Written in 58 minutes.
Outside the house, there was a sharp crack of thunder followed directly by a flash of lightning so bright that it must have struck very near them. Elizabeth flinched, but Jason remained still, sitting before the fire with his knees drawn up, his arms loosely wrapped around them. The light from the flames flickered, leaving half his face in shadows.
Elizabeth twisted her long hair into a damp rope, squeezing the excess water from the long strands, unsure what to do or to say about Jason’s startling revelation. Rather than answering questions, it had only created more and she wasn’t sure where to start.
Or if she even should continue to ask questions. Jason had agreed to escort her to Wymoor where this Mary Mae might be able to tell her more about the mysterious woman connected to Elizabeth’s childhood. She was terrified to believe that it had been her sister, but hope had taken root all the same. For who else would have a set of daggers if not a woman borne to her family?
“I was young when Valentin came to Nevoie,” Elizabeth said, finally. “Too young to know much about my heritage. When my mother sent me to the Quartermaine estate to train, I thought it was an adventure.” She smiled wistfully, looking into the flames, thinking of her bright, vivacious mother. “She likely thought there would be time to tell me what I needed to know.” She exhaled slowly. “Did you know from the start that it was him, or was it something you discovered later?”
Jason looked at her, his brow furrowed slightly. Had he expected another question? “Not right away,” he said finally. “Not until the burial.” He returned his gaze to the fire. “His nephew was the heir. My sister was his wife. They died together in a carriage accident. A tragedy. But that day, after they’d lowered my sister into the ground, after everyone had gone to the house, I watched him stand over the freshly dug dirt and smile.”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “I don’t understand. You said your connection to the Quartermaines was a secret. But if Valentin knows—”
“He doesn’t. He thought he was alone.” Jason was quiet, then looked at her. “I was waiting until they were gone. No one knew I’d been there.”
More questions swirled, but Elizabeth could answer some of them. He was Alan’s son, yes, but not by his wife. A bastard who had remained on the fringes of the family. Close enough to care, but not to claim. “I’m sorry. For the loss of your sister.”
Jason offered a short, rough nod, little more of a jerking of his chin. “You’ll stay in Wymoor,” he decided. “While Mary Mae looks for the woman. I’ll find a way to make Valentin think your escape plan worked.”
“My—” Elizabeth tipped her head. “I don’t understand.”
“You were trying to run from me last night.” He looked at her again. “I only went after to you to find out why. If you’d asked me to put you on one of those ships, I would have. You could have gone to Thakrian and disappeared into the interior. I’ll create a false trail, tell Valentin that’s what you did. He’ll either have to let it go or go after you.”
“Won’t he be angry that I escaped?” she asked, chewing on her bottom lip. “You must have a reason why you’ve not killed him yet. Are you worried about retaliation?”
“Valentin won’t want to tip his hand yet. He doesn’t know what I know. And he’ll want to keep it that way.” Jason hesitated. “As for why he’s still alive, he’s a man with a great deal of power. He’s gathering his forces and capital to wage a war for the throne, but he hasn’t yet broken with Faison.”
“Faison.” Elizabeth looked away, closed her eyes. “I thought it was him for a long time. Sometimes I wonder if they did it together. My mother hated Faison. It’s one of the few names that I remember her speaking with real anger and hatred. Valentine knew that — he found me in the woods, and promised to take me to safety. It wasn’t until he had me locked in that house that I realized what he’d done. Or who he was. And it was too late by then.”
Jason studied her, his gaze so pointed that Elizabeth flushed. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“No. No. Just—I’ve wondered why Valentin waited so long. My sister has been gone for nearly ten years. If he was behind what happened at Nevoie, it was before he had the power of the Cassadine family. When did he move you to Shadwell?”
“When I turned eighteen. Eight years ago.” Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why is that important?”
“Eight years. When my sister died. He took the mantle of the Cassadines then. Why not double his power by forcing you into marriage then? Why put you in a village near the northern border. Why go to the trouble of a binding spell?” Jason shoved himself to his feet, and Elizabeth just watched him, mystified by the turn in the conversation.
“Perhaps he wasn’t ready—”
“But what is he waiting for? Why not—” Jason paused. “You say you thought it was Faison behind the attack. You didn’t initially see Valentin as a foe. Why?”
“Because the Cassadines had been a reluctant ally to my mother. She liked Valentin’s older brother, Stefan, I think. What happened to him?”
“Died of a sickness two years before my sister and Nikolas. Valentin wouldn’t have had the resources to carry out an attack such as the one you described. But he held you captive, so he must have been behind it.”
