“You needed help with monster trouble?”

“I’m too old for this,” she protests. “We’re not witches!”

“It’s a 1986 Dodge Aries. I did what I could, bub.”

The queen squints. “Where’s your bow?”

“Let me tell you an old story...”

“Oh, just dandy,” I say.

“You have the gift, but practicing magic is forbidden to nobles. You know this!”