Page 19 of Within the Hollow Heart

When you dozed off and let your mother’s men steal my bird, she meant.

He frowned, lifting his hand between them to wave off her remark. “Bad guess. I’ll try again. Your face. It’s not… Saints, of course not. How could it be real?”

She glared at him. “What does that mean?”

“Pardon me if it doesn’t make sense that your…” His gaze fell from her expression to the way her fingers wrapped possessively around the bird. The bird that was glaring right along with her, dark eyes steely and judgmental. The breath seemed to rush from Nickolas’s lungs. He stared at Jules accusingly. “It’s… he’s cursed. He’s a cursed… there is apersoninside of that bird. Aman, to put a finer point on it.”

“Nickolas,” Jules said very carefully, “pray, do not faint inside this forest, as I’ll not be able to drag you safely free of the trees.”

He laughed, helpless and on edge. “Frederick. Frederick is your…” The laughter trailed away as he looked at her. “Frederick is your…”

“Brother,” she answered.

“Brother.” He took a deep breath, maybe the first since he’d been thrown to the woods. Something echoed in the trees, bringing him back to his senses. They were in the forest, beside the filigree wall. Beyond it, upon a Riven throne, waited a prince and a curse. “Absolutely,” he said in regard to no one in particular, “let us remove to the safety of the castle walls.”

CHAPTER10

It was nightfall before Nickolas and Jules came out of the forest. With his newly gifted sight, Nickolas experienced the altering of a world he had always considered fairly steady.

He had not taken the change well. With fae creatures shifting in every shadow, watching Jules and her bird with an intensity that put Frederick’s glares to shame, Nickolas had, admittedly, handled it badly. It was to be expected. But after Jules had threatened to blindfold him and drag him back to the castle, Nickolas managed to pull himself together. He was not anticipating any particularly restful nights in his near future, though.

Nickolas and Jules stepped over the stones that marked the boundary, a warning that the edge of the forest was near, and something eased inside of him. “What about my mother’s men?” he finally asked when they were near enough the castle walls that he felt as if his shoulders could dip beneath the level of his ears.

“I have a guard, and I am housed in the chancery. They will not make an attempt on me there.” She glanced up at him, and he nodded. “What of you? Will you be safe in your own rooms?”

“I’ve a lock on my door, so there’s that. But breaking through locks is not typically how the lady Brigham operates. If she means to trap me, she will do so in plain sight.”

“Then stay out of sight.” Jules’s voice was crisp.

“I am not certain how I will ever apologize for what she’s done,” he started.

Her gaze snapped to his again. “Do not. They were not your actions, and I refuse to hold you responsible.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but her attention turned back to their path. “Besides, I knew full well what I was inviting upon myself by making a bargain with you.”

“About that,” Nickolas said.

She held up a hand. “There’s Ian now.”

The dark-haired man from their walk in the chancery gardens stood beside a castle outbuilding. He was dressed in neither livery nor finery, only a simple suit, sword at his hip and frown at the ready.

“Has he been watching the forest this entire time?” Nickolas asked.

“Doubtless he heard something was amiss. Or perhaps your carriage returned empty.” She stopped and turned toward Nickolas.

She was leaving. Off with her man to the chancery. Something about the idea had him feeling bereft. “Frederick.” He gestured toward the bird nestled against her chest. “He needs a cage. I could…” Saints protect him. “Would you like me to pick one up for him at the aviary?”

The bird gave Nickolas a dark look.

“Thank you,” Jules said. “But Ian can manage it.”

They stood for a moment longer. In his nondescript suit by his nondescript block wall, Ian straightened.

“Right.” Nickolas bowed his head. “Good night, my lady.”

“Good night, Lord Brigham.”

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