“That is very kind of you, James. I can see now why my mothers have been so eager for us to meet the man who broke Blackbeard’s curse,” said Circe.

James still didn’t understand how the Odd Sisters had sent him the message to bring a cake, a cake they couldn’t even eat, unless of course it was just a way to torment and frighten those who feared them like poor Mrs. Tiddlebottom. And it was beyond him how Circe knew her mothers were eager to meet him.

“Come along, James, let’s make our way inside; we will be happy to answer all your questions, but we will be more comfortable in the solarium,” said Primrose.

As they walked through the mansion, James marveled at the statues and carvings on the walls. This is what he expected when he thought of a place called the Dead Woods. He passed remarkably stunning rooms with carved dragons, and a library with stone crows perched on its shelves, and a room that looked like a nursery with a large stone bird’s nest surrounded by ravens.

“Yes, this part of the house was built by the queens who came before us, some of them odious, and shrouded in death and misery. We decided to leave this part of our home as it was to remind us to never walk the paths of those earlier queens,” said Hazel.

Their ascent to the tallest point of the mansion seemed endless until finally they reached the solarium, a room constructed completely out of glass with a magnificent view of the Dead Woods. For as far as James could see were innumerable tombs and headstones on a blanket of glittering, glowing golden flowers.

“This is truly a beautiful room,” said James.

“Thank you; our sister Gothel had it built for us,” said Hazel, and he could see she became lost in those words, drifting from that time to this one like a wraith lost in the mist.

“You’re a very interesting mortal, James. You see things others do not,” said Hazel. “We wonder if you wouldn’t be happier in the Many Kingdoms.” She smiled serenely.

“We’d be more than happy to host you here in the Dead Woods,” said Primrose. “It seems to me you belong here.”

James redirected his gaze at the cemetery below them. He was having a hard time understanding how these beguiling women could live there surrounded by so much death, and he wondered if that wasn’t the reason for the sadness that seemed to pass over them like dark clouds, dimming their light.

“We are the reigning Queens of the Dead. This is our home,” said Primrose, smiling.