“I like to feed him carrots.”
Bettina sighed. “We have a hard time keeping him out of the vegetable garden.”
Nevis glanced at the list. It was going to be a challenge to turn these outcasts into an army. “Anyone else?”
Bettina shook her head. “The others are so young, their powers have yet to be revealed.”
“I want to make honey cakes appear!” Sarah said.
“I want to make our chores disappear,” Quentin muttered.
“So Kurt is a shifter.” Elinor finished writing her notes. “Has anyone seen my brother around here? He’s a shifter, too. Usually in the form of a dog.”
The children shrank back with frightened looks.
“The only dog on the island belongs to the guards,” Bettina explained. “They use the dog to scare the young ones into working.”
Elinor grimaced. “This is terrible.”
A flurry of scratching noises sounded at the door.
“Oh!” Elinor sat up. “That could be Brody!”
Nevis jumped to his feet, silently beseeching the Light that it would be his old friend.
Chapter 14
It wasn’t Brody.
As soon as Tommy had cracked open the door, an orange blur shot into the cottage.
Elam followed it in, exclaiming, “I think it’s Gavin!”
The cat leaped into the circle of girls and looked around. Then he let out a desperate cry.
Nevis narrowed his eyes. This orange tabby looked just like the Seer’s cat.
“Gavin, is that you?” Bettina asked, and the cat meowed.
“He must be looking for Gabby,” Catriona added.
“She’s not here.” Olana shuddered. “Poor Gabby is in the dung—”
Hannah elbowed the younger girl. “She’s in the castle.”
“Wait a minute.” Elinor lifted her pen in the air. “Are ye saying Gabby’s brother is a cat?”
“Why not?” Catriona gave her a wry look. “Your brother is a dog.”
Elinor tilted her head. “All right.” She added a few words to her notes.
Nevis sat back down. “I saw this cat a few days ago. He was on the Isle of Mist with the Seer.”
The cat nodded his head and made a yipping sound.
“The Isle of Mist?” Bettina reached a hand toward the cat. “Gavin, is that where you’ve been the last two years?”
The cat butted against her hand and meowed.
“Wait a minute.” Nevis motioned to the cat. “How did he get here?”
“Good question,” Elinor murmured. “Can he shift back to human form to tell us what happened?”
Catriona shook her head. “The queen was so mad at Gabby that she put a curse on Gavin. He’s unable to shift back.”
Gavin let out a pitiful howl.
“Poor kitty.” Bettina rubbed the cat’s head.
Elinor’s grip on her pen tightened until her knuckles turned white. “Queen Cahira has that kind of power?”
“She’s a bloody sea witch,” Tommy muttered. “She can make things explode and put curses on people.”
Lobby nodded. “She blew up our boat.”
Nevis sat back. Gavin’s curse sounded a lot like the curse that afflicted Brody.
Elinor drew in a sharp breath, then turned to Nevis. “Are ye thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Brody?”
Elinor nodded with tears gathering in her eyes.
Nevis touched her shoulder. “I know it’s upsetting to you, but this is actually good news. Once we capture the queen, we could make her lift the curses on Brody and Gavin.”
Elinor dropped her pen and fisted her hands. “We can’t stop there. We have to kill her.”
Nevis blinked. He hadn’t expected this streak of vengeance in the princess. “I agree she’s made Brody suffer. Gavin, too, but—”
“The witch who cursed Brody was the same one who killed my father and eldest brother,” Elinor hissed. “She destroyed their ship and left them all to drown.”
A number of gasps echoed around the room.
Nevis was shocked, too. Brody had mentioned the curse, but he’d never talked about his family getting killed. “Cahira murdered the king of the Isle of Moon?”
Elinor nodded. “My brother, too. Prince Edgar.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I have to avenge them.”
“She’ll get what she deserves.” Nevis squeezed her hand. “You have my word on that.” While Elinor wiped the tears from her face, he gathered up the notes she’d written and passed them on to Lobby. “Can you and Tommy leave now? Tell the guards at Lessa Castle that you have news from the princess, then pass these papers on to Queen Esther. Ask her to send them to King Leo as quickly as possible.”
“Aye, Colonel.” Lobby saluted and took the papers.
“Here.” Elinor wrote a quick note, signed it, then jumped to her feet to hand it to Lobby. “This will get you an audience with my mother right away.”
“Aye, Yer Highness.” Lobby gave her a worried look. “Be careful here.”
Elinor nodded as the two men