Three Coins Into The Sea

Rook had tuned out what Harding was saying about the dragon hunter she found as soon as she said they would have to go to Rivain to meet with the Lords of Fortune. She didn’t need to know who Harding’s contact was, she knew who ran the Lords: Isabela.

Now, while her parents were talked about in hushed tones and awed looks (much to her chagrin), it was only Isabela that got both her folks to talk like giddy teenagers who suddenly met their hero. She could never figure out why. She tried asking them directly, but the aforementioned giggles and shy looks at each other would happen. Dad would get all red in the face, fidgety with his hands, while Mom would just smile like the cat that ate the canary. Then they would disappear for hours (Rook figured out what that was about years later), and come back like nothing weird had happened. 

She tried asking Aunt Leli and Uncle Zev, but even they wouldn’t give her anymore details other than to never play Wicked Grace with Isabela if Rook ever met her. They would follow that up with a knowing laugh. If there was ever anything that drove a kid bonkers, it was every adult knowing something they didn’t know and them refusing to divulge that information.

But now, finally, after all these years, she was going to have the opportunity to met the fabled Isabela! She would find out why every adult in her life talked in whispers about her!

“Rook? Are you okay?” Harding asked and everyone looked over at her. She realized that she was sitting there with her hands steepled in front of her, eyes slanted, and a smile that could only be described as that of a child about to have a dastardly plan unfold. Yes, everything was okay, more than okay. Things were about to be amazing. She was about to find out what this family secret everyone has been holding from her whole life is. Finally! 

How could anything be other than perfect?