I stared up into the skylight, wondering what to do about this new information. The Cat wasn’t a cat. He was some Fey Lord that had screwed up so badly the Fates cursed him to run a magical shop. Now, he was stuck until he’d fixed the wrongs he’d created.

  What did that say about the bookstore?

  My fingers rubbed against the green velvet chair. I needed to get up and deal with the rest of my breakfast. I hadn’t finished eating yet when Lady Twilight had interrupted.

  Why did she bring the Elven woman for me to hear the story? Even more importantly, why did she consider it a gift? There was something I was missing, some connection I needed to figure out.

  The Cat’s sad statement that there wasn’t anything to do echoed in my mind. While he had screwed up, he shouldn’t be punished forever.

  I climbed out of my chair and grabbed my mug, which still had half a latte in it. I marched to the kitchen. It was time to finish the bacon and figure out how this all connected to me. Dragons weren’t dumb, far from it. Lady Twilight had brought Liluth to me for a reason. Now, I needed to live up to the expectations the Elder had and connect the dots.

  An hour later and I had no better idea than before, but I had a second latte and I’d finished half the bacon. Now I sat on my stool behind the front counter, even though we weren’t open. The Cat hadn’t reappeared, and I wondered what had been on the docket for today.

  “Hey, Betty, is it safe to go find the Cat?” I asked softly.

  Light drew my attention upward, and I quickly dashed up the stairs. As soon as I reached the balcony, I saw the Cat. He lay in the cat tree I’d gotten him, staring down at the tiny oak tree. The one red leaf glowed against the others. I slowly approached before sitting down in the chair next to it.

  “Is that leaf Liluth?”

  The cat huffed. “Yes. I don’t know what the dragon did, but it hasn’t died yet.”

  “So the rest of those leaves are your kids?”

  The Cat said nothing, but he closed his eyes slowly before nodding.

  My heart clenched in my chest. While I was separated from my family, this was worse. How long had he been separated from his family? From what Liluth said, it had literally been centuries, or longer. Who knew how long a dragon meant when they said ages.

  “So what was in the book for today? I’m guessing Lady Twilight threw us a curveball…”

  The Cat’s tail twitched. “A simple drop off we can do this afternoon if you’d like.”

  I nodded. “That sounds like a plan.” I stood up from the chair with a soft smile. “How about I make you a coffee before we get ready for our day? Something warm and sweet.”

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  The Cat turned to look at me, his green eyes glowing. Slowly he stood up. “I’d like that.” He jumped to the floor and padded around the balcony. I slowly followed, keeping pace with him.

  I quickly pulled out his teacup and set it on the counter. Then I make some fresh espresso and steamed milk. This time I added honey to it, and the smell of summer took over the shop. It took little to fill up the little teacup, and I used the rest to fill my mug. I didn’t need any more caffeine, but I couldn’t let it go to waste.

  “Let me know when you're ready to open the shop,” I said to the Cat. I didn’t want to rush him to drink his coffee, but I wanted to reassure him that everything was okay. The way his eyes lingered on me occasionally was like he expected me to act differently. The Cat was the Cat, and hearing about his past didn’t change what I thought about who he was now. I knew him. That was what mattered.

  I sat on my stool and slowly sipped the honey latte. It made me think of the flower garden on the farm. My mother tried to grow flowers, but she wasn’t that good at it. Umber really shined at growing things, and he’d helped create the flower garden of my mother’s dreams. The bees would fly from flower to flower. They loved the zinnia’s in the late afternoon sunlight. Sometimes, you would catch a small green frog sitting on a flower head or nestled in among the petals.

  The sunflower seeds that I’d passed along to Cerulean, and eventually my brother, would grow, I was sure. I wondered what color they would be. Maybe a burnt yellow or orange, something striking if they were magical.

  “Are you ready?” asked the Cat.

  I smiled at the question. He sounded more like himself, and at least a little less sad. More determined. More centered.

  “Yep.”

  The door unlocked with a snap, and I smiled, ready for whomever would come inside.

  Yet, somehow the old woman who entered, wrapped in a shawl, threw me. The door slowly closed behind her as she hobbled toward the counter with a basket in one hand. She was not what I’d expected, even though I hadn’t known I’d had expectations.

  “Good Morning, welcome to the shop.” I kept my voice warm and a smile on my face.

  “Oh, aren’t you a cutie,” she said as she slowly approached, setting the basket on the counter. “Much better than that grumpy man who used to work here.” She flipped the basket lid open with ease and started pulling out goods. Knitted goods. Beautiful knitted goods.

  I glanced at the Cat as scarves and gloves were stacked on the counter.

  The Cat nodded as she pulled out the various items. “Perfect, she has everything for our inventory.”

  “These are amazing, did you make them yourself?” I asked, picking up a purple scarf that’d match Indigo if she was down here.

  “Of course, of course. Got to keep busy, otherwise I get bored and sad.” She pointed to a knitted hat in the same color, with green trim. “That one would be a better fit for you.”

  I couldn’t help but pick it up. The yarn was super soft. I let the sigh of amazement slip out. “You are going to make it easy for me to do my shopping for the winter holiday…”

  The old woman chuckled.

  “Let her know we will add the money to her account. Same as always,” mumbled the Cat, counting the pile.

  I quickly repeated his message, and the woman chuckled.

  “Good, good.” She nodded. “I love knowing that things I created are out in the world, being loved by others I’ll never meet.” A bright smile covered her face as she hobbled toward the door, carrying her basket. “It creates connections.”

  Then she headed out, the door closing softly behind her.

  “Cat, can I really do some shopping from this pile, or will that screw things up?” I asked, completely serious.

  “I’ll pull things to the side that are marked for others,” mumbled the Cat. Yet, his tail flickered in joy as he moved the things that were reserved closer to the register.

  While the day had started rough, this was nice. It felt normal, and a little normal was just what we both needed right now.