Page 13 of Legacy of Thorns
Finley wasn’t sure if she was speaking from actual disbelief or if she intended the words as an indictment of the local lord. Such a lack of hospitality would certainly have reflected poorly on him if he had actually been guilty of it. But as far as Finley knew, the manor’s owner wasn’t even aware of the occupant currently slumbering inside the wooden walls of his storage barn. Finley didn’t think he’d even noticed the theft of the items within.
Morrow and Nisha both looked from Daphne to Finley, and he sighed. He couldn’t put it off any longer.
“No, Lorne isn’t here,” he said. “My brother is. And we need you to save him.”
Daphne tensed, her eyes jumping from Finley to Morrow and then Nisha. They all looked back at her gravely.
Her eyebrows rose. “Why is one of Lorne’s grandsons in there?”
Finley grimaced, and Daphne’s eyes hardened, although her voice remained level and light.
“I should perhaps mention that I’m not a doctor,” she added, “and I don’t think I’d make a good nurse, either. I fall asleep a little too easily to keep a bedside vigil.”
“Archie doesn’t need that kind of help.” Finley hesitated. “And he’s not Lorne’s grandson.”
Daphne took a step back, understanding igniting in her eyes. Finley’s story had been one big lie, and now she knew it. She didn’t look outwardly angry, but there was a whisper of hurt on her face that hit him harder than anger would have.
It’s for Archie, he repeated silently to himself.You had to do it for Archie.
“So you brought me here for this,” Daphne said slowly. “Perhaps you’d care to explain why.” She looked between them. “Unless you want someone who’s very good at napping, there’s nothing special about me.”
Finley was increasingly convinced that wasn’t true in the least. But he hadn’t lured Daphne to his brother’s side because of her personal qualities. She was there because of her royal connection, and it should have been a simple matter to say so. But somehow his voice wouldn’t speak the words.
“You’re the cousin of a princess,” Nisha said when the silence drew out. “We’re hoping that will be sufficient for the Legacy.”
“I’m here because of Olivia?” Daphne frowned. “You know she wasn’t born a royal, right? I have no royal blood.”
“Unfortunately there weren’t any actual princesses lying around,” Morrow said with a cajoling smile. “We won’t blame you if it doesn’t work. We just thought it was worth a try.”
He gazed at her hopefully, but she didn’t smile back. Instead, her eyes cut to the closed stable door.
“We’re in Oakden right now, so if your brother has fallen afoul of the Legacy and you’re looking for a royal to rescue him, I can only assume he’s asleep in there.” She gave a snorting laugh of disbelief. “Did he seriously prick his finger on a spindle? Don’t they teach you anything in school? Isn’t that like a Glandorian child being foolish enough to pick someone else’s rose?”
Finley ignored the deliberate provocation of her barb—he had been entertaining similar frustrated thoughts about his brother for weeks. But the truth was that he didn’t know how it had happened. Archie had been alone at the time.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” he said grimly. “Even if he encountered a spindle…” He trailed off and shook his head. “He’s just an ordinary boy, so I don’t know why the Legacy responded so strongly.”
One of Daphne’s brows lifted. “If the Legacy’s power has latched onto your brother so strongly, won’t you need actual royalty to free him?”
“Do you happen to have a royal to hand?” Some of Finley’s frustration leaked into his tone. “We’ve been looking for weeks now, and you’re the best we’ve found.”
His eyes held hers steadily. He refused to weaken. He was too close to rescuing Archie.
Daphne gazed back at him, and he had the sensation of being weighed and measured, although her expression was hard to read.
“You can’t move people after they fall into a Legacy sleep,” she said after a moment. “So your brother must have been pricked inside that barn. What was he doing there?”
The challenge in her eyes told him she already suspected the answer, so he remained silent.
“He was stealing from the local lord, wasn’t he?” she asked at last.
Morrow winced visibly, and she seemed to take that—along with the continued silence—as confirmation.
“What about Lorne?” she asked. “Where is he?”
“I have no idea.” Finley forced himself to hold her gaze. “All I know is the gossip we heard in Ethelson. His son was traveling when he had the accident, I know that much, but I don’t know where. Lorne could be anywhere in Oakden.”
The disappointment that filled her eyes made his chest squeeze painfully.
