Yet another beast was even closer, right in front of them on the lawn. Kane recognized the luminous opal of the thing that struck them out of the air before. Its body was shapeless at first, until it ruffled its massive wings and turned its head around completely. It gazed at Ursula and Kane with bulging, porcelain eyes. An owl.

And from its beak hung intestines.

Kane and Ursula were too shocked by the sight of blood on pastel stone to move. The owl lost interest and turned back to the meal under its claws.

Elliot.

Shock dulled Kane’s hearing. Elliot’s blood was everywhere. Elliot was everywhere. Here an arm, there a lung. Prince-shaped parts scattered through the garden.

Ursula crumpled over her knees in defeat.

“Gruesome, isn’t it?” said Adeline’s voice, right next to them.

Kane jumped, turning to find not just Adeline, but also Elliot hiding off to the side of the clearing, near the bench where Kane had first awoken. Elliot’s eyes glowed golden as he focused his power.

“Those…those are…” Kane stammered.

“Illusions,” finished Adeline. Aside from a dried bloody nose, she looked fine. Ursula, on the other hand, still looked sick as she stood. Kane couldn’t shake the gruesome sight, either, and he reached for the whistle for comfort before remembering it was gone. Taken by Helena.

Elliot’s voice was laced with effort of sustaining the magic. “It didn’t take long to realize we had it wrong when Helena came after us. Luckily she was pretty focused on Adeline—or Katherine—so we were able to lure her out here. We thought it’d draw you guys here, too, and not a moment too soon. This reverie is going up in flames.”

Elliot grinned, but Adeline sighed and said, “Elliot, now is not the time for Dad Jokes.”

“Who is Dad Jokes?” asked a meek voice behind Kane. He spun toward his sister, who hid behind a poplar tree.

Kane rushed to hug her. She stiffened in his embrace, annoyed.

“Who are you people, really? Why have you brought me here?”

“We found her hiding in the garden,” Adeline said. “She’s very hard to keep quiet.”

Elliot chuckled. He glanced at Ursula’s tattered burlesque outfit. “Having a rough wedding, Urs?”

Ursula crossed her arms over her cleavage and turned bright red. “Unravel it, Kane,” she grumbled. “Let’s go home.”

He tensed. Unravel all this? Unravel Helena, who tore at the grass and wept with despair? Wearily he spread his arms out and tried to regain that power he’d summoned at the end of the Cymo reverie. It hadn’t felt like power then—it had felt like knowing. And so he fought for focus and did the one thing he remembered. He clapped.