Chapter 15 Esmerelda
ESMERELDA
“This could be totally random, and I know it’s probably an unpopular opinion, but what if the person who attacked our families is the same person behind the warehouse fire and the kidnapped guides?” Min’s statement renders the room silent.
Not just quiet, but eerily silent. You could hear a mouse skitter across the floor. A fly landing would sound like thunder.
She throws her hands up as everyone turns to stare at her. “Wait, just hear me out. I know you both want to believe the other is responsible for your family’s attacks, but what if this has all been part of the plan from the start?”
“You know…” Leonard leans back in his chair, eyes narrowing. “As much as I hate to admit it, she’s making sense.”
Min shoots him a look for the jab, but he presses on. “It’s actually brilliant.”
“You’re not supposed to admire the villain,” I scowl, but the words sound hollow even as they leave my mouth. My jaw tightens, heat prickling under my skin because, damn it, he’s right. And that’s what grates under my skin. It shouldn’t make sense, shouldn’t click into place so neatly, but it does.
My wolf shifts uneasily, ears flat as if she doesn’t like the truth any more than I do. I hate that part of me can’t argue, that the logic has a chokehold on me.
Leonard shrugs. “Think about it. Hit both sides, set off a chain of retaliation. You two walked right into it. So much so, they forced a marriage for peace. That’s not coincidence. It’s a fucking brilliant strategy.”
I sink onto the couch, the cushions swallowing me whole.
My mind won’t stop racing. Could this all really be one elaborate setup?
Suddenly I’m second-guessing everything.
The walls feel like they’re closing in, pressing the question tighter against my chest until I can hardly breathe.
If it is a setup, then I’ve walked right into it, blind and willing. I gave up everything. Everything.
“Hold on.” Marcus’s voice cuts through the rising chatter. “Min, do you have another color in that bag of yours?”
She springs up and digs through her bottomless tote.
I swear she could survive an apocalypse with what she keeps in there.
She produces a ball of turquoise yarn, and Marcus unravels a length.
Pinning one end where the warehouse fire started and the other where the kidnapping happened, he threads the line taut.
Then he grabs a red pin and drives it into the center point.
“What if we’re going about this the wrong way?” he says. “What if it’s not just one person, but two, or even a network? Could be, whoever orchestrated this is operating from right here, in the middle.” He circles the red pin, turning it into a bullseye.
Leonard strokes his chin. “You might be right. And the worst part? The attack on our guides? There were children there. No one’s safe. If this is deliberate, it’s far bigger than a simple vendetta.”
If this is true, then what’s the next step? My gut twists, because I can’t see them stopping now. News must’ve spread already that we’re still alive. That makes us unfinished business. Prey they’ll keep hunting.
At least the council moved Beth, my nanny, to another town, surrounding her in layers of guards and magic.
No one will ever be able to find her and do what they did to my family.
That thought eases the pressure in my chest by a fraction, but it doesn’t last. Because if they can’t get to us, what if they go after our packs?
Or should I say pack? Singular. The word should taste bitter. The fact that I was forced to merge my pack with Marcus’s. The families that were. The families that aren’t anymore. My wolf bares her teeth, a snarl rising in my throat, sharp and feral. But me? I don’t feel that bitter anymore.
I shove it back down. This line of thinking is a trap, spiraling tighter until it strangles. It won’t help me, won’t help anyone, if I unravel now. But gods, it’s hard to breathe past the weight of what could come next.
“Okay,” I say, trying to sound practical. “Say you’re right. How do we narrow this down? We still have an army of enemies in this region. It’s not like we can just knock on doors and ask who slaughtered our families,” I mutter.
Leonard flips open the spreadsheet Marcus insisted on keeping. I hated the idea before, but now? It’s a relief to see the names organized and cross-referenced. For all the disdain I had for Marcus and keeping his nose in books, I see the merit now.
“No,” Min says, eyes glinting, “but I might know someone who can help.”
“Really?” I ask. “Who?”
“My great-great-great-uncle-in-law.”
Marcus and I exchange a look. “Huh?” we say in unison.
She waves a dismissive hand. “Belvedere.”
“Oh, right!” I’d heard of this infamous Belvedere but never actually met him. “And who does Belvedere know that can help us?”
“It’s not who he knows. It’s what he knows. He’s an immortal trickster. Knows enough about magic to fell a kingdom, but at the heart of it, he’s just a giant goof who loves mischief. If anyone can help us, he’s definitely the one.
