the poor, mutated witch’s head. “Her mind is a mess. Just chaos. I can’t make sense of it”
I bit my lip, not willing to give up. We’d been standing around the unconscious Daniella for twenty minutes, and Becca wanted to give up, but I couldn’t stop so easily. She’d been able to speak to Vaughn when he’d been unconscious. She could get through to Daniella. I knew she could.
“Keep trying,” I said, squeezing her shoulder.
Becca shook her head, pouting like the young girl I kept forgetting she was. “I’m telling you it’s like a hoarder’s nightmare in here.” Her closed eyes squinted as if she were looking around a cluttered room. “There’s no logical response.”
I sucked in a breath, trying to think about what might help this process. The last time, I’d been talking to Vaughn before Becca read his thoughts, and he’d responded. It didn’t hurt to try that here.
Leaning down, I whispered. “Hi, Daniella. It’s Tally again.”
I glanced at Becca, and she shook her head. “Nope.”
“I never got to thank you for saving my life,” I continued. “Do you remember being in the boat that sank? Vaughn was trying to help us swim.”
The image of the three of us bobbing in the water came rushing back to me like a cold wave splashing in my face. We had been drowning, our ship smashed into pieces by the sea monster. Vaughn had been desperately trying to get us to a shore that was still too far away. Daniella knew we’d all die and had selflessly let go, sinking into the waves.
I felt her hand slip away, and the water took her.
A sob caught in my throat. I blinked up to realize that tears had slid down my face and landed on Daniella’s arm. I wasn’t over the trauma of that moment. I wondered if I’d ever be.