Page 18 of House of Roots and Ruin
The thought arose unbidden from the recesses of my mind, from that deep shadowy place I assumed all of my forgotten memories were stored, if only I knew how to get to them.
The voice sounded remarkably like me, only…less. Smaller. Younger.
Who had I been talking to?
Camille, probably. Or Annaleigh?
I pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter now. Both of them had lied to me for years and they would have continued to, covering up an entire facet of my being with ease. But they’d been caught.
Annaleigh’s betrayal stung even more than Camille’s.
“I told her about the duchess’s offer. She doesn’t want me to go. She said that I’ll get caught talking to…” I trailed off,uncertain of how I ought to address it. It seemed indelicate to sayghostin front of her.
“Spirits,” Hanna supplied.
“Well…yes.” I brightened as all my swirling thoughts merged together, forming a perfect, crystalline idea. “Hanna—this is perfect! You can come with me, to Bloem! You’ll know when I’m around other spirits. You can keep me from embarrassing myself—from embarrassing Camille!”
“Oh, Miss Verity,” she interrupted, gently shaking her head. “I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wouldn’t be able to help you with that. With…seeing any others.”
I blinked.
“It’s always been just you and me.”
“You can’t see other spirits? Not even Rosalie? Or Ligeia?”
Her expression darkened. “You’ve seen them?”
“Tonight. It’s what started…all of this.”
“I never knew if they were here or not. I’d always hoped they weren’t, that they’d found some measure of peace…” She licked her lips. “It’s like ships at sea. Two boats might be on the same ocean, but it doesn’t mean we’ll ever bump into one another.”
I pictured Hanna out on a sailboat, tossed about by swells and surges, trapped alone forever.
Not alone, though. Not entirely.
“Well, then it’ll be just you and me in Bloem. Two girls on a wild adventure.” I kept my words light, dazzling. This could still work. This could still be…
Her lips rose but it didn’t look like any smile I’d ever seenfrom her before. She didn’t need to say it aloud. It was written all over her face.
“You can’t leave Highmoor, can you?” I guessed, disappointment crashing through me.
“I can leave the house,” she corrected. “Walk the island, even wade out a little onto the shoreline—remember when I’d take you swimming?—but that’s as far as I can go.”
“What happens if you try to go farther?”
She dropped her hold on me and crossed to the vanity. “It’s not comfortable to experience and even less pleasant to talk about.”
“I’m sorry.” I glanced down at my empty hands.
She kept her back to me and stared at the table for a long moment. When she tried to pick up my hairbrush, it remained staunchly within its silver tray.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go to Bloem, Verity.” Her voice was so soft, I had to strain to hear all the words. “Whenever I think of you leaving…the most awful dread washes over me.”
I sank back against the curve of the chaise. “Dread?”
