Chapter 19
Crack!
The noise was deafening, making my heart jolt and my shoulders twitch.
“Ho! Fine shot, my boy.” Avrix Cormorant shaded his eyes, gazing down the neatly trimmed lawn to the targets: round sheets of parchment nailed to wooden frames. They were riddled with bullet holes. Smoke tinged the air.
“Kicks to the side a bit,” Llir said indifferently, flipping the eight-shot matchlock revolver and examining it closely, running his thumb over the wood.
“She is a touch unreliable, it’s true.” Avrix smiled, his laconite drop earring winking. “But she’s a beauty, don’t you think? Breovan walnut.”
Llir handed the gun to Tigo and Rhianne. They stood close by him, straight-backed, immaculate. The Sparkmouth kept the match burning while the Mudmouth pounded the bullets into the barrels.
I let out a short, frustrated breath. Standing with Mawre off to one side, I was acutely conscious that another day was slipping by.
Opposite us, near the entrance to the rose gardens, the Cormorants’ Orha stood in a line, flaxen-haired Nemaine looking on with thin lips.
I watched as the pistol was handed to Catua. She hefted it, intrigued, and Avrix chuckled. Nearby, Vercha, Morgen, and Emment were engaged in a lively debate. I tuned them out.
Two days.
Only two days left until my meeting.
Nearly a week had passed since the sail race, and almost all of it had been spent like this: standing around, just as Rhianne had predicted, any spare moments used to catch up on my work.
I was tired and antsy, horribly aware of each hour that passed, as though there were a ticking clock in my mind.
I’d only just managed a fleeting inspection of Vercha’s and Catua’s laconite the day before, a snatched opportunity while emptying their baths in a rare few moments when Debry wasn’t lurking.
But Llir’s…I’d had no chance to sneak in there.
Whenever I found myself with a free half hour, either he was in there, bathing or changing, or his valet was, tidying up after him.
Desperately, I’d wondered if I could sneak in while Llir was sleeping, but the prospect of his waking made my stomach clench with horror—no excuse would save me then.
But turning up to the Veil without the rest of my information…that made me anxious and nauseated, too. The Cage knew something about Zennia, about what had happened that night. If I failed in this, they’d cut me loose.
Or maybe they’d decide I knew too much about their mission. My contact hadn’t seemed particularly threatening, but that didn’t mean this “Leadership” weren’t. No. I had to fulfill our agreement.
Crack!
I winced.
Avrix applauded. “Best of the lot! You’ve a fine eye on you, Cattie.”
Not long after, the party dispersed. The sky was murky, the air heavy with damp.
“Do let me show you the new harp in the music room,” Vercha said to the twins, holding out a gloved arm.
“I think I’ll stay out with the dogs for a bit,” said Llir, lingering by Tigo and Rhianne.
“Yes, me too,” said Catua, handing Avrix his gleaming pistol. The wolfhounds, lying nearby on the grass, thumped their tails as the younger Shearwaters approached them.
Emment followed after Vercha and the Cormorants, and the Cormorants’ Orha stepped quickly behind them.
I dithered, unsure which group to trail after, before Vercha said in passing, “Don’t worry, you’re relieved. We won’t need you till dinner.”
As Llir lobbed a stick down the lawn for the wolfhounds, a tingle of adrenaline snaked down my spine.
“At long last,” Mawre muttered, and strode off, arms folded, no doubt to tackle her ever-towering piles of laundry.
I knew I should dedicate the precious time to chores, too.
There was water to draw, linens to churn.
But my deadline was weighing me down like an anchor.
Heart hammering, I hurried in the direction of the castle, shadowing Vercha and the others to West Tower at a safe distance, so I wouldn’t be spotted.
With the sweet notes of the harp drifting behind me, I dashed up the spiral steps two at a time. The dinner bell wouldn’t ring for another hour or so, but the siblings would change in their quarters before that…
Pausing at an arrow slit, I peered down beyond the gardens. Llir and Catua were disappearing into the pinewood. A peal of laughter rang out from the music room, and I took a steadying breath. I was safe; I was alone.
The tower’s upper floors were empty of servants.
Only my own soft steps broke the silence.
Stopping outside Llir’s door, which was shut tight, I listened carefully before easing it open, but all was quiet when I stepped over the threshold.
I’d never set foot in his chambers before, and trespassing here felt…
different to the others. There was a quiver to my stomach I couldn’t explain.
Llir had two rooms conjoined by an archway: a study with what seemed to be a walk-in closet, and a bedroom with a window that showed a leaden sky.
Everything was rich brown wood, clean and gleaming, the gray drapes pulled closed, no torches burning.
The surface of his writing desk was bare, but in one of the drawers I found pencil sketches: of birds, the bay, an older woman’s profile.
