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“Rapunzel, let down your hair.”
Suddenly tired, I get up and throw my braids out the window. Mother comes in, carrying several bags. I even spot a donkey tied to a tree by the garden.
“Is that a donkey?” I ask, incredulous.
“Yes,” Mother says as she climbs in. “I need to pack more supplies this time. The town near the desert had none of my usual herbs.”
She drops the bags on the ground and raises her eyebrows. “You cleaned already?”
I shrug. “It is almost dinner time. I thought it best to keep the food fresh.”
“Very true.”
I pick up some of the bags, faking a wince, and carry them to the tables. Mother eyes my hands suspiciously, but makes no comment.
“I’m going back out,” Mother says. “I will be back tomorrow to pack for the desert.”
I help her down the tower without complaint. Night falls as the portal whisks her away, and I search the forest for my favorite vampire.
I am not disappointed, and I grin and wave at Raúl.
In a second, he is inside my tower, stalking toward me, red eye dark.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Raúl sweeps me into his arms, leaning me backward and planting his lips on mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and tilt my head to deepen the kiss. Raúl moves his soft lips against mine and he holds me tightly. I playfully bite his bottom lip, and he laughs.
Slowly standing up, he rights us both, but keeps me in his arms. Grinning down at me, he asks, “How was your day?”
“I cleaned the tower.”
Raúl raises an eyebrow. “That sounds… interesting?”
I grin sharply. “It’s not what I did, it’s how I did it.”
This perks Raúl’s interest, and he motions for me to continue. “I cleaned it all with magic. My own magic, from cutting my hair.”
I explain what I did, and Raúl listens intently. When I finish, he lifts me in the air, spinning me around. I laugh and he sets me down on my feet. “That’s wonderful to hear. Mother was worried you’d have no way to manage your magic. Now,” Raúl says, looking at me with doe eyes, “do you have dessert?”
I snort and smack him on the arm. “You have a chef to cook you whatever you desire. Why would you want me to make you something?”
He plants a quick kiss on my mouth. “Yours tastes better. Don’t tell Louis. He’ll over-salt my food in revenge.”
“You’d deserve it,” I say with a smile.
Raúl tickles my ribs until I laugh with abandon. He picks me up and sits on the sofa, settling me into his lap. “I brought you a present.”
As if appearing out of thin air, he holds a brown paper package in his hands. My mouth drops open in awe, and he gives it to me. “Are you sure?” I ask, running my hands along it. This one is hard and feels like a book.
“Of course.”
Not waiting a second more, I open the package and I was right. It is a book. I turn it side to side. It is leather bound, not like the typical ones I have. The cover glints in the soft light. The Five Queens is written in gold across the front. Carefully, I open to the first page. Instead of a bound book like I expect, the casing consists of a handful of small journals tied together.
“What are these?” I ask in wonder.
“This is a collection of the only information we could find about the five queens before the mages destroyed everything.”
I flip through the pages of the first journal, the one about the mermaid queen. I take out a loose paper with a drawing of her. “Mermaids are real?” I ask, my voice filled with unbelief as I stare at the picture. She has long hair, not as long as mine, of course, and a necklace made of shells. Her crown is simple and looks as if it were made of waves topped with pearls.