Elizabeth licked her lips, then climbed to her feet, the folds of the borrowed shirt falling to mid-thigh. “But perhaps it was not alone. Valentine was saving me. Why now? Why did he send for me now?”
“The king died,” Jason said. “He was married to Faison’s daughter since he reached his majority fifteen years ago. There were no children born to the marriage, but Faison is attempting to keep the power by asserting his daughter as the queen in her own right.”
“Is it possible they’ve been working together all these years?” Elizabeth folded her arms across her middle. “What if Valentin was content to let me rot in Shadwell if Faison could hold on to the throne? But if he’s faced with losing it—”
“Valentin sent me to fetch you, but told me nothing. And he must have suspected you’d never trust one of his men with the truth.”
Elizabeth’s throat tightened and she wrapped her arms more tightly around her torso. “Oh, what a terrible story we’ve created. All these people who might have died just so two evil men can hold on to power. Your sister, her husband, my mother, maybe my sister — all the others at Nevoie who were killed in the fires. Perhaps Nikolas’s poor uncle, and the king? How can we know anyone was safe around them?”
“We can’t. And that’s why I haven’t killed Valentin yet. I want to be sure that when he breathes his last, the evil he’s done won’t somehow spread.” Jason took two steps towards her, then hesitated. “You’ll be safe in Wymoor. It used to be Valentin’s home base, but the people there hate him more than anywhere else. And Mary Mae hates him most of all.”
“Mary Mae.” Elizabeth nodded. “You trust her.”
“With my life. You can trust her, too,” Jason assured her. He gestured to the bedroll sprawled across the floor in front of the fire. “But you should rest. When the storm breaks, we continue there. I don’t want to be out in the open any longer than necessary.”
—
The storm continued to pound the area with rain and winds throughout the night, but the next morning, the clouds rolled on their way, leaving nothing by mud and puddles in their wake.
Dry and a little worse for wear, Jason woke Elizabeth and they were back on the road — not traveling directly on it, but remaining in the trees, following another route that Jason said belonged to the same smugglers who had built the hidden cottage. Wymoor was a destination for such people, and most routes led there.
Jason had estimated that they were maybe three days from the city, but he’d calculated that when he’d planned to travel at night and by road. Taking the smuggler’s road meant they could only ride when there was light.
It was almost a week of exhausted traveling by the time they reached the outskirts of the town, and Jason stopped long enough for Elizabeth to put up her hood, hiding her face from all but the most interested. Wymoor may hate their Cassadines, but Jason would not risk any chance that word reach Valentin that he’d been traveling with a young brunette. Jason needed Valentin to accept the false trail he intended to lead.
The Hare and Hound was still where he’d left it, at the end of Berry Lane, quiet for the late morning. He directed Elizabeth to mews behind the pub, and dismounted, leaving their horses for one of the stable hands.
“We’ll go in the back,” he told Elizabeth, placing a hand near the small of her back to direct her forward. She nodded, following his lead as she had for the last week without argument.
The back entrance opened into Mary Mae’s private rooms, and Jason slid in the key he’d been given as a boy. Mary Mae had never wanted it back — had always told him that he’d have a home with her for as long as he needed it.
The room was not empty — it never was. Just after breakfast, Jason realized, which meant it was time for lessons. All of Mary Mae’s lost children learned their letters and numbers, and they were crowded around a table, slates in their hand, chattering and talking.
Mary Mae stood over them, beaming as she watched her brood work on their numbers, then her face lit up even more when she saw Jason stepping inside the door. “Well, isn’t this a surprise?”
She came forward to embrace him, only wincing slightly at the travel-worn clothes and the smell of a long time spent on a horse. “Well, it’s a good thing I always keep a room ready in hopes one of my chicks comes home to roost—oh, what do we have here?”
Elizabeth stepped in behind him, pushing her hood down, revealing the tangled curls that fell down her back. “Hello,” she said, a bit nervously, looking around the room, then at Mary Mae, before inching closer to Jason.
Jason opened his mouth to explain, but Mary Mae abandoned him and went to Elizabeth, reaching for her hands. “Hello, darling. Please tell me that my boy has brought me a bride. I’ve always hoped he’d have a family of his own.”
Jason winced, wanting to crawl beneath the nearby table. Elizabeth looked at Mary Mae with wide, bewildered eyes. “Mother Mary—”
Mary Mae looked at him, then sighed. She squeezed Elizabeth’s hands. “Well, a mother can hope. Let’s get you two cleaned up and then you can tell me everything.”