In the bedroom was a bathtub, a pair of boots on a stool. A silver-embroidered coverlet on the four-poster bed, and a dent in his pillow that drew my eye.
Opening his wardrobe, I thumbed through doublet after doublet, a jittery feeling fizzing in my chest. It felt strange—too intimate—to be touching his clothes, to be breathing the scent that wafted out at me: lavender soap, the bare hint of sweat.
Dimly I registered that it was drizzling outside, thin drops pattering on the mullioned windows.
It was only after a minute or two that I realized there was no laconite in his bedroom.
Puzzled, I retraced my steps to the study and finally found some, shut up in the closet.
It sang at me weakly, a thin whine, like a fly.
There was plenty of false laconite here, too, and I clinked through it, frustrated.
He had more than his siblings and father did.
It was then that I heard a rustle from the study, the slightest creak of a floorboard outside, just audible over the stones’ faint ringing.
I froze.
Llir’s valet, maybe, bringing fresh towels.
The closet door was open a fraction, a sliver of the study visible beyond: a tapestry on the wall, part of the rain-spattered window. I waited, stock-still, for a few long minutes, but nothing moved, and there were no other sounds.
I pushed the door open and stepped into the study.
It was empty. I huffed a laugh at myself.
Perhaps a dislodged doublet had slipped off its hanger.
And this castle was old—of course there’d be creaks.
Or maybe by now my nerves were so frayed, my sleep so disturbed by my looming deadline, that I was hearing things.
In any case, my duty here was done.
Starting across the carpet to the main door—it was open a crack; had I left it like that?—I paused as a scent wafted suddenly over me. Rain, brine, the tang of pine needles. Something a little musty, like wet fur.
I glanced back, but the window was shut tight. The only sounds were the patter of the drizzle and the familiar crooning of laconite in the closet.
You’re losing it, I thought as I tugged the door open.
But as I slipped through it, shutting it behind me, I couldn’t seem to shake the sinister sensation of a presence somewhere nearby.
Listening and watching.
—
The next morning, I presented myself at Miss Haney’s office door.
My eyes were heavy. I’d had barely any sleep.
I’d needed to tally the laconite in the armory, and the dead of night seemed the best time to do it.
But Tigo had sat up long into the evening, the door of his room cracked open, spilling light.
I suspected he still harbored suspicions about me, for his early starts and strenuous labor meant he was usually snoring by ten.
I hadn’t felt safe sneaking past on the stairs until well past midnight, when his lamp finally went out.
It did mean I’d had time to prepare a script in my head.
It was market day again tomorrow, and I hoped my excuse for a visit would fly.
But before I could even open my mouth, Miss Haney glanced up, spotted me, and said, frowning, “Ah, Corith. Have you seen Ferda about? I’ve had a crow from Madam Mora.
The girls’ dresses are ready. I need him to go and fetch them today. ”
My mouth opened and closed a few times. “I can go,” I said abruptly. “I can get them tomorrow. Then I could get a last-minute fitting done for mine.”
She blinked at me, still frowning. “I don’t think so, my dear. Not if Ferda can get them today.”
“But it’s market day tomorrow,” I persisted, trying to look winsome. Time to deploy the excuse I’d prepared. “Truth be told…I was hoping to get a gift for Miss Vercha. Something small, just to say thank you for my dress.” I smiled, drawing on the limited charisma I had.
Her expression moved from faintly baffled to charmed. “Well, now, if that isn’t a lovely idea.” Then she chewed her lip. “But the ball is in a week…”
“A day won’t signify,” I said with false confidence. “And if anything happens on the crossing—gods forbid—I’m the best person to protect the dresses. And I’ll make personally sure that any other alterations are completed in time.”
The housekeeper looked gratified. “You certainly are an asset to our little team here, Corith. Thank you.” She smiled. “That will be all.”
As I walked away, I hid the tremor in my fingers. It had been worth it, all those weeks spent cozying up to Miss Haney. I just had to get through the rest of the day, then ensure I was in town for sunset tomorrow.
I set off to find Ferda, to let him know I’d need the boat, but as I crossed the entrance hall, Llir and Emment were coming down the stairs.
“Come on, Brother, it’s perfect,” Emment was saying. “What better way to end their visit than a play? You know, I’ve always thought I had a talent for acting…”
Those words snagged my attention, made me glance sharply at him.
But Llir looked distracted as soon as he saw me. As his brother chattered on, Llir’s eyes tracked my progress, his face carefully blank, impossible to read.
I bobbed my head shallowly and quickened my pace, glancing at the clock as though my chores were calling. But I was thinking of my foray into his rooms, the horrible sense that someone else had been there, the possibility that the rain had brought him in early…
At least my sneaking for the Cage was over. Even if Llir was still suspicious of me, if I could keep my head down, give him no more cause to wonder, I hoped that eventually his attention would drift away.