Chapter Nineteen Kit
Chapter Nineteen
Kit
Catharine and I emerge from the room once we are composed, long after Byrne must have left. Abram lingers in the main hall. He gives us a concerned look, and I muster a small smile.
“We’re all right.” I answer his unspoken question. “And … back to normal.”
Catharine dips her head. “Thank you for your assistance.”
“Of course.” Abram straightens. “King Byrne stormed out. I’m not sure where he’s gone.”
“Has Idris returned yet?” I ask.
Abram shakes his head. “I haven’t seen him.”
I glance at the clock on the mantel. It is only seven, though the night feels much longer. We still have a few hours before the curse will pull Idris away.
“I don’t think Idris should go alone,” I tell Abram. “I spoke with him earlier, and he seemed … I fear he might do something rash.”
Abram frowns. “I’ll look for him.”
“I have something for him.” I touch the bag at my hip. But it doesn’t feel right to just pass the skin along like a parcel. “Can you make sure I see him before midnight?”
“Yes. In the meantime, you should both get some food.” He glances at Catharine again. “Do you need passage off Skyare?”
“Will your father allow us to stay longer?” she asks. “If he can provide refuge for us, I think we would be safer here.”
“I’m sure something can be arranged.” Abram steps toward the door. “The hotel serves a good meal. Let me get you both settled, and then I’ll go and find my father and explain the situation.”
I’m not sure that Abram himself fully understands the situation, but my heart warms with gratitude. He is willing to take our word that something is wrong and act on it without the details.
As I walk with Abram and Catharine out onto the street, I let myself run through the possibilities.
To expose Byrne would cost my own reputation.
Any prospects I had—such as they were—would dry up immediately and forever.
If Byrne could so casually do what he did, why would any other man consider me worthy of more?
A familiar question echoes in my mind: What about me is so broken that it attracted Byrne’s attention?
I shake my head, trying to banish the thoughts. Catharine accepted me and puts the blame squarely on her father. If she can do it, perhaps others would too.
Perhaps I can.
But even if my reputation were miraculously intact after we made the accusation, there is still little chance Byrne would be punished.
He is charismatic, known as a good ruler, seen publicly as a kind father.
He would twist our words and, somehow, come out the victim.
I don’t know what kind of retribution I want, but justice doesn’t seem like a possibility.
My joints are less swollen than I remember, and though making a fist is not easy, it is easier.
I wonder if, just as Byrne’s attacks woke a “curse” in me, Catharine’s kindness has woken something else.
I weave a new future in my mind, the threads made from moments I’ve collected today—Catharine’s tight embrace, Idris’s earnest gaze. In this future, I am not alone.
The street narrows to only allow two together comfortably. I slow, letting Abram and Catharine ahead of me. As I follow, I catch Abram asking softly, “How are you?”
“A bit shaken,” Catharine answers.
His hand moves as if to take hers, but he lets it fall back to his side. Before his hand comes to rest, Catharine extends her fingers and brushes them against his. As I glance away, a tiny glow of happiness grows in my chest.
Abram finds us a private table in the hotel and excuses himself to search for his father and Idris.
He promises to bring them back so we can all make a plan together.
I hold my bag with its precious skin on my lap, waiting for the chance to tell them the news.
While Catharine and I eat, I listen to the murmur of voices and snatches of song in the main room.
I wonder whether Idris has eaten, wherever he is. Somewhere outside, a dog barks.
“Shouldn’t Abram be back by now?” I ask, my leg bouncing as I watch the clock tick toward eleven. “He’s been gone a long time.”
“Maybe …”
The dog has been barking for several minutes now with an increasingly frantic edge to it. I wait for someone to go out and calm him, but as the seconds crawl, by the howling continues.
Finally, I can’t stand to listen anymore, and I rise. “I’m going to go make sure that dog’s all right.”
“All right.” Catharine begins to get up too.
“It’s fine. I’ll be right back.” I slip out of the door, leaving her by the warm fire.
The hotel has grown crowded, with enough noise in the main room that the dog’s barks are lost amidst the talk.
I slip out into the cold dark, pulling my pelisse closer round me.
I follow the sound of the barking round the side of the hotel to the stables, where the door sits closed.
Beyond it, the dog has worked himself into a frenzy.
“Just a moment,” I call, raising the latch. “I’m coming.”
