Chapter 45
Yvette
Yvette pressed her palm flat against the door.
This was wrong. Dread coated her skin like ice, twisted in her stomach, but she had already come too far.
Sneaking through the castle at this late hour, using her magic to coax the guards into a deep sleep.
There was only one thing left for her to do and then…
Victor had told her all the arrangements were made, whatever that meant.
“Quickly, darling,” Victor snapped, his voice low and urgent. There was no telling who else was wandering the halls, and they could not risk being seen.
Yvette summoned her magic, feeling the sensation of lightness fill her from head to toe.
Victor’s eyes wandered as the invisibility worked over her skin.
She pushed against the door slowly, not wanting it to creak.
As soon as it was wide enough, Yvette slithered inside.
Embers burned dimly in the fireplace, allowing her to see well enough to navigate the shadows.
Lord Caspian and Keira were asleep, curled in one another’s arms. Her black hair was splayed wildly over the pillows.
Lord Caspian’s chest was bare, his face resting against her as if he had dozed off while kissing her brow.
An errant pang of loneliness caught her off guard at the sight. Had Victor ever held her this way?
Yvette reined in her thoughts and focused on what she had come here to do.
She let her shroud of invisibility fall and began to cast the sleeping charm.
The powdery blue motes filled the air, giving off a subtle glow.
The magic worked best when her target was already drowsy, but its effects were strongest when they were fully asleep.
Yvette watched as the spell settled over them.
Nothing would shake them from their slumber now, not for many hours.
She remained still a second more, watching as Keira’s hand rested on Caspian’s chest, rising and falling gently with his breath.
I’m sorry, Yvette thought as she turned to the door where Victor was waiting.
“Is it done?” Victor whispered impatiently.
“Yes.”
He wasted no time before striding inside. The peaceful air disappeared, overtaken by the intrusion of Victor’s agitated presence.
“I will take her down to the stables. The carriage should be ready by now,” Victor said as he pulled back the covers.
She was wearing only a thin underdress which was somewhat tangled around her frame.
Neither of them stirred as Victor hiked her into his arms with a strained breath.
“Do what you have to and then join me at once.”
Yvette nodded vaguely. It was overwhelming her, the wrongness. They were shattering something good, something pure, and for what?
“He must know that she is gone, her own choice, and gone for good,” Victor continued. “Do you understand?” He waited, his eyes pinning her with their gaze.
“It will be done,” Yvette said. They’d come too far now…
Victor nodded, repositioning the woman’s weight in his arms before he carried her out. The room seemed hollow in his wake. Yvette crossed slowly until she was standing beside Lord Caspian’s still form. At least she could be merciful in this.
“Keira’s gone,” Yvette whispered, combing her fingers through his snow white hair so that the magic could settle in his mind.
“She’s not coming back. She didn’t leave because she doesn’t love you.
She’ll always love you. But you know that she had to go.
You know it’s for the best. One day it won’t even hurt anymore.
You know that. You’ll heal. It’s time to move on. ”
Yvette repeated the words again and again until she could feel them taking root. By the time he woke, his dreaming mind would have created a memory around these words. He’ll believe them. His truth, rewritten.
She slipped from his room feeling like a thief in the night. She was, wasn’t she? The worst sort of thief imaginable. How had it come to this?
Yvette’s magic masked her once more as she moved through the darkened keep and out into the frigid night.
The carriage was there waiting as Victor had said.
Yvette passed the horses, their nostrils sending puffs of steam out into the cold night.
Victor was speaking with two of his men as she approached.
“-one dosage each day.”
Yvette rounded the carriage in time to see him hand over a bottle of azure liquid.
The man’s brow pinched as he examined it. “What is it?”
“Magebane. It will make her weak and keep her from using magic. Do not forget. Do not underestimate her.”
He looked into the carriage hesitantly. “You’re sure it works?”
“Do you take me for a fool?” Victor snapped. “Of course it works. I’ve had a supply for years.” As he spoke, he tapped the blue stoned ring on his finger as evidence.
Yvette froze, the chill creeping over her skin having nothing to do with the frosty air.
He’d had Magebane for years? He must keep a dosage in that ring…
that ring that he wore always. It felt like the air was leaving her lungs.
She was one of the only people he had ever known with magic, certainly the only one who was more than a passing acquaintance.
What other conclusion could she draw but that he had sought it out as a precaution against her?
Betrayal lanced through her, lodging itself in her chest.
The pair continued to talk about the arrangements, but Yvette wasn’t listening.
Her mind was utterly overwhelmed. What did this mean?
For her? For them? Had he ever trusted her?
Her magics had fashioned her into a master of illusion, a crafter of reality…
Yet she had never been so unsure about what was real and what was deception.
It wasn’t until Victor started to complain about her lateness that Yvette turned her thoughts to the matter at hand.
She would find time to piece this all together later.
For now it was better to carry on, at least until she decided what this meant.
She choked down deep, even breaths of the freezing night air until she was collected enough to drop the illusion.
“Is it done?” Victor said as soon as he laid eyes on her.
Yvette nodded. “When he wakes, he’ll know that she left, that she isn’t coming back.”
He nodded a little absently and then turned away to speak to the driver again. When he returned to her, the carriage was pulling away into the night. He came to stand at her side, the satisfaction of his victory rolling off of him in waves.
“Well done, pet,” Victor whispered, putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek. His nose trailed to touch the shell of her ear. “What do you say we celebrate?”
“Not tonight,” Yvette said quietly, taking a step away. She could hardly stand his touch as confusion, guilt, and betrayal warred within her.
“Come now, darling.” His fingers traced the edge of her jaw. “Don’t be too soft hearted. You did well tonight.”
Yvette turned sharply from his touch. Sickness was pooling in her gut, rising. She needed to be alone, to think-
Her heart stopped as he grabbed her chin, this time holding her tightly. “You’re mine, pet. Let’s not forget.” His whisper was smooth and possessive.
Without thinking, Yvette pushed his hand away, hard. He stared at her in disbelief as her eyes widened with horror. She pulled on the shroud of her magic, a reflex as her heart began to race.
Victor’s features turned from shock to anger as she retreated. She choked down the sobs that tried to escape her, to expose her, knowing she couldn’t keep them silenced for long.
“Come back here,” he growled, turning on the spot to catch some hint of her presence.
Yvette did not turn as she raced into the castle, leaving Victor alone to rage against the night.