Page 170 of Between Despair and Hope

“No, but Imogene still had a casket full of her belongings placed in here, as far as I know. I believe some jewelry and books, something for Kennon to…” He trailed off as he peered down into the empty box.

“The door wasn’t bolted, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“So anyone could have come in here...” I trailed off as I glanced toward the tomb on this side of Natara’s. Lucia’s name had been carved into it, and my stomach dropped. If things from her mother’s tomb were missing, it was possible her resting place had also been tampered with.

“Oh, no,” Mister Carson whispered, holding his lantern up higher as he tracked my gaze, and we saw a slip of fabric stuck between the tomb and the stone top.

Chapter 44

Dewalt

Rainierhadonlybeengone for one fucking day when things started going to shit. That was why, nearly two weeks later, I woke before dawn, waiting for Raj to arrive. His letter arrived the day after Rainier left, and it had come with two dozen women and children. Shivani had been surprisingly helpful, coordinating with Nana and the novices to find places for them to stay.

Raj had heard through the rebels in Folterra that Declan planned to take over the Cascade using the full might of his army. Bly had ridden Ifash north toward Darkhold, and nearly got shot off the dragon by a volley of arrows before they got away. Thankfully rider and steed had made it back unharmed, but it had confirmed the worst. Each day since, the people living in the Cascade and those whose homes we had rebuilt in Clearhill were slowly but surely evacuated to Vesta. Some of them went to Nara’s Cove and some to Mira, but all the soldiers came to the capital. Rainier had sent ten thousand men westward to Lamera, so I felt confident in keeping the rest in Astana. I had a strange feeling about it all, and I knew better than to ignore my gut.

I yawned, tugging on my cloak. Bly and Raj, along with Raj’s children and their nanny, as he put it, were going to be riding in on the dragons sometime close to sunrise. I’d been staying at the estate, and it worked out for all of them to arrive there first. The family who had been taking care of the dragons near the mountains were distant relatives of Raj’s and would come later in the day to take both his children and the arriving dragons back to the Alsors. The other beasts had been thriving there, although Irses and Ryo had disappeared since Rainier had left. That very first dragon she’d made was so gods damned attuned with Emma, I was sure he had gone after her.

My hair was bunched up under my cloak, and I was busy tugging at it when I went out the front door, so I didn’t notice her sitting there at first. Nor cleared her throat, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Fuck!”

“Sorry,” she said, though her small smile told me she wasn’t sorry at all. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“What are you doing out here? It’s early as hell and colder than an elvish kiss.” I stilled, remembering how she’d created the wards around that gods damned mill to help rescue Emma. Glancing over at her, hoping I hadn’t offended her, I couldn’t help it when my eyes were drawn to her lips. I flinched as I caught her eyebrow raising. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I’m barely elvish. I wasn’t taught enough to put this elf-blood to use, so you can stop thinking about my kiss.” Her lips turned up at the corners, and if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was teasing me. But then her mouth formed a frown, and she peered up at me over the blanket she had wrapped around her. “What is it with that saying anyway? Where does it come from?”

“I…actually don’t know where it came from.”

“It sounds offensive. Perhaps you shouldn’t say it unless you know the meaning behind it.”

I paused, tilting my head in consideration. “You’re right. I’ll have to look into it. I’m sorry.” Her eyes widened in such surprise, I rolled my eyes. “Your mother wasn’t elvish, then?”

“No, she was a conduit. I remember little about my father, but he hated the elf-blood enough to—I was never permitted to learn, and my mother kept me away from it once we moved here.”

“Enough to what?”

“Nothing.”

Sighing, I took a few steps off the covered porch to look toward the southwestern sky, eager to spot the dragons and go back inside. I knew Miriam was a conduit, but I didn’t want to tell her daughter how I knew. It had shocked the shit out of me when I realized who her mother was, but how was I supposed to tell her that? How was I supposed to tell her Emmeline had killed her because the woman had asked for it? Besides, I didn’t owe her anything more than what I’d already given her. I’d inform Emma as soon as they arrived and let her handle it. Though, the thought of burdening my friend more for this woman also pissed me off. I didn’t bother to look over my shoulder as I asked, “Why are you here, Nor?”

“Do you mean why am I still here?”

That caught my attention.

“You slept here?”

“Thyra invited me over, and I drank too much wine. I thought you might have accosted me and yelled at me if you saw me stumbling home.”

“I was here all night; I wouldn’t have seen you. Ididn’tsee you.” My eyes narrowed as I turned to face her. Hurt flashed across her features, and I decided I only imagined it when she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

“I assure you, I was drinking my sorrows away with Thyra, nothing more. It was very kind of her to entertain me, even after she found out I’d never had alcohol before.”

Watching the skies once more for a sign of the dragons, I couldn’t help it when my voice softened. “Sorrows?”

“I’m going to collect the rest of my mother’s things in a few hours.” Casual as I turned to look at her, I finally noticed the dark circles under her eyes in the early dawn light, and how her dark, mussed hair fell thick around her face. She’d dragged a blanket outside with her, and she looked far less self-assured than she normally did with it wrapped around her. Different from the first day I met her, it annoyed me how aware I was of myself when I was around her now. Careful with every interaction, I always did my best to maintain some sort of distance, artfully curating all of my responses to her. Because I didn’t trust her, because we’d gotten off on the wrong foot, because she’d clearly had a shit life—I didn’t know. But it annoyed me that every muscle in my body tightened around her in some sort of instinctual reaction. I struggled to know if it wanted to fight with her or get away from her. But I did neither.

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