Chapter Twenty-Seven
I found a small parlor off the lobby and curled up in a chair near the fireplace.
My heart was still racing from my fight with Bri; all I could hear was her telling me I couldn’t use my grief as an excuse anymore.
Was that what I’d been doing? Because it seemed to me I’d been avoiding grief at every turn.
It was so much easier to hate my father for leaving than to accept the fact that he was gone.
If sadness was an anchor, then anger was the wind in my sails.
It kept me moving day after day. I was terrified that if I let myself sit still for two minutes, I’d start to cry and never stop.
Besides, what did Bri know about it? Her parents were still alive. She’d chosen to leave them.
I tucked my feet under me and sighed. I wasn’t being fair.
Bri’s parents might be alive, but they wouldn’t even touch her, and the only person who would died just a year ago.
I remembered all the times Da had carried me across the moors when I was too done in to make the journey myself; the way he swung me in dizzy circles behind the house until he collapsed; the pats on my head, the tickles and hugs, the most reassuring presence I’d ever known.
I’d give anything to have that back.
If only Bri hadn’t followed me here, I could have sorted this all out on my own.
But she was here now, and I still had to survive this heist. I studied the map of Azure Cay to distract myself from my dark thoughts.
There were the docks, the hotel, and in the northern part of the island, the notorious Blackbay Prison.
Achnarach’s worst prisoners were sent to Blackbay, and no one had ever escaped, thanks to the heavily armed guards on one side and the shark-infested waters on the other.
Once my nerves had settled and I was no longer on the verge of clobbering the nearest object, I rolled up the map and set it aside, then began to reread the papers.
Most of them were background on Mrs. Monroe, information about Torion, and my “itinerary.” I was supposed to appraise a painting that Wexley himself had sold to Monroe in order to earn her trust. That ship had sailed straight off the edge of the map—Here be man-eating cats, I thought dismally—and now it was time to regroup.
The most interesting page in the stack was a hand-drawn blueprint of Monroe’s mansion, which included the location of the dragon egg. That was something I could use, assuming I managed to weasel my way back in.
Finally, at the bottom of the satchel, I found a creamy linen envelope with gold lettering. Inside was an invitation for one to the Chancellor’s annual Autumn Ball, and it was occurring in just two days.
This was supposed to be my ticket into Monroe’s home, after I’d proved myself with the appraisal.
I’d really managed to muff this one up, and if Wexley had known the real me at all, he would have been able to predict it.
I couldn’t very well show up with my invitation, now that Mrs. Monroe’s servant knew exactly what I looked like and that I wasn’t who I claimed to be.
I peeked inside the envelope to be sure I hadn’t missed anything.
I swore to myself when I found the note scrawled on a strip of parchment: Use some of the gold I’ve provided to purchase yourself a dress for the ball.
I rubbed my eyes, exhausted now that all my anger had worn off. Deep down, I knew that I owed Bri an apology. She had been right to doubt me; I had lied to her and Finlay about everything. If I could have just been honest, she wouldn’t have followed me here, and I wouldn’t be risking her life, too.
The trouble was, I wasn’t sure an apology would be enough. But I had nothing else to offer her, and like it or not, we were in this together. I shoved the rest of the items into the satchel and went to the front desk, where the sleepy employee informed me there were no available rooms.
“Sod it,” I muttered to myself. It was time to face the music.
Bri was still awake when I opened the door to the room, despite my dwindling hope that she’d be asleep.
“Hello,” I said as I set the satchel down and started to undress. Bri was in the big bed, which seemed fair enough considering everything I’d done.
She wouldn’t even look at me. But at least she wasn’t yelling.
“Listen,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the mattress in my nightgown. “I’m really, really sorry about all the things I said earlier. You’re not a means to an end. I really did come here for a good reason, though I’ve handled all of it…”
“Horrendously?” she asked.
“To put it lightly,” I said.
There was a long, awkward silence, during which I had convinced myself she was about to tell me to jump off a cliff, or at the very least to find another hotel.
But then, like a life preserver hurled at a drowning girl just before she went under: “I’m waiting.”
