Chapter 3
Jane
The moonlight was a welcome reprieve from the infirmary bulbs, its beams slicing white across a sky on the verge of swallowing the last traces of dusk.
The air felt cooler than it had in recent days, easier to breathe.
Or perhaps it was the absence of Father's unconscious body that made it seem that way.
The staff had already gathered for dinner, the low hum of their conversation drifting through the doorway. I gave Joy one last look, catching the tight purse of her lips and her quiet nod before we stepped inside.
Two empty chairs awaited us, one beside Reagan, where I used to sit, and another to my right, Finnegan’s habitual place.
A soft breath caught beside me. Whether it was the seating arrangement or the watchful stares that unsettled Joy, I couldn’t tell.
“Please, join us,” Cerridwen said, her white hair twisted neatly at the back of her head, no horns interrupting the top of it anymore.
Beside her, Barracus inclined his head in greeting.
We circled the table, Joy keeping her eyes on the porcelain plates, shoulders wound tight.
“Thank you for coming,” Reagan said, his tone level. “How is your father?”
He sat comfortably in his chair, as if to put everyone else at ease, broad shoulders relaxed beneath a buttoned black shirt. His dark, ash-brown hair fell in loose, shorter strands. It looked recently trimmed. I didn’t remember if it was like this earlier.
His gaze flicked to the necklace at my throat. I’d put it back on; the location relic seemed to steady something in me that was still on edge ever since that day. That cabin.
Joy let out a sound halfway between a hum and a scoff. Every head turned her way, and I saw the instant she regretted it.
“He’s still unconscious,” I said. “Hildegard thinks he’ll wake once his body’s recovered.”
Finnegan offered a small, kind smile as we sat, the olive of his sweater catching the same hue in his eyes. Eyes that kept darting to my side.
“Let’s hope that’s soon,” Cerridwen said.
“If you need anything, either of you, say the word,” Reagan offered.
Gwin tilted her head, studying my sister as though trying to fit a new piece into an unfinished puzzle.
“But for now,” Reagan went on, “we have things to discuss.”
At his signal, dinner appeared, a spread of cream-slicked meat, steaming rice, and a salad glimmering with spinach, apricot, and toasted nuts. The scent of seasoning drifted through the air.
I filled Joy’s plate while she examined each dish, frowning as if trying to identify the ingredients. She murmured her thanks when I passed it to her.
“Berry wine?” Finnegan offered casually to Joy, lifting the decanter.
She found him watching her, found the easy smile on his lips, and scowled.
“No,” she said. “I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
The table stilled. Understanding flickered across his face, thickening the air in the room.
“Water will be fine,” I said, intercepting before the silence grew worse.
Finnegan obliged, pouring the other pitcher into our glasses, his silver-blonde hair catching the lamplight.
“Your sister was wary of us too, when she first arrived,” Cerridwen said gently. “Yet here she is. You have nothing to fear from us, Miss Darling.”
“That remains to be seen,” Joy said, casting a glance at Reagan.
“He’s not the one you should be afraid of,” Gwin drawled, smirking and pointing her fork to the end of the table. “Reagan’s got a leash at the moment, with your sister’s name on it. It’s turned him into a… How do I put it? A docile dimwit.”
Reagan shot her a withering look.
Gwin only smiled wider, her gaze slinking toward me. “See? He’s completely tamed. He’s caught that condition of a man who’s stopped using his brain because the blood’s busy under his trousers. Any trace of a spine just—” She blew a puff of air. “Evaporated. Out of his system.”
“Enough, Gwinifer,” Reagan muttered.
She flicked her hand dismissively. “I’m trying to lighten the mood. You’re all acting like the younger Darling will leap across the table and strike us all.”
My fork slipped from my hand, clattering against the plate. Irritation itched through me as I fixed her with a glare.
“I’ll do what?” Joy demanded, frowning at her plate.
“Spectacular job easing the tension, Gwin,” Finnegan said dryly, brows knitting in disapproval.
She raised both palms, feigning innocence, then leaned forward to pile food onto her plate.
The sound of spoons against porcelain was loud, grating.
It was hard enough to keep Joy from snapping as it was, and I didn’t have the energy to argue.
So I turned to Reagan, only to find he’d taken my plate and was quietly filling it.
The act was so unusual that Barracus’ gaze followed the movements.
“You said we needed to talk,” I said as Reagan passed me the plate. “I have something. I’ve agreed to see Malory in five days. I need to share what I’ve found about the interference in the curse.”
Rather, to tell her I had no theories about what had broken Mountheim’s wards and nearly condemned Reagan to a miserable fate.
“Finn and I have been handling that,” Reagan said as he served himself. “You don’t need to worry with theories right now. We’ll take your help when you’re ready.”
When I could think of anything beyond my comatose father, he meant.
“She won’t be pleased if Jane doesn’t go with you,” Barracus chimed in, his tone heavy enough to still the clink of silverware.
“I can go,” I said, realising I’d been munching on the food from how hungry I was, “but I’m worried about what to say.” My fleeting glance at Joy was explanation enough. “The last thing we need is more trouble.”
“There won’t be trouble if we do this right,” Reagan replied, tone calm, unusually gentle. “That’s why we need to see her, tell her the situation ourselves.”
Maybe it was the distance of the last four days, but I caught myself studying him, the softened focus as his gaze met mine, reminding me of what Gwinifer had said.
Reagan always carried an edge in his words, an arrogance I both resented and found myself drawn to. It was what made him sound so much like a leader to me and, often enough, like a prick.
That obnoxious way was still there. I had seen it while we talked outside the infirmary. I doubted it could ever vanish completely. Yet something in him had tempered, turned patient.
