House of Curses, page 11
“We were terrified of it falling into the wrong hands,” Arbor admitted.
Prescott shut the door behind them and came to her side. His hand settled on Arbor’s shoulder. “We weren’t even sure you’d see us after our letters to Fordham went unanswered.”
Kerrigan grimaced. “Ah, you haven’t heard?”
Arbor’s eyes were wide. “What happened? Is he okay?”
“I wish I had answers to those questions,” she admitted. She hated having to talk about him with anyone, but they deserved to know what had happened. In fact, they knew him best. Maybe they knew something of where he had gone. Though she needed to find out more before she revealed the whole story. “He left as soon as he returned to the mountain. I haven’t seen him since.”
“What?” Prescott asked in shock. “Why would he leave?”
Kerrigan shook her head. “I think I’ll hear your story first before we go further.” She looked around the small apartment. It was nothing special, and yet it cost money to have something like this in a nice part of Kinkadia. Money that she had no idea how two refugees—even full-blooded Fae noble refugees—could acquire. “How did you get here? Why aren’t you in the House of Shadows? How do you have this apartment?”
Arbor sighed, draping her hair forward over one shoulder. “Let’s sit.”
Kerrigan followed her to the table. A far cry from the opulence they were used to back at court. It was just a simple wooden set with a loaf of crusty bread and a jug of wine. Prescott poured for all of them, but Kerrigan had no intention of touching the drink. She remembered how the siblings used wine to forget what they endured at the House of Shadows. Today wasn’t the day for it.
“Fordham saved our lives,” Arbor began.
Kerrigan opened her mouth as if to object and then thought better of it. That wasn’t what she had anticipated. “What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly that. We were trapped in Lethbridge after the end of the battle, and he came for us. He used his shadow magic to get us out of the city and told us to come to Kinkadia, where he could help us.”
“We had no idea that he would be missing when we got here,” Prescott said, squeezing his sister’s hand.
“No. He made it seem as if we would have refuge here with him,” Arbor said soberly. She glanced once at their dire circumstances with defeat. “Obviously, that wasn’t the case. I was lucky to bring some money and jewels with me to arrange food and lodging as we trekked into the city. We’re using the money now to get by, but it won’t last forever.”
Kerrigan knew exactly how far gold could get them in the city. They could probably stay here for a few months on whatever they’d taken with them, if they pinched their coins. But what did the nobility know of saving money? And worse … if they were caught, things could get a lot worse for them.
“You know the terms of surrender? If they find you here, they’ll deport you back to the House of Shadows,” Kerrigan said evenly.
“Yes. We heard the terms as soon as we arrived in the city. We’ve taken new identities. We’re Fae who are without a tribe. We came in from the north and are in search of employment,” Arbor said as if the story didn’t have a thousand holes in it.
“And you need my help,” she gathered.
Prescott leaned forward, placing his hand over hers. “You are the only person in the city we know. It’s not that we want to inconvenience you, but we know no one.”
Kerrigan withdrew her hand slowly. Another refugee case that she didn’t know how to handle and a more complicated one because she couldn’t do what she had done for Ben and Bay for this pair of siblings. They were nobles and Fae. It would look strange if she employed them.
“And as for Fordham, I’ve had no word from him in weeks. Before he vanished, he left me a letter, saying that he was going to break his curse. You wouldn’t have any information on that, would you?”
Arbor and Prescott shot each other a startled look.
“He said it was impossible,” Prescott said slowly.
“Yes, because the witch was outside of the mountain,” Arbor said.
Kerrigan’s heart soared for the first time. This was the first she’d heard word of someone knowing anything about the curse. Perhaps they could help her find him, keep him safe.
“A witch?”
“He must have gone after her,” Prescott said.
Arbor nodded. “We might have an idea about where he’s going.”
Kerrigan wanted to know more. She wanted to find out right now. But she understood then that this was transactional. In exchange for her help, they would help her find Fordham. They were the only ones who could.
“I could help you get set up here. I know some people who might be able to help,” she offered hesitantly.
“We’d never ask that of you,” Arbor said at once with a sad smile. “Honestly, we just want your friendship, and we wanted news of our cousin.”
Kerrigan doubted that very much, but it didn’t help to say so.
“We could send a falcon after him though. We could see if we could get ahold of him. Some of what we know might be old news,” Arbor said.
Prescott agreed easily. “We have only been out of the mountain for a short time, and Fordham was cursed so long ago.”
Kerrigan would take whatever they would offer her. Fordham had never mentioned a witch or anything like that when he mentioned the curse. This was all news to her. “Tell me about the witch.”
Arbor leaned forward. “This is the story our mother told us. When Fordham was a baby, a woman came to court. She should never have been able to find the mountain to get inside, but somehow, she did. She came in a long white sheet and entered the throne room as if she owned the place herself. Everyone was in awe of her beauty and terrified of her presence. We hadn’t seen a new person for hundreds of years. Fordham lay in a bassinet beside the queen. Despite the queen’s protests, the witch placed her hand upon his skin and bestowed a gift. But the gift itself was a curse for the firstborn of the Ollivier line for a prior slight against her. After that, we were told she went north into the highest mountains of Erewa.”