I sigh. “All right. It’s about time I got to meet him in person.”
Belvedere agreed to help, and even made a glamour for the pixies posted outside to stand guard so everything appeared normal to them.
Min tossed a handful of glittering sugar crystals to keep them busy while he put the glamour in place—which he could do even without being anywhere near them—as we slipped past. A small part of me felt bad about ditching them.
They’ll no doubt get in trouble for letting us escape, but it isn’t my problem they’re so easily distracted with being compelled to count each granule of sugar.
I just hope the glamour on the council works just as well.
After about two hours of travel, followed by another forty-five minutes on a potholed dirt road, we arrive at the edge of a forest. There’s no visible entrance. Just a wall of overgrown bushes that look suspiciously like poison ivy but smell sweet, like jasmine.
“Are you sure your great-great-great-uncle-in-law hasn’t moved?” I mutter.
“No, he’s still here,” Min insists. “Just give me a second.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and dials. “Belvedere, it’s Minerva, let us in!”
A voice that sounds more like it’s coming from the hedge than the phone rumbles back. “Password?”
Min groans. “Not saying that.”
“Then you’re not getting in.”
“Belvedere, stop messing around, you know it’s me!”
“One can never be too careful, my dear.”
Min rolls her eyes. “Fine. Ugh, I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She clears her throat and mumbles, “I like big dicks and I cannot lie.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.” Belvedere replies.
“Ugh, fine. I like big dicks and I cannot lie!” Min yells.
The three of us burst out laughing as Min turns a deep shade of crimson. “Just you wait,” she mutters. “You’ll see. And when he starts his tricks on you, I don’t want to hear it.”
I put my arm around Min’s shoulders and give her a squeeze. “We’re just messing with you. Ignore us, okay?”
She grumbles something unintelligible, and I give her another squeeze.
The bushes shimmer, parting with a ripple of iridescent light. We take the narrow path, which winds toward a cottage of purple stone, smoke curling from its chimney. The front door bursts open with theatrical flair, and Belvedere struts out.
A paisley robe swirls around him like peacock feathers, his hair sculpted into backward-sweeping horns—one orange, one yellow.
Glitter is dusted over them so they sparkle in the light.
His eyelids shimmer with butterfly-wing eye shadow, lashes tipped in gold.
He spreads his arms like he’s about to take a bow on stage.
“Minerva, darling!” he exclaims.
She barely makes it out of the car before he sweeps her up and spins her around like she weighs nothing. He plants a noisy kiss on her cheek, then turns his gaze on Marcus and me.
“Well, fuck me purple,” he breathes, fanning himself with one hand. “Min, you wicked little brat, you didn’t tell me you were bringing dessert.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t play coy, darling,” Belvedere croons, sweeping toward me.
He takes my hand, bows over it like a courtier, and kisses my knuckles so extravagantly I half expect him to sprain his jaw.
Then he pretends to stagger back, clutching his chest. “That beauty! That aura! If I didn’t love this outfit so much, I’d fall to my knees. ”
I flush despite myself.
And then his gaze snaps to Marcus. His eyes widen. His grin turns positively feral.
“Oh. My. Gods.” Belvedere clutches at his robe as if it can’t contain him. “Minerva, why did you not warn me? This one’s a full-course meal. Broad shoulders, brooding brow, jawline sharp enough to slice bread—no, darling, to slice diamonds.”
Marcus steps out of the car, towering over him, hand extended politely. Belvedere bats it away with a gasp. “Hands? Hands are for strangers. Come here, mountain man.”
Before Marcus can react, Belvedere engulfs him in a hug so enthusiastic his feet leave the ground.
“Gods above, he’s solid!” Belvedere croons, giving Marcus’s chest an appreciative pat. “All muscle and menace. I’ve died and gone to heaven. Tell me, darling, do you scowl like that all the time, or is it just for me?”
“Mostly for you,” Marcus deadpans.
Belvedere fans himself dramatically. “Oh, the wit. He broods and banters. Esmerelda, darling, I’m in love. If your husband ever gets tiresome, do call me. I’ll be waiting in silk sheets.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.”
“Or…if you aren’t willing to part with him, you could always join, darling.”
Marcus gives me a sharp side-eye.
Belvedere notices and gasps. “Ooooh! Is that tension? Delicious. The possessive glare, the territorial growl I can practically hear. Oh, yes, he’s definitely the jealous type. Gods, I do love a man who growls.”
I cross my arms. “Belvedere, he’s mine.”