"So," Heena murmured.
Her tone was the warmest, sweetest, most sickeningly affectionate sound that had ever escaped her lips. It was the kind of voice a predator uses right before it snaps its jaws shut.
"What is the actual deal, dear?"
Samuel visibly trembled. The sheer, concentrated sugar in her voice was vastly more terrifying than her murderous shouting from the market street. He knew that if he gave the wrong answer right now, he was not going to survive the carriage ride back to the estate.
"Um," Samuel started, his voice cracking slightly before he hastily cleared his throat. He immediately raised his hand in a gesture of absolute surrender, deciding to throw his only shield right under the carriage wheels. "It was Grandma."
The carriage hit a bump, but the jolt was nothing compared to the absolute shockwave that ripped through the cabin.