“But we never saw her again,” Prescott added.
Kerrigan’s head spun. The story sounded … fantastical. Fordham had never told her that someone else had managed to get into the House of Shadows. Only those who were descendants of the human and half-Fae that had left during the war. Those people were their lone source of trade. It was unlikely that such a woman would have enough power to curse a full-blooded Fae royal.
“Okay,” Kerrigan said softly, “so you think he’s going after this woman?”
“Kill the witch and break the curse,” Arbor offered. “It was the only lead we had.”
“And you think that you can reach him with a falcon? We could find out where he’s going?”
“I can try,” Arbor volunteered. “I would be happy to try.”
“He’s our cousin,” Prescott added.
Kerrigan nodded, trying not to show them how much hope this gave her. It sounded insane, but why would they lie to her? What could they gain? For Ford, she would have helped them any way she could regardless. But she was running out of ways to find him. This might be her best bet until she got better at her spirit magic.
“Let’s do it,” she agreed.
Arbor’s hand came out. “Of course. I’m just so glad to see you. I hope we can see more of each other.”
Kerrigan smiled. “Me too.”
She said her good-byes with instructions to inform her when they released the falcon and if they heard anything from Ford. She should have felt excited about this new revelation as she walked back to the mountain. Instead, her insides were twisted.
Arbor and Prescott had been friends to her in the House of Shadows. She had never been certain of their intentions while in there, but she’d suspected it was a result of the duplicitous nature of the court. Now, she didn’t know how she felt at all. But she was suspicious of all of their tales and didn’t know how to disentangle them.
16
The Falcon
ARBOR
“Well done,” Prescott said with a nod.
Arbor bowed slightly from the waist. “Thank you. I thought it went well.”
“You had her eating out of the palm of your hand.” Prescott took her hand and turned it over, pressing a kiss to her palm. “My genius sister.”
She laughed. “The first part of the plan is in effect. I wanted her to want me more, but she gave us the ammunition with our cousin.”
“And you’re going to send a falcon?”
“Of course,” she said with a wink. “I desperately want to find my cousin.”
He grinned and fell back across the couch. He reached for the wine and chugged straight from it.
Arbor missed their life at court. The apartment the Red Masks had given them was hardly big enough for the life she wanted, but she realized she had to prove herself. It would take time with Kerrigan. That was why she hadn’t immediately launched into her suspicions about Kerrigan taking the wall down at the House of Shadows. If she started there, then Kerrigan would know she was up to something. She needed Kerrigan completely in her confidence. She wasn’t there yet, but they would get her there. That was all that mattered.
“Now, onto the second part of the plan.”
“And that is?” Prescott asked, offering her the drink.
She took it and sipped it daintily before sinking onto the couch next to him. His eyes were wide and bright blue as he stared up at her.
“You.” She pointed a finger at his chest.
He snatched up her hand and held it against his heart. “What about me?”
“You are the next part of the plan.”
His brow furrowed. “How so?”
“She is to fall in love with you.”
He laughed and then stopped when she didn’t join him. “Whatever do you mean? She’s in love with our cousin.”
“She is very plainly. But the good thing is that you and our dear cousin look very similar. Did you not see the way she looked at you when you opened the door?”
Prescott swept a hand up over his head and struck a pose. “Do I look as conceited and furious as the crowned prince?”
She rolled her eyes and came to her feet. “Of course not. You and Fordham are nothing alike, but your appearance is appealing.”
“Why, thank you,” he said with a smirk.
“You have the same face, the same hair, the same mannerisms. We can dress you in his clothing and have you smile that quick smile we practiced as children to get away with everything. Put thunderstorms in your eyes, and we have her hook, line, and sinker.”
“And what if she doesn’t fall for it?” he asked.
“Who can resist you after all, Pres?”
“No one. Obviously.”
“I have another plan,” she told him reassuringly. “Don’t worry too much. The endgame is all the same. Kerrigan Argon will spill her secrets to us, and we will take our place in this new world,” she said confidently. “There is no other option.”
So, she dragged her brother out of the tiny apartment and out into the swirling, amazing city. She could do very well here. That she knew. She could become a queen in her own right in a city such as this. Kinkadia would bow to her, and she wouldn’t need Fordham or Wynter to get her onto her own throne any longer. Arbor was enough.
She found the nearest falconry and spent her time picking out a bird. She had an affinity with the creatures. She always had. They did her bidding almost without asking. It was how she had found Fordham when he went out of Ravinia Mountain to begin with. He would listen to her now.
She chose a particularly troublesome bird, bringing him to her arm without even a scrap of leather between them. “Nice now,” she told the bird.
The beast dug his claws into her and cocked his head. She ignored the trainer, who was protesting at her treatment.
Arbor had always wanted to be a bird. She knew what it was like to be caged and, now that she was free, how much she would never allow herself to have clipped wings again.
