Book 10: Meeting the Family

Aviva

I expected to be led into a throne room guarded by wolves. I expected gold finishes, ball gowns, crowns made of precious gems. I expected to see their powers at work and feel tiny in comparison. 

I wasn’t expecting the woman who greeted me in the doorway of a very simple, open sitting room in the depths of the castle, yellow wallpaper illuminating her face in a soft glow.

She sucks in her breath and absolutely beams at me, her dark blue eyes widening with… joy. Or maybe it’s utter relief. I’m not sure. Whatever it is, she’s happy to see me, and she doesn’t even know me. 

“The girls said you had red hair, but this–wow, you are just stunning.” 

“Mom, can you at least let us come into the room first?” Ryan smiles down at the woman, his mother, his hand flat against the small of my back. 

I see the resemblance now. Ryan doesn’t look like her other than the eyes. His features are much more striking, harder, sh