Page 79 of Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore
“Of course she worked for Shadowfade,” said Pru. “You thought it was a coincidence that she showed up here a week after he was defeated, all mysterious-like?”
“You knew?”
His sister shrugged. “It was an easy guess.”
“And you didn’t think totell me?”
Pru exchanged a look with Quinn, and Nathaniel got the impression that she hadn’t been the only person in on it. “Hang on now…”
Quinn stood to place a hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder. “It wasn’t anyone’s secret to tell but Violet’s, honey,” she said, and smiled a sheepish smile. “Just like it was my secret when I left that castle.”
His brain stopped working for a second. Nathaniel wasn’t sure how many more surprises he could handle tonight.
“Y-you?” His mouth dropped open. “What? When? How?”
“A long time ago. I was known as the Hornet Queen back then,” she said evenly. One of her bees buzzed around her hair as if to prove her point.
Nathaniel’s mind reeled. “What?” he repeated.
“Leaving Shadowfade was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, and Dragon’s Rest became a soft place to land after a difficult fall.”
“A place to start over,” piped up Jerome. “Where none of us had to be who we used to.” The gnome sat on his tall stool, arms crossed, legs dangling, glaring daggers at Nathaniel. “Where we could be someone other’n what he made of us.”
Us?
“You too—?” Nathaniel choked out, feeling absolutely flabbergasted.
“For many years,” began Quinn, “Shadowfade farmed this town for mages like you’d harvest an orchard for fruit. Those of us he could control, whose magic he wanted, he took from our homes.”
Quinn continued. “There was no leaving him, not while he still had use for us. And if any of us tried, well…” She looked over at old Guy, who opened his mouth, displaying the grotesque remains where his tongue had once been. His mouth snapped shut, and he winked at Nathaniel with a toothy grin.
Jerome scowled. “He worked us until we burned out and then kicked us to the bloody gutter.”
“My bees are all I have left of my magic,” Quinn explained, “and Jerome has none of his strength left at all. Fallon used to be a powerful fire mage, and now they barely have enough power to keep their kiln running.”
“Some days I don’t,” said Fallon with a shrug, brushing crumbs from one of Guy’s black currant tarts off their shirt. “Gotta do it the mundane way, and let me tell you, that feels like a kick to the face after what I once was.”
“Who else?” Nathaniel looked around the room.
“Are the four of us not exciting enough for you?” Jerome growled. Quinn shushed him.
“We’re the only ones left, but there were once more. Remember old Harriston? And Corrin’s grandfather Otho?”
“And Mum’s sister Althea,” added Pru quietly. “She was an alchemist for Shadowfade, taken from Dragon’s Rest. She didn’t just disappear like Mum said—she was killed working for him before we were born.”
Nathaniel drew his eyes up to meet his twin. “That’s why she didn’t want me going to the Crucible,” he said, putting it together.
Pru nodded. “Shadowfade stopped kidnapping mages from the town when we were young—probably around the time he found Violet—but Mum didn’t want to take any chances. She was terrified for you. It’s why she never fought you when you told her you were staying in Lokoa. She didn’t want you anywhere near the castle.”
“We’ve all lost friends and family members to his cruelty.” Quinn gestured around the room. “Dear loved ones who were brainwashed into believing his madness or were killed fighting his battles, or who burned through their magic and couldn’t survive the result.”
More heads were nodding in the room.
“And you knew all along?” He cut his gaze to each of them, the people he’d thought he knew well. “All of you?”
Pru shrugged sadly. “You were away for a long time, brother.”
Nathaniel stood shocked, taking it all in.
