Chapter Nineteen #2
The gate to the manor is open as usual, but as I head to the front door, shouting and screaming from within make my feet run faster.
Knocking hard on the solid wooden door, no one answers.
I peer around the house looking for anyone outside, gazing through the windows, hoping for a gap in the darkened curtains.
The shouting gets louder and more ferocious.
I twist the door handle and push it open slightly, calling inside, amongst all the yelling, no one seems to notice my presence.
I push the door open further and make to step into the house when a thundering of feet runs down the stairs, rushing past me deep into the house.
I follow the loud voices into the grand dining room, the most well-kept room in the manor, or just unused. With only a thin layer of dust collected along the surfaces, the sage green walls are worn but still quite vibrant.
In the centre of the room is a large oak table, carefully varnished over the years. At the other end of the room, the governor stands with his palms resting on the table while his daughters scream at him.
Still, no one notices my presence, I sit down on one of the chairs, waiting for a moment to announce myself.
Listening closely, I make out a few words: ‘tutor,’ ‘necessary,’ ‘mother.’ The screaming gives me a headache, and anger boils inside.
I push up, gripping the table, and the chair collapses behind me.
“Enough!”
In a short, sharp burst, an eruption of white flame blasts from my hands, blazing across the wooden table. Splintering the wood, jolting the Governor’s hand. Cradling his hand, the governor lifts his head to me, and his daughters stop in their tracks, staring at me with wide, exasperated eyes.
Taking deep breaths, the magic ebbs away, my pulse slows, and I catch sight of the scorch marks burned into the table as I remove my hands. The governor watches me warily. I wonder if he is going to throw me out for endangering his family.
Staggeringly, he bursts into hysterics. His girls stare at him in shock, and the youngest starts crying at his outburst. I fix my chair and sit back down at the table and wait for him to come to his senses.
Megan and Eliza follow my lead, sniffling and wiping away their tears.
I trace the singe marks on the table, hot under my fingertips, the new dips in the wood are smooth to the touch. This power amazes me.
Beautiful but dangerous.
Ten minutes or so passes before the governor straightens himself out. Pulling out a chair at the opposite end of the table, his eyes never leave mine.
“You’re the one he’s looking for,” he says bluntly.
“Adrian sent missives to all towns and cities within Linorah, telling us to inform him immediately of any strange newcomers.” Smirking, he leans on his elbows.
Seemingly a different man, more composed, more authoritative, the presence of a governor.
“Yes,” I say, unable to meet his gaze.
His words shake me to my core, my heart thundering beneath my ribs. Missives sent to every city and town. Adrian is more determined than I realised to find me, there’s nowhere to hide. Nowhere I’ll be safe. Placing my hands on my lap, I scratch my nail against the pad of my finger.
“So, here’s my dilemma,” he says, rubbing his stubbly beard. “Do I alert the High Lord to your presence here in my town, or do I ignore his commands?”
My brows crease. Ignore his commands. Why would he do such a thing?
His gaze drifts to his girls sitting quietly, longing in their eyes. His face softens, and he takes in the disaster that is his house; his eyebrows furrow, and disbelief screams from his face.
“Our house has fairly fallen into madness, hasn’t it?” He looks to the girls. “I’m sorry, I haven’t been here with you, I’ve stayed stuck in my grief for far too long. For that, I can only apologise.” Megan and Eliza rush over, throwing their arms around him.
The family embrace, tears streaming down their cheeks, having awoken from this nightmare. Governor Thran brushes back the hair from both his daughters’ faces. I feel slightly awkward intruding on such a personal moment, but I dare not move.
Lifting his head, he turns his attention back to me, all colour draining from his face. “You look like someone I once knew. But it can’t be.” His forehead wrinkles in confusion. “You look remarkably like my old friend Edrina.”
“Edrina?” I ask, “Princess Edrina?”
“Yes, one and the same. Forgive me, I must be mistaken because…”
“Because the entire Tanith family was killed?” I chew on the inside of my cheek, forcing myself to keep eye contact, even though the pressure of his gaze physically pains me. “I heard that someone escaped.”
“Rumours.” He waves his hand dismissing the idea.
“But what if it wasn’t… a rumour? What if Edrina really did escape from the castle that night? And gave her young daughter to a couple of strangers as she was dying on the side of the road.”
Governor Thran’s eyes remain unblinking, but I can see the cogs turning in his head, trying to figure out if what I say is a lie or not. “Why would she do that?”
I contemplate my options: do I give away my secret, or do I play the part of the fearful witch, hunting precious Zury patrols?
The latter is far from the right route to take.
Then again, if I explain who I really am, and it doesn’t go my way, I could leave.
There’s nothing stopping me from running into the forest and heading for Yiren as planned.
But… if I exclaim my true self and he is telling the truth; I could gain an ally. Or at the very least, insight into my real parents. Who they were, what they were like. Thran is the first person I have come across who actually knew them.
My gaze drops to my clenched fists, my fingernails digging deep enough to draw blood.
A pain I have come to embrace in recent weeks, grounding me to the here and now.
When everything about this situation seems so surreal.
A dream, trapping me in my head, taking inspiration from the games I played as a child.
Little nips of my skin, bites of my cheek, scratching of my nails, all remind me that this is my reality now.
“Um… maybe she was trying to keep me safe.” I glance up through my lashes, waiting for realisation to hit the Governor.
“You said ‘keep me safe’?” he exhales with a puff, “Andrina?”