“We’ll also need you both to agree to testing before we bring anything to the judge,” Cerridwen added, using her knife to slice the meat in her plate. “She’ll want proof.”
“Judge?” Joy echoed. “Will she forbid us from returning home?”
“She won’t,” Reagan said evenly. “But she’ll inform you that you have no claim to those lands anymore.”
Joy went still beside me, but my gaze was caught on Cerridwen’s plate. She sat across from me, the knife glinting as it cut clean through the slab of meat. The edges tore slightly, bleeding red across the plate. Bright red.
My heart thrummed, a trickle of sweat trailing down my spine. I drew in a quiet breath.
“So you’ll keep us here, like you did Jane?” Joy’s voice rose a shade. “Like you manipulated her and forced her to stay with you?”
The accusation cut through my distraction. “Joy.”
A low laugh rolled out of Reagan. “Did I manipulate her? I don’t recall. You, on the other hand, I do remember needing a bit of manipulation, which was necessary. Finnegan followed my orders, in case you’re looking for someone to blame.”
A pulse of pain throbbed behind my temples. Cerridwen carved another piece, the clink of silverware ringing far too loud. Why was this room so warm?
“This isn’t why we’re here,” I cut in. “None of this helps. Our father’s still unconscious, and even if we wanted to leave, we can’t.” Joy dipped her chin, conceding, and I turned to Cerridwen. “How do we test it?”
“Madam Hildegard has an examination,” she explained. “It measures how much mana one can wield, if any. We already know your sister can.” Her gaze flicked to Joy before settling on me. “But you, Jane, we haven’t seen it. Reagan believes it’s there, but until we prove it, Malory won’t be convinced.”
“When we bring that proof to her,” Reagan said, “we’ll have a reason to justify Joy’s presence here and terminate your sentence.”
“And if the test shows we can’t?” I asked, since he sounded already too confident of this outcome. “What then?”
His eyes held mine, as though he was contemplating how to answer instead of just saying it. “If you can’t prove yours, it doesn’t change much. You already have reason to stay. What matters now is proving Joy’s access.”
Joy’s voice came out taut. “And what makes you so sure I have it?”
Reagan looked at her then, a gleam of appraisal sparked in his eyes. “You don’t remember? I suppose that makes sense. It didn’t look like you were controlling it. More like instinct. You defended yourself without thinking. It was impressive how much you wielded.”
My stomach twisted. I wanted to ask if that was what had struck my father, but the question would disturb her.
“Impressive?” I repeated.
Reagan met my gaze. “It was a powerful discharge. Probably five, maybe six times her weight. The exam will tell us, though the panic might have played a part. It’s clear that she didn’t know what she was doing.”
Joy’s head snapped in his direction. “You were the one doing something. How do I know it wasn’t you?”
Reagan cocked his head, eyes assessing. “Because I remember what happened.”
“I couldn’t have done that,” she gritted out, staring at her plate. “You’re trying to blame me for killing one of your monsters.”
“Maybe we should ask your father when he wakes,” Reagan replied, deceptively calm. “He’ll remember how you nearly took us all out. Including him.”
My head whipped toward him, but he ignored my frown. His gaze had fixed squarely on Joy.
“That’s not true,” she murmured.
“But it is.” Reagan leaned forward, deliberately. “You almost killed your father, Joy.”
“That’s enough,” I hissed.
“If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have. And if we don’t test you, you’ll become as dangerous to others as you are to yourself.”
I dug my nails into his forearm. “Stop talking.”
His obnoxious way was flaring to life together with my urge to throttle him.
Suddenly, my chair screeched across the floor as a gust tore through the windows. The silverware rattled on the table.
A puff of white curled from my lips as the temperature plunged. Frost unfurled across every surface of the room. Half the table glistened under a thin shell of ice that had crept over plates and glass, swallowing the steam rising from the food.
Something had shoved me back behind a ward that shimmered up to the ceiling.
My thoughts scattered as I staggered upright, facing a wall of black fabric.
Reagan was standing in front of me. He’d placed himself between me and Joy, his power thrumming faintly at his fingertips. When he lowered his hand, the ward dissolved.
Moving around him and evading his arm, I found Joy. Her cheeks were flushed, fingers trembling and rimmed with frost.
She was breathing hard.
I cursed and lunged forward, and at the same instant, Joy grunted. There wasn’t time to stop her. Before I reached her, she had crossed her arm over her mouth, sinking her teeth into the skin.
Another muffled grunt rumbled from her as she pressed her mouth harder. I schooled my expression, forcing her face toward mine.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, cupping her shoulders, striving to mask the worry as I noted the depth of the bite. “Look at me. Breathe with me.”
She grunted again, still clinging to her arm, and a single tear trailed down her cheek. Her eyes flickered unfocused, her chest heaving in ragged bursts.
I reached gently for her arm, drawing it away from her mouth. It was stiff, but the bite mark hadn’t broken the skin. I held her hands between my own, holding back a hiss at the biting cold.
Frost glazed the plates, the floor, the very air around her. The corners of the room shimmered with thin ice. My mind scrambled to understand what I was seeing.
What she’d done.
“Breathe,” I whispered, inhaling deeply, waiting until her breaths matched mine.
She followed, albeit shakily. Her lashes fluttered. Her throat moved with a hard swallow.
Behind her, Finn leaned forward, his eyes wide with something like regret, and set a ring upon the ice table.
Joy’s ring. The one he had slipped from her finger while we argued, so deftly she had never noticed.
“I suppose that’s your proof,” Gwinifer said.