Page 26 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

“Maybe.” Ada isn’t committed to her answer.

She’s intuitive; she knows more—feels more—than any of us give her credit for.

“I see a few ways to find out,” Rinya announces, smiling at Ada before grimacing in pain.

“Right. You are sure you want me to start without you?”

“I’ll catch up when I can stand without fainting.”

They share one last look that I can’t quite decipher. And then Rin closes her eyes, exhausted and ready to heal. That she’s so willing to let Ada take over shows me not only how close they’ve grown, but just how injured our friend is.

When she’s back to full health, and we have some suspects, someone is going to bleed. I can picture it clearly; Rin beating them senseless while Ada questions them relentlessly. But that image makes me wonder…

How many men ambushed Rinya?

One man wouldn’t have done this much damage.

Ada stands, smoothing the skirt of her dress before tucking her hands in her pockets. How she got Isolde to add pockets to her dress is a whole other negotiation that I wish I could have heard.

She walks calmly to the door, the glance she casts over her shoulder the only command we need to follow her out. This has caused a shift in her I can’t yet explain.

When she gives us her full attention, the golden specks in her irises glow. Her hair flows in a breeze that doesn’t touch us, power rivaling none I’ve ever witnessed.

“I need your maps and all the attack data you’ve been hiding. I’ll need the guard rotations and the schedules for the hunting excursions. And I need it all today.”

Command.

That word bounces around my mind so forcefully my knees nearly buckle.

“We need to know how many Mongrels work at the general store, too.” It takes effort to voice this, but I know she doesn’t intend for her power to put pressure on us.

“You’re going to help them?” Ecaeris asks me, struggling to articulate anything else.

He feels it too. We all do. Connak and Imryll are speechless but nodding. They don’t take their eyes off her, for Ada is no longer with us. She’s the ocean in flesh, the master of storms.

I see now that Imryll was right; Spiran has changed her.

She doesn't need us to survive.

The sky drops, heavy rain pelting the roof as she simmers in her anger. One clash of thunder is all it takes to bring our Ada back to us. But she walks away without a word, her shoulders rising and falling as she controls her breathing.

“We are,” Connak tells him.

“And so are you,” Imryll interjects before he can argue.

They trail behind her, pausing in the waiting room to talk about where we’re bringing the things she needs.

“Ecaeris,” I whisper so only he can hear. “If she were a Shade, the world would burn.”

He nods, closing his eyes as the rain comes to a stop. “Instead, it floods.”