“Ehm, right.” This was the part where I explained everything. In theory. Honesty, as you may have noticed, did not come easily to me. But there would be no repairing things with Bri, or Finlay, if I didn’t figure out how to own up to my own nonsense. “Where to begin…”
“Pick a lie. Any lie. Then tell me the truth.”
Ouch. “Let’s see. I guess I need to tell you about the night I went to see about some dragon teeth…”
To my astonishment, spilling my guts to Bri was an enormous relief.
It turned out telling the truth was liberating, especially when I was trapped on an island with the other person and she couldn’t abandon me even if she wanted to.
I admitted that I’d come for selfish reasons—I did want Wexley’s inventory—but that was largely because I was pretty certain The Oxblood Book was part of it.
“The magic blossom really was mentioned in the grimoire in Abundance,” I added. “I should have told you right away, but it seemed trivial at the time.”
“Don’t you think that’s for me to decide?”
I lowered my gaze, embarrassed. “For a long time now, I’ve made all my decisions on my own, Bri. I had to, because there was no one else to count on. I suppose I got used to trusting myself and no one else.”
Bri softened, placing a hand on my shoulder. It felt nice to have the physical contact between us. “I understand that. It hasn’t been easy for me to trust people, either. But we can’t be business partners—and definitely not friends—unless we’re willing to take that leap.”
I placed my hand over hers. She flinched but didn’t pull away, and I realized that no one besides her grandmother had touched her, not even for a handshake.
That made me think of all the times Finlay had touched me, whether it was patting me reassuringly on the shoulder or taking my arm so I didn’t trip on a broken cobblestone.
Having even one person who provided small touches of comfort could keep a person from going entirely feral.
I wasn’t sure how Bri had managed to go without for so long.
“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll tell you the truth from now on,” I said.
She arched an eyebrow. “It’s going to take some time for me to really believe that.”
“Fair enough,” I replied.
To my surprise, she was the one to lean in and hug me. “I forgive you.”
Oh, I thought as I hugged her back. I’d never gotten to this part of the apology process before. It turned out, I rather liked it.
I woke to the sound of Bri puttering around the room, humming to herself.
I climbed out of the cot and padded over to the dresser, pulling out my second dress.
Perhaps I could fool the guards into letting me in tomorrow night.
There was no name on the envelope, and the only person who knew what I looked like was Mrs. Monroe’s servant.
Surely he’d be so busy working, he wouldn’t notice one gribbly stowaway.
I glanced at Bri, who was tying her boots. “Where are you going?”
“To find the waliwaga blossom,” she replied.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, following her to the door.
“I did some research of my own before coming here.” She gave me a flat look that said she’d done her own research because she couldn’t trust mine.
She wasn’t wrong. “Turns out the waliwaga tree does exist. Not here in Azure Cay, but Marcail shared the name of a rare-plant dealer. I’m meeting her in an hour. ”
“Marcail knew you were coming here?” I asked, a little surprised that Bri had communicated with her again.
“I told her we were both coming, to search for the waliwaga blossom. She didn’t seem all that surprised.”
Had she mentioned it was extinct? “That’s great news!” I said through gritted teeth.
“It might be. Hurry up and get dressed. I want to grab something to eat before we leave.”
“We?” I asked hopefully.
“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “For all I know, this entire island is crawling with lions. I’m not going anywhere by myself.”
We had just enough time to grab several warm biscuits before we headed onto the streets of Azure Cay. The walk was pleasant enough, nary a cat in sight. The plant dealer lived in a large brick mansion with ivy crawling up the walls and potted lemon trees framing the front door.
I was surprised when a young woman greeted us. She looked to be in her midtwenties, with long black hair and skin the color of milky tea. She welcomed us into her house, which was so warm and humid I felt as though I’d stumbled onto a tropical island. That, and it was filled with plants.
“Thank you for seeing us, Mrs. Lewis,” Bri said.
“Please call me Freya. I’m always happy to discuss plants, and any friend of Marcail’s is a friend of mine. Come on, I’ll give you a tour of my greenhouse.”