Page 123 of Kingdom of Chains

‘Mushroom hunting?’ Isabel asked. A few days of heavy rain meant optimal mushroom-picking conditions.

Her mother nodded. ‘You should come with us.’

She rarely ventured far from the house anymore for fear of not being home when Blackmane arrived. ‘I’ll stay and make a start on dinner.’

Gwenore tilted her head. ‘He will not turn around and go back to Chadora if he arrives to an empty house.’

Isabel swallowed. ‘I know. I will come tomorrow, I promise.’

Ita gave her a knowing look as she passed. ‘We’ll be back before dark.’

Isabel went inside, washing and chopping the vegetables to be used in the cawl she was making. When everything was ready, she prepared the stove. She never lit it, but she was more than happy to do the work up until that point.

The light began to fade, and there was still no sign of her mother and Ita, so she went in search of her brother out front. He could light the fire for her, and she would return to cook once the flames had settled. While she was slowly getting more comfortable around fires, she had a way to go.

Outside, she looked around for Everard and Rabbit, but they were nowhere to be seen. She listened for them, certain she had heard their swords clapping away only a few minutes earlier.

‘Everard!’ she called.

There was no reply.

She wandered down to the paddock to see if they were working on the half-built stables they had committed to finishing before winter came around again. They were not there either. The horses were pacing the fence line, ears pricked forwards and tails lifted. She paused to watch them a moment,then looked over at the trees on the other side, expecting Ita and her mother to emerge with their full baskets in hand.

But no one appeared.

Taking a final look around, she retreated to the house.

It was dark now, so she closed the door behind her and slid the lock into place. The others could knock and wait for her to open it when they finally decided to show up.

She headed for the kitchen but froze a few feet from the door. There was smoke and heat coming from it, and when she listened, she heard the distinct snap and crackle of burning debris. Someone had lit the stove while she had been out of the house.

‘Everard?’ she called.

Silence.

Slowly, she walked to the kitchen door and peered inside. The stove was not only lit but roaring. Her heart sped up at the sight, at the noise, at the realisation that her brother would never leave a fire in this state for her to walk into. He would never leave it unattended to begin with. She had not been the only one in the house the day it burned down. While he got out physically unscathed, the mental trauma still lingered to some degree for all of them.

It was difficult to breathe when the fire was consuming all the oxygen in the house. She turned, ready to flee, then stopped again when she saw the front door sitting wide open. She had definitely closed it behind her—and locked it.

The pounding in her ears competed with the noise coming from the stove.

Run.

But before she could make a dash for the open door, a voice reached her from the stairs.

‘There is no need to be afraid, my beloved.’

Her gaze cut to the staircase, and there was Hodge seated comfortably on it, elbows resting on his knees, watching her.

He was in her house.

All words seemed to abandon her in that moment. She could barely think, let alone talk. And while running was still the smartest option for her at that point, her legs also seemed to be failing her.

‘You really are surprised,’ he said, rising and descending the few stairs to the bottom. His eyes swept the full length of her. ‘I swear, you are the only woman I know who grows more beautiful with the passing of time.’

She swallowed a few times, testing to see if her tongue would cooperate in forming words. ‘What are you doing here?’ she managed to get out.

His face pinched with concern. ‘Is that fear I hear in your voice? Beloved, do not be afraid. You never have to fear a thing when I am around.’

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