Page 76 of Reaper’s Curse

Too bad I hadn’t openly accepted that truth about her sooner, instead of coming off like an overcompensating schmuck and treating her as inferior. Because she was anything but. And as much as I wanted to believe her feathers were made of steel―because that would somewhat ease my worry regarding her safety―I doubted they were.

Curious about the golden creature sharing her cage, though. What did she mean by recharge? The most golden. Could she be referring to Winter? A golden magical creature had recharged.

Oh crap! My eyes blew wide. Was she trying to tell me that the prince had regained his magic? Did that make her unsafe in the palace? Outside wasn’t safe for her until something was done about my previous captor, as well as the Killian. But inside…

Aoes may know. He’s been friends with Winter for over a century.

My heart cranked up in pace, as if preparing to race. I scanned the pub in search of the manager. Camilla and the twins were helping for the day, but I spotted Aoes wiping down a recently vacated table on the other side of the room.

Raising my hand with a slight wave, I caught his attention. Aoes gave me a nod of acknowledgement, then he passed off the task of wiping to one of the twins and sauntered over.

I lifted my chin and an eyebrow, silently questioning the added help in the pub.

“Oh yeah.” He glanced over the customer situation. “Earl ran an errand a while ago and has yet to return. Since business has been busier than usual, Camilla and the kids are helping until he gets back.”

“Good to have help.” I rolled Raven’s letter up and slipped it into my pocket.

“Yep.” Aoes dropped into one of the seats and lifted his legs, stretching them to the nearest empty chair. “Feels good to get off my feet for a few moments. I can grant you a couple of minutes. So, what’s up, Ace?”

“Winter,” I said, deciding to cut straight to the point.

Aoes dropped his head back and gazed at the ceiling. “Haven’t seen him in something like a week. Ever since Raven moved up to the palace, he’s been a flaky friend.”

Ever since… I gritted my teeth.

Ever since Raven moved under the same roof as Winter, that prick has been too distracted or busy for his friends?

Not what I wanted to hear. Not at all.

I fisted my hands, pressing until my knuckles turned white, then swallowed hard. “Is his magic dangerous?”

Aoes blew invisible bubbles toward the ceiling, his lips popping and bopping. “He doesn’t have access to much anymore, so no.”

“But let’s say…”—I dragged my fingertip over the table’s surface in small circles—“hypothetically speaking, that he could access his full pool of magic…”

Aoes sat straight, his full attention snapping to me.

“Would he be dangerous?”

“What have you heard?” Aoes dropped his feet to the ground and leaned onto the table. “Did he get his magic back? If so, how?”

Likely drawn by Aoes’s excitement, the young twins drifted closer.

Sighing, I flattened my hand on the table’s surface. “I don’t know, to both of your questions. And I haven’t necessarily heard anything. This is all speculation.”

Aoes’s gaze narrowed, scrutinizing me thoroughly. “Mm-hmm.”

The twins bellied up to the edge of the table, and I eyed them wearily, even as Aoes shot the girls a conspirator’s grin.

“With or without his magic, Winter has never been a cruel or dangerous person. At least, not on purpose. He was much like his brother, all about the parties and fun times.” Aoes winked.

Bloody winked! What the ever-loving reap?

My chest tightened. I really didn’t like the sound of that. What kind of individual was Raven trapped in the palace with?

Aoes ruffled the hair on the top of the afflicted twin’s head. “Winter’s like your daddy, isn’t he? Easygoing and fun.”

Both the twins nodded in response.