Page 48 of The Poison Daughter
I force my magic to focus on the surface-level healing until my mother’s skin is flawless once again.
“Mom?”
Her eyes flutter open and she gives me a grim smile. “You’re too young to look so serious, Henry. You’ll scare off your new fiancée.”
“Are you well?” I ask.
“I’m fine. Your father just panics when I’m hurt. I would have been fine.” She meets Kellan’s gaze. “Not that I don’t appreciate the assistance. That’s quite a gift you have.”
I look at the stain on the carpet. She’s lying. She’s already lost a lot of blood. I don’t know if she doesn’t want me to panic or if she doesn’t want to feel beholden to the family who robbed her of her daughter, but she wouldn’t have been fine, and she certainly wouldn’t have felt well enough for my father to help her stand.
I turn to Harlow. She’s leaning against the bookcase, looking more relaxed than she has all day.
“Should we go find the rest of your family?”
She shrugs. “Protocol is to stay in hiding until the threat is handled.”
Kellan nods. “We can show you to a safe room where we have fresh water and food that might help your mother feel more like herself. I’ll feel better when I set eyes on my wife anyway.”
My father catches my gaze. I’m dying to tell him everything I’ve learned so far—that my wife-to-be knows how to fight, that she flawlessly spotted a magical trap, that the rebels used magic, that her brother has such a strong blessing that he could compel frenzied rebels to lay down their weapons. For now, I have to hold my tongue and go wherever Harlow leads. The more they show us about the South Hold mansion, the better.
Kellan crosses the room and hesitates, glancing at me over his shoulder. It’s hard to tell if it’s an act to make us feel like he’s letting us in onsomething valuable, or if he’s actually fighting the instinct to protect family secrets. He lifts his hand to a large volume and pushes it in. The entire shelf of books clicks, and he pulls it away from the wall, revealing another passage.
He leads the way inside, followed by my parents, Harlow, and me, with Gaven pulling up the rear.
Harlow leans close to me. “Thank you for healing me and Kellan.”
“You seem close,” I say.
She eyes me warily. “We are, but I have a great affection for my niece and nephew, and I’m not about to let their father die if I—or in this caseyou—can help him.” She must see the skepticism on my face. “It’s clear that neither of us is interested in marrying into this alliance for love, so let’s make the most of it. I know things about Lunameade you don’t. You know things about Fall—” She clears her throat. “About Mountain Haven that I don’t. Kellan is very important to me. Clearly your mother is very important to you. Rochelli hurt both of our families tonight. I don’t plan to sit back and allow these rebels to hurt my family or yours. It sets a dangerous precedent if they think they can get away with it so easily.”
I nod.
“I know you don’t like us and you think we’re soft behind these walls, but my father’s magic keeps the people safe,” she says. “They don’t like to think about that when they riot and whine about sacrificing a little blood to the Divine. I don’t know what you’ve been through living outside these walls for so many years, but I think you can admit you don’t know what I’ve been through living within them.”
Harlow’s passionate, eloquent, and, unfortunately, right. I don’t know, and I need to.
This whole mid-dinner attack is almost too convenient. Her family is twisted enough to have orchestrated it to appear more sympathetic—or, worse, to point the finger at us. I can see the suspicion in Harlow’s eyes. She doesn’t trust me, but for some reason, she and her family have accepted this proposal, so she must think she needs me. I wonder if that need is strong enough to build a tentative peace on.
“You’re right.”
She chokes on a laugh and holds a hand to her ear. “Did I hear that right, my wolf? Did you finally admit that I know best?”
“I admitted that you have the entirely accidental good fortune of being right this one time,” I counter.
Her smile morphs from wicked to docile in a second as she glances at something over my shoulder.
I turn and nearly bump into my father.
“Harlow, given the way the night has gone, I’m afraid we’re going to need to return to Mountain Haven sooner than expected,” he says. “You have a day to get your affairs in order, but I think it’s best for everyone’s safety that we return to the fort.” He claps a hand on my shoulder. “We ride out at dawn the day after tomorrow.”
He leaves us on our own, and Harlow watches him go with narrowed eyes.
I read her distrust in the way she crosses her arms and angles her body away from me. My father is right, but he’s rushed to this so quickly that now it looks likeweplanned the attack to push the timeline.
Whatever goodwill I gained by healing her brother has been wiped away by this change of schedule.
“Have a drink with me tomorrow night,” I blurt.
