I feel awful. I’m lying on something soft, but it feels like I’m swimming through mud. My arms and legs don’t move right. Even opening my eyes sounds like it would be a lot of work.

Something near me rustles. I close my eyes tighter and try to roll my back to the noise, but something big and heavy on top of me, from my neck all the way past my feet, keeps me from moving. I clench my teeth, groan, and try harder. What’s on top of me moves a little; it’s actually pretty soft, too.

I hear a big pop, then a thud where the rustle comes from. Soon, something dry and rough, but firm and warm, touches my cheek.

“Klóe?” Daddy asks. I would recognize Daddy’s voice anytime.

I focus all my strength on opening my eyes.

Daddy’s leaning over my left side and looking straight down at me. He’s wearing the same shirt from when…

I try to sit up. My jaw hurts to move.

“…mmwha’ hap’un…?” I hate that the words come out so weird.

Daddy puts one hand on the back of my head and the other under my shoulder. He helps me sit up, and blankets slide down to my waist. I finally recognize that I’m in my own big bed. It’s pretty dark, but I can still sort of see the two wooden posts at the foot of the bed. On the nightstand to my left is a thick, lit, pink candle, one of Daddy’s business books, and two grown-up-sized glasses. Daddy picks up the one with water in it.

His gray and white shirt is covered in brown splotches on the front and sleeves. He sits next to me on the bed and holds the cup up to my lips so I can drink from it. As I swallow little mouthfuls of water, my body starts feeling better.

“Your brother and I were listening to you sing. Bastien was so enthralled that he failed to notice the stray move beyond his reach.” Daddy takes the glass from me and puts it back on the table. He leans forward and holds my hand in both of his. He stares at a spot on my bed and doesn’t say anything.

I look where he’s looking. I can’t find anything other than the blanket pattern. Does he actually see anything?

In the candlelight, the stains on and around the cuff look darker than the stains on the rest of his shirt. I reach out with my free hand, which isn’t half as hard to move as it was after I woke up, and touch one of Daddy’s thumbs. He looks at me and sits up straight, but keeps my hand in his.

“The stray pounced on you before your brother or I could stop it.”

My heart skips a beat. I blink twice.

“It bit down on your shoulder and refused to let go. Bastien tried to pull it away, but it…” Daddy tightens his jaw and wrinkles his forehead. This is the first time I’ve seen him struggle with anything before, even just talking. “It bit him, too.”

I gasp. “Is Bastien okay?!” I try to throw the bedsheets away from my legs, and so much sharp pain shoots through my back that I can’t stop from shouting.

Daddy grabs my shoulders and leans me against my headrest. He tucks me back into bed.

“Your mother is with him right now. He’s recovering, too, but it hurt him very badly.”

I frown and cross my arms. I feel something strange through the yellow- and blue-dyed wool of my pajamas. Startled, I yank up the bottom of my pajama shirt and see strips of cotton wrapped around my ribs. I pull away my collar to see more bandages around my right shoulder.

Daddy gently pulls my hand away from my clothing. “Klóe, please, calm down. You lost a lot of bl—” He squeezes my wrist and tightens his jaw. “You need to rest.”

I look at Daddy’s shirt again. I didn’t think I’d have that much blood inside me, but I hadn’t really had a reason to think about it before. I lean over to Daddy and put my hand on top of his.

“Are you okay?”

Daddy looks around, but doesn’t look too far away from my face. After some silence, he finally says, “Princess, I’ve spent twenty years handling and transporting all manner of creatures. From the mildest housecat to quilled crocodiles that could hardly fit in this room. But when that thing jumped on you this afternoon, and it… bit your brother’s hand, I was more scared than anything in my entire life. But Bastien is okay. And you are okay.” Daddy smiles. “So, yes. I am okay.”

I look at our hands, sandwiched over each other. Daddy sometimes talks softly like this, but something in his voice doesn’t sound right.

I whisper, “I’m sorry I scared you so badly, Daddy.”

He lifts my chin with one knuckle so I can look at his face. His forehead is wrinkled and his eyes are steady, but his voice is not as angry as his face.

“You did nothing wrong, Klóe. You were trying to make your brother and me happy with your music. You were enjoying your craft as much as any DiRossi does.”

I try to hold my tears in as lump grows in my chest. “But, what if my singing made the noni angry?”

Daddy frowns so much I feel sorry for asking.

“That stray was a dull beast not worth the fraction of my children it—” He stops and breathes one long breath. “This was a coincidence. As much as we can know about our pets, each one can still be unpredictable. Bastien had little way of knowing what could trigger its reaction.” Daddy looks away from me. Aagain, I don’t know at what. “Nor could I.”

I blink twice and wipe a tear from the side of my nose. I sniffle, and Daddy turns back to me.

“Do you love to sing, Klóe?”

I nod. I clear my throat and whisper, “Yes, sir.”

“Do you want to sing when you grow up?”

