Page 21 of A Castle of Broken Memories

“Came in through the front door.”

She tsked. “It closed behind them, I suppose?”

“Sure did. It was the sound of it closing that alerted me to their arrival in the first place.”

“Shoot.”

“My thoughts exactly, only with stronger wording.”

“But how’d they even get up here?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Another magic bean, maybe? Granddad never said if there were more or not.”

“You didn’t ask them?”

Honestly, it should have been one of my first questions, if I hadn’t been quite so fixated on envisioning Noah’s head being ripped off. That, and obsessing over a particular werewolf and her scrawny, smart-mouthed lover. Gods, I’d wanted to beat the ever-loving shit out of him, touching her like that⁠—

“Jack?” Harp’s voice cut through my increasingly violent thoughts. “What is it? You’re all tensed up again.”

Damn. I needed to get myself under control. “Sorry. It’s just… I know them. Or, one of them anyway.” I hesitated. “Mariana was with them.”

Harp’s music flew into an allegro, the increased tempo perfectly matching the excitement in her voice. “Mariana’s here? In the castle?” Her hands fluttered about her face. “Oh my gosh, Jack! That’s wonderful!”

I slumped forward, resting my forearms on my knees while I stared at the floor. “Yeah. She even brought her boyfriend along. Huzzah.”

“Oh!” Gone was the victorious melody from before, silence taking its place as Harp’s strings stilled. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”

I sighed. “It shouldn’t be so surprising, really. It’s been ten years. And apparently everyone thinks I left her at the altar on purpose.” As if I would do something so mind-blowingly imbecilic. I may not be the cleverest vampire in the forest, but I’m not that dumb.

“What? But, why? How? Why?

“Apparently my ‘friend’ Noah wrote a fake note implying as much,” I growled. “The bastard.”

“Again—why?” Harp repeated.

“An excellent question that I plan to thoroughly investigate should I ever get my hands on the little shit again,” I grumbled darkly.

Harp harrumphed. “I should hope so.” Her frown, however, quickly evaporated into a hopeful grin. “Anyway, she’s here now, and so are you. Give it some time, and I have no doubt you can charm Mr. New Guy right out of the picture. Mariana is your mate, not his.”

“I don’t know. It’s been so long, and Mariana…” I shook my head. “We’ve both changed so much. We hardly know each other anymore.”

“So get to know each other again,” Harp stated. “And while you’re at it, maybe you can find a way out of this place. Or, better yet, break the curse entirely. From what you’ve told me, Mariana was on track to becoming an extremely capable witch. And who knows what manner of skills her friends might have.”

“Mariana has always been talented,” I agreed. “As for the others…” I refused to believe that lover boy had anything to contribute besides snarky remarks, but the werewolf was another story. “The burly werewolf could probably offer some added protection, if nothing else.” Which would come in handy, actually, especially in his wolf form. There was no lack of beasties to fight come nightfall. Speaking of which…

“I should probably head back before they’re tempted to leave the glen. I need to prepare them for tonight.”

“Eh eh eh, not yet you don’t,” Harp admonished.

I twisted around to look at her. “Why? What’s up?”

“This”—she twirled a finger around my face—“is what’s up. You can’t go back looking like that. You look like a deranged wilderness man.”

I ran a hand over my beard. “I suppose I have kind of let myself go a bit.”

She let out a delicate snort. “Understatement of the year. But fear not my sweet adventurer. I’ll have you sorted out in no time.” She clapped her hands together, and after a moment a box floated between the heavy red stage curtains behind us. “We’ll start with the hair. My shears, if you please.”

I opened the box and pulled out the long, silver scissors. Hesitating, I gave her a look. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”