“What if you have to? What are you willing to do to get this demon out?”
The leshane growled as I said, “Anything.”
“Then we have to trust her. No matter what she asks us to do.”
Emma said nothing more. I busied myself with setting up my tent while contemplating my options.
I’d lose myself if this demon remained inside of me for much longer. By the sound of it, that just might happen anyway. What Kiara had planned was definitely going to make me question what I was getting into.
Or with who.
Chapter Ten
Emma
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Arthur stood beside me at a green door, the entrance to a house in Dolinska. It was on Main Street— quiet, a white brick building three stories tall with green shutters. The building itself seemed old and weathered. Street lamps littered the area, beside wooden benches and small gardens. Outside of the home, a tiny flower bed grew herbs and white roses.
It was my grandparents’ home. I’d asked Arthur to take me to meet them. Now that I was on their doorstep, I wondered if this was a mistake.
But it was too late to go back now. Curiosity had me. “I’ll be okay. Let’s go in.”
Arthur carefully entered the house. “Bapa? Babcia? I’m home!”
Nobody responded right away. We walked through the entryway and passed the kitchen. Looking around, I saw the house was decorated with elements of green, gold, and white. The floor was hardwood, windows slightly open to the cool fall air. There were pictures of green fields and beautiful waterfalls hanging on the walls, with tapestries of Celtic knots beside them. A coat of arms of two wolvens hung at the end of the hallway. I peeked into the kitchen, and saw that the furniture was white, with an ice-box and a cast-iron stove that looked at least a hundred years old. Plants grew in pots on the window, and the rafters in the ceiling were carved with even more Celtic designs. The house smelled like tobacco— like somebody smoked a pipe— and a freshly baked pie.
When we entered the living room, I froze. Sitting in two rocking chairs by a large stone fireplace were two elderly souls. The man was tan and weathered, with large ears and a fuzz of gray hair over his head. He wore a flannel shirt and suspenders. The woman was heavyset, with a mess of curly brown hair, a shawl draped over her dress. Both of their faces were lined with age.
The man smoked on a pipe, while the woman stirred a cast iron pot over the blazing fire. The man stopped puffing his pipe and took it out of his mouth, while the woman looked up. Both of their eyes glued to me, seeing the resemblance between Arthur and I.
The woman took her spoon and shook out a few drops onto the hearth before she said, “It’s about time we finally meet. Go on, sit down. I’m not going to bite you.”
Her accent was heavily Irish, just like Arthur’s. I was taken aback for a moment, before Arthur guided me to an armchair across from them. The man began smoking his pipe again, suckling the tip with his eyes on me. The woman checked on whatever she was cooking and said, “It would’ve been nice to meet you years ago. I haven’t seen you since you were a baby.”
“Emma, these are our grandparents,” Arthur said. “Vocheck and Faylin Ignacy. Anastazy was their son.”
“And you’re our granddaughter.” Unlike Faylin, Vocheck’s accent was heavily Malovian. His voice seemed very familiar somehow. I had heard it before, but I couldn’t tell from where. Must’ve been someone at the school I was unknowingly related to. A student, perhaps.
I felt my cheeks flush. “It would appear so.” I shifted uncomfortably. I looked around the house for something to comment on, and gestured to the ceiling. “I love the Celtic carvings.”
“I grew up in Ireland,” Arthur explained. “We didn’t move to Dolinska until last year, when I started at Arcanea University.”
“The fae used to be quite Celtic. Ireland and Scotland was where we made our home for centuries, before we settled in Malovia,” Faylin said. “There are still a few fae settlements there.”
“That explains your accent.” I nudged my brother, and Arthur smiled.
“Enough small talk. Let’s get down to ass tacks. Yes, you heard what I said. I did not stutter,” Faylin added when I opened my mouth. “You’re here to ask about your