I think about it hard. It would be really nice, but after this afternoon, I’m not so sure I can say it out loud.

Daddy must’ve known, because he stands up and crosses his arms. “I want you to promise me something, Klóe.”

I lower my head and look up at him. “Yes, sir?”

“If you truly enjoy singing, and if you even think that you could pursue it as a career, do not let this accident stop you. You are a musician, Klóe Miranda DiRossi. Don’t let anything stop you from embracing that part of yourself. Don’t let anybody take that away from who you are and who you want to be. Not even me. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Do you promise?”

That’s a harder question to answer. I really do love music. I love listening to it almost as much as I love making it. I look to my lime green comforter, to the closed drapes on my right, and back to Daddy. He’s staring at me, waiting for an answer. Instead, I ask a question.

“What if I stop enjoying music?”

“You are a DiRossi.” Daddy smiles at me like Mimi did after our music lesson. “Nothing will stop you unless you want it to stop you.”

I giggle. “Okay, Daddy.” I nod once. “I promise!”

“Do you remember what adults do when they make a deal?”

I gasp. “They shake on it!”

Daddy nods and holds up one finger. “Now, don’t get ahead of yourself. I am granting you permission to do this one adult activity this one time. The promise will stand, but you are still a child. Do you understand?”

I fold my hands in my lap like Mommy does when company is over. “Yes, sir. Of course, sir.”

Daddy makes a half-smile. He reaches toward me with an open hand. I try to contain my excitement as I reach out and wrap my fingers around his hand the best I can. I barely notice the scratches on the back of his wrist when my thumb rubs against them. He lifts my hand and pumps it down twice.

“Then we have a deal.”

I’m so proud of myself when Daddy lets my hand go. I just made a big deal, and I mean to keep my end of it. I won’t let anything like some big, scary…

Oh, right.

“Hey, Daddy?”

He’s standing up straight and stretching his waist. “Yes, Princess?”

I look down at my hands. My palms are still scraped red from when I hit the ground. “Is that noni still around?”

Daddy kneels down next to the bed. He looks me in the eyes and gives me a strange little smile. “Don’t you worry about that detestable lizard.” He starts rubbing the scratches on his right hand. “I gave it an earful and sent it away.”

“So, Bastien isn’t training him anymore?”

Daddy shakes his head once. “It will not have the privilege. That is its punishment for hurting my children.”

I blush and thank Daddy. I know I should feel better, but I don’t.

Daddy stands up and strokes my hair. “Now, you go back to sleep, Klóe.” He kisses my forehead. “We used much of our healing salve, but you still need to rest so you can heal.” He turns to the nightstand and puts one hand behind the little candle flame. He leans over it and breathes big.

I sit up straighter. “Daddy, wait!”

He turns to me and raises his eyebrows. His lips are in a little circle. The silly face makes me feel better, even if Daddy doesn’t mean to make it.

“Can you read me a story, please?”

Daddy lets out the air next to the candle. The flame jiggles, but doesn’t go out. He stands up straight. “Yes, I can read you a story.”

Oh, right. “Would you, please, read me a story?”

Daddy smiles, nods once, and picks up the candle. He walks past the foot of the bed to the tall bookcase against the wall, and I hold my breath. As he looks at the books, I look at the darkness to my left and right. I forgot about all of the ghosts and monsters that creep around at night. Mommy, Daddy, and all my brothers – even Angelo – tell me they aren’t real, but I just know that the creaking and rattling and other little noises I hear before I go to sleep are those things wandering around. The light is the only thing that keeps them away. Just when I realize those noises may even be nonis waiting to eat me, Daddy comes back with a thick book in one hand. He squints at the spine and reads it aloud.

“Volume One of the Tale of the Grim King Kalezasch.” He puts the candle down and shows me the cover. Pressed into brown leather is a picture of a valley by a beautiful castle. A river goes up the left side of the valley toward some mountains and a big sky. “What do you think?”

“I approve!” I carefully scoot under my sheets and lay my head onto the pillow. The Grim King is one of my favorites, but I always wonder when we’ll get around to Volume Two.

Daddy tucks me in and sits next to the bed. He must have been using the stool we keep next to the bookcase for bedtime stories when he was watching over me.

“Are you ready, Princess?”

“I’m ready, Daddy!”

Daddy opens the book, clears his throat, and begins.

“ ‘Once upon a time, in an age of old gods and empires, there ruled a fair and just prince. His subjects loved him and feared him in equal measure, for his word was law…’ ”

He’s told me the story a hundred times. Five traveling heroes ask the prince for passage through his kingdom. The prince falls in love with the sorceress in charge of the group and joins their quest. They search for an evil wizard, but a dreadful monster helps him get away. Even though I could recite the whole wedding and coronation scene between the prince and the sorceress at the end of the book, I’d much rather hear Daddy tell the story. Even now, as his words start to sound distant and jumbled…

Daddy sounds like a lion again…

And I feel much better.