At the sound of my voice, the barks split into whines. I push the door aside, and True flings himself in my direction. A rope at his neck jerks him back before he can reach me, and he paws the ground and whimpers.
“True!” I hurry to him and work at the knot on his collar. “What in the world …?”
True licks my wrist frantically, wagging his tail so hard it whips me. The knot only grows tighter as he pulls, and with my stiff fingers it takes me a minute to get it loose. The moment he is free, True bolts for the door.
“True!” I run after him. He makes straight for the harbor, and as soon as he reaches the water’s edge he paces the shoreline, whining. I look to the boats pulled up on their nousts and then out at the ones moored near the pier. Though it is still an hour till midnight, Idris’s yole is missing.
My blood goes cold. Idris has left True.
I am not sure exactly what that means, but I know it’s bad.
I turn away from the harbor and scan the surrounding streets.
Three men are speaking in one of the nearby squares, and I recognize Abram’s glasses.
I take a step forward and check myself. Across from Abram stands Byrne, gesturing to emphasize whatever he is saying.
I can’t risk being seen by Byrne. But Abram needs to know something is very wrong.
I grab True’s collar and haul him round to face the men.
“Look!” I command, pointing. “Look, True! It’s Abram!”
True tries to twist toward the water, and my fingers pinch as the joints strain. It takes all my strength to keep him facing the right direction.
“Look!” I point again.
Abram steps away from the other two, preparing to depart.
At last, True fixes on him. With a wild wiggle, he wrenches out of my hands and flies down the street.
I follow in the shadows, though I can’t get close enough to hear clearly without stepping into the light of the square.
The wind whips the men’s voices away from me.
True barrels into Abram, nearly knocking him flat. With an exclamation, Abram drops into a squat, saying something to the dog. I can see the third man clearly now—King Hugh. He speaks quickly, looking around.
The wind stills long enough for me to make out a word. “Idris?”
I press into the alcove of a doorway. When Idris does not emerge, his father walks swiftly toward the harbor. The others hurry to keep up, and the three men pass close by me. As Byrne moves upwind, I catch the faintest hint of his evergreen scent. My stomach twists.
“He’s gone,” King Hugh says. He swears and turns to Abram. “That settles it. I’m getting the yole ready. We’ll need your help to navigate.”
“Of course,” Abram replies, “if you’re really sure …”
“I am.” King Hugh hurries toward the docks, Byrne on his heels.
Abram stays where he is, looking down at True as if considering whether he should bring Idris’s dog. True whines.
“What are they doing?” I ask, stepping out of my hiding place.
Abram jumps. “Kit!”
“I found True tied up at the hotel,” I tell him. “Idris left him there, I think. What’s going on?”
“Father is determined to go after him this time,” Abram says. “I didn’t have a chance to explain about King Byrne—they were already in conversation when I got there, and I didn’t wish to …”
“Upset him?” I can’t keep the disappointment out of my voice.
Abram flushes. “I’m sorry. I should have spoken up.”
I can’t really blame him, considering I have barely spoken against my stepfather. I tuck away my annoyance for later. “What does Byrne have to do with your father sailing after Idris?”
“I don’t know. Father was upset about an argument he had with Idris. He wants to go after him, and evidently King Byrne is determined to help.” Abram rubs his arms against the cold. “I’ll have to navigate—no one else knows the way.”
I touch the folded selkie skin inside my bag. It thrums with longing. I wonder if it senses the door to the Hidden Lands will soon open. “I’m coming too.”
Abram opens his mouth as if to protest, then seems to reconsider. “It will be dangerous, but I could use your help. If Idris is fully enchanted again, you’re better at bringing him around than I am.”
Warmth spreads over my cheeks, and I hope the dark will disguise it.
“But a yole won’t leave you any place to hide,” Abram continues. He turns toward the harbor and adjusts his glasses, examining the boat the two kings are now preparing. “Will you be all right with Byrne?”
A long, dark journey sitting across from my stepfather sounds like the stuff of nightmares. Even if there are two men with me to act as a buffer, I would do almost anything to avoid it. “If there was a way we could postpone him realizing I am with you, I would be grateful.”
Abram nods, thoughtful. “If we take two yoles, I could tell them Jay has come with me.”
I haven’t thought of Jay in some time. “Where has Mr. Berd been?”
“Home.” Abram looks pained. “He wanted to stay out of your way in case he inadvertently caused more trouble.”
I nod, not sure how to feel about someone who thought I would kidnap Catharine.