Page 29 of House of the Raven
Jago rubs his jaw, thoughtful for a moment. “Ithasto be important. Why else would Amira be so secretive about it?”
I nod.
“Do you think it has something to do with the conversation you overheard? The secret your father told her?”
“I have no idea.”
We are quiet for a moment longer, then he asks, “Where is your guard?”
“Amira relieved him from his duties. She said I’m free to do whatever I want.”
“Strange. I don’t want to seem paranoid, but he’s new here. Maybe he has something to do with all of this?”
I consider this, but it doesn’t ring true. “I don’t think so. He defended me, Jago. If it wasn’t for him I would be dead, too. He’s only doing his job. Amira threatened to end his career. She’s the queen now. He has to do what she says.”
“Queen Amira,” he says. “It sounds so strange.”
I press both hands to my face and tell myself to be strong. Whatever is going on here, I have a feeling this is just the beginning.
“You know the next logical question, right?” Jago says carefully. “Um, where is the necklace?”
Lowering my hands to my lap, I meet Jago’s gaze. They are inscrutable, and his face is all sharp angles and hollows due to the lack of light. A bitter taste fills my mouth as, for the first time, an awful thought enters my mind. Is Jago also part of this nightmare? What if he—
No, it can’t be. This is Jago, my heart says.
Your own sister betrayed you, my brain replies.
Jago jumps to his feet. “You know what?” He waves both hands. “I don’t need to know. Don’t tell me, all right?”
My shoulders slump in relief, but he doesn’t notice. He is too busy staring at his feet as he thinks. “Unless it’s in your room? Because Amira and that asshole are probably headed there.”
“It’s not there,” I say, then decide that, in case they try to get to Jago, I need to lie. “In fact, I don’t know where it is. I lost it a while back.” I haven’t worn it in a while. Amira hasn’t seen it in a long time, so the lie will stand.
“You lost it?”
I rise to my feet. “Yes.”
“Then you’re screwed.”
“Why?”
“You don’t have what she wants,theywant, whoever, so you’ll be of no more value to them. Then yournext-in-linestatus might sign your death sentence.”
He’s right, of course, but they killed Father and stole my Plumanegra key. I can’t let them have the necklace, too.
Jago’s next words are urgent. “We need to get out of here, Val. That thing is more than just a piece of jewelry, or they wouldn’t be doing all of this to get it.”
That is one of the thoughts that has been circling inside my head from the moment I was able to get my emotions under control.
Mother was always fiercely protective of that necklace. I had long assumed it was because it came from her homeland and held some sort of sentimental value. But what if there’s more to it? Suddenly, I recall the words Father shared with me when I told him I wanted it days after her passing.
“Keep it, amor. It’s just a trinket, after all.”
Wouldn’t he have known it was important? Mother told him everything, right? I have no idea. Honestly, I know nothing about their relationship besides second-hand accounts. Father never talked about her,and as a child, I didn’t possess the maturity to grasp the nature of their connection.
“Jago, I can’t leave,” I say at the brink of tears.
My entire world has collapsed around me, and I have no idea what to do next. My life is in danger. I see the logic in Jago’s words, but I can’t leave Nido. Not now.
