Book 5: Ready for the Worst

Maddy

Sunlight beats down on the back garden. It’s too beautiful a day. The sun is bright and warm, the sky totally cloudless, and every flower in Isla’s rose garden is in bloom.

Ella walks through the flowers, rubbing petals between her fingers. I watch her for several moments before I hear the clinking of glass behind me and turn my head to find Isla setting a tray of ice tea on one of the bistro tables. Her eyes are red and distant as she pours a glass for herself, drinking deeply.

I haven’t seen her since the three of us left the sitting room. Ella took me outside to get some fresh air, leaving me alone with my thoughts while she walked alone with hers. And Isla had disappeared into the depths of the castle.

“You were born here,” she says, looking down into her iced tea with a far-off expression on her face. “In the very room you occupied until last night. I used to rock you to sleep. You were such a quiet baby. You barely ever made a sou