“You will do my bidding,” she told the falcon, placing a slip of paper into the holder at his leg. “Do this for me, and I will take you away from this place.”
It shrieked and then was gone. She smiled a dangerous thing, knowing the price of her own freedom.
17
The Offer
CLOVER
The loch tasted like life force.
Before she had discovered that loch was the only remedy to her debilitating chronic pain, Clover had suffered. Her parents were loving and attentive. They did everything they could to ease her pain, but none of it worked. Her father had been a clockmaker. He’d let her tinker with mechanisms as he fit tiny pieces together. He never faulted her for spasming while working with him. Her mother had worked for the Laments church. That was before most of them had been burned down by the Red Masks. She’d prayed to Laments for healing for her daughter, but nothing helped.
No amount of praying could fix what was broken inside of her. Only the white powder that she inhaled greedily.
“That’s your second within the hour,” Hadrian said as he adjusted his cravat in the mirror.
She was still mostly naked with nothing but a sheet wrapped around her brown figure as she stared out at Kinkadia beyond. “So?”
“You’re nervous about tonight.”
It wasn’t a question. She’d never admit to it, but of course she was nervous.
Tonight was Kerrigan’s name day event. When she had gotten the secret invitation, she’d thought it was a joke. Red’s birthday wasn’t for weeks, but it had been closed with the House of Cruse seal. Kivrin Argon wasn’t the type of man to make a mistake. The invitation said to tell no one of the event, that it was small and exclusive. Which meant she would be in close quarters with Darby. That hadn’t happened since she had discovered Clover and Hadrian were together.
Even now, tucked away in his bedroom at his mentor’s home in Central, she could feel the weight of Darby’s disappointment.
“It will be fine,” Hadrian said. “Get dressed. We should be gone soon.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Hadrian glanced sharply at her. She was too much of a street urchin not to know that look, and she made herself scarce.
“Fallon,” Hadrian said in greeting.
Fallon was of tribe Galanthea and had selected Hadrian to join his household during the House of Dragons ceremony. Unlike his other fellows, he was a studious type, not a war-mongering fool. Clover liked him. And his time in the dragon tournament with the human Cyrene had made him more accepting of humans in general. Though … not of her extracurricular activities with Hadrian.
“I am attending the opera tonight. We have a box, and I could introduce you to the latest scholar. Will you join me?”
“Unfortunately, I have an invitation elsewhere.”
Fallon made a skeptical sound. “You cannot spend all of your time with that girl and neglect your culture appetites.”
“I assure you that I neglect nothing. I would be honored to attend another night but am otherwise engaged.”
Fallon raised his voice, as if knowing that Clover was hidden within the room. “Tell Clover hello for me then. We will plan for another night.”
“I will do that.”
Fallon left, and Clover appeared from behind the wardrobe.
“I should get dressed,” she said, letting the sheet fall.
Hadrian’s eyes roamed her naked body. He reached for her, tangling his hands into her dark hair before she could utter a word. Their lips crashed together, and time disappeared. They had already been together once this afternoon, but he was trying to calm her nerves. And could she fault him?
He laid her out across the bed, spreading her legs wide before him, and buried his head between them. She gasped at the drag of his tongue against her. He flicked out experimentally, causing her body to ripple with delight.
“You taste…” Hadrian groaned, unable to even get words out.
“Yes,” she gasped.
Then, he drove two fingers deep, and she saw stars. The world tilted as her body arched off the bed.
With how straitlaced Hadrian had always been, she’d assumed that he would be a shy lover. But she should have known the boy who had survived the streets all those years lurked underneath.
She had been trying for years to goad this out of him. To get him to admit to where he had come from and not just the man he had been raised to be in the House of Dragons. She hadn’t expected to find it under the sheets, but she couldn’t control her delight that that was the case.
Clover cried out as he brought her over the brink. She panted as she came down and reached for his laced britches, eager to get him out of them again.
A knock sounded on the door once more. They both froze.
“I’ll leave the carriage for you for the evening,” Fallon said through the door.
“Thank you, sir,” Hadrian called back.
Fallon cleared his throat, and then they heard his retreating steps.
Clover burst into laughter. “Well then.”
“I suppose … you should get dressed.”
“I suppose I should,” she said and then went looking for her discarded clothing.
Twenty minutes later, they were in Fallon’s carriage, heading toward the Row. Hadrian directed them to be dropped off several blocks away from the House of Cruse house, and then they took an alley toward the side entrance.
Kerrigan’s father, Kivrin Argon, waited for them at door. “Were you seen?”
“No, sir,” Hadrian said, offering his hand.
“Good.” They shook. “I’m glad you both could make it. Come in. You’ll find refreshments in the lounge to your left. We’re waiting for one more.”
Hadrian and Clover exchanged a look and then entered. She didn’t know who the one person they were waiting on was, but she could guess. Except that guess was shattered when they entered the lounge and found Darby seated on a divan, holding a golden goblet.
