Chapter 19
19
I met Henry the following night at the stables shortly after the sun had lowered below the horizon. Several oil lamps scattered throughout the place cast a golden glow on the Lord, who seemed to be lost in thought, standing between two saddled horses. He was dressed in black breeches and a deep-blue tunic, the color almost matching his eyes. A hooded, black cloak was draped over his shoulders, but I doubted it would do much to conceal him. People might not recognize who he was, but they would notice him—it would be impossible not to.
I was also dressed comfortably for the road, wearing my deep forest-green tunic and black leggings. I’d almost left my dark-brown cloak behind but was glad I’d brought it with me. It was a good idea to shield my face while we traveled. Especially once we reached Santoria, where the Sterns resided.
“Good evening,” Henry said, coming to stand closer to the massive, black horse to his left. His eyes were wary when he looked at me. “It’s not too late to change your mind,” he said, but his tone wasn’t, in the very least, hopeful.
“I’m going with you,” I declared, reaching up to lightly rub the side of the horse’s nose. “What’s his name?” I asked the Lord.
“Onyx,” Henry replied, scratching the horse behind the ear.
The stallion neighed softly, shaking his glossy, black mane.
“How fitting,” I murmured. “He’s beautiful.”
“Can you ride?” Henry asked, and I nodded. A look of surprise flickered across his features before he said with a heavy sigh, “In that case, you will need a horse.” He stepped closer to the brown mare to his right. “This is Annabelle. She is intuitive and sweet.”
“Hello, Annabelle.” I smiled at her, stroking the fine hairs of the mare’s neck.
“We will ride through the night,” Henry said as he finished strapping down the saddlebags on his steed. “I have packed some food and water for you. We should reach Avalon by sunrise. We will sleep there and then finish our journey at sundown.”
I nodded, checking the straps on the saddle. Avalon was the middle point between here and Santoria, so Henry’s travel plans made sense. Annabelle didn’t protest as I led her out of the stables into the cool night air. Henry and Onyx joined us a moment later. Placing my foot in the stirrup, I hoisted myself up onto my horse while Henry mounted his steed in one fluid motion. Under the shroud of darkness, we left the estate, setting off at a trot through the quiet streets of New Haven.
“How did you learn to ride a horse?” Henry asked as we rode through the city center.
The truth was, Waylon and I had spent a few months traveling around the country, looking for the Tear. He had insisted on that, hoping we’d find the amulet somewhere else, so I wouldn’t have to participate in the Selection again to get on the Duval Estate.
I didn’t want to tell Henry all that, so I settled on a partial truth.
“I had to learn so I could travel through the country, looking for the Tear,” I said, my eyes trained on the road.
“Where did you look for it, exactly? Your mother didn’t leave much information,” Henry pointed out.
I shrugged. “I tried shadow markets and rare amulet collectors. All I had was a sketch of the amulet, so I would show it to people and ask around. Never saying what the amulet was, of course.”
“Of course,” Henry murmured. I felt his gaze on me as he said, “You know I don’t believe you destroyed your mother’s note with the sketch of the Tear.”
My head swung to him, and several seconds passed as I held his piercing gaze, waiting for what he would say next.
“I understand why you lied. You probably thought I wouldn’t need you if I knew what the amulet looked like,” he continued, and I swallowed thickly. “I am okay with you keeping that knowledge to yourself. I trust you.”
He wouldn’t trust me if he knew the real reason why I hadn’t shown him the note, I thought as I turned my head, fixing my gaze straight ahead.
“Where do you think it came from?” Henry asked, also facing forward.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It would have to be a magical object, powerful enough to destroy Dark Witches. Perhaps White Witches made it.”
“Perhaps,” Henry said, lost in thought. “If they did, I don’t understand why they wouldn’t use it during the War.”
“Me either.” I shook my head.
So many things were still a mystery, including how my mother had known about the amulet. Had she ever been in the possession of it? If she had, why hadn’t she used it to destroy Dark Witches and vampires alike?
We rode in silence for a few minutes as I looked around me at the familiar shops that were closed for the night. When we passed by Baylor’s Corner, my mind wandered to Waylon. I’d seen him at the border during the past week, but we hadn’t spoken since the night the Dark Witches attacked. I’d often caught him looking at Henry and me with a hard expression on his face as if he didn’t like seeing me next to the Lord. I wished I’d had a chance to tell him I was one step closer to finding the Tear.
“So, are you ready to tell me about the Order of Light?” Henry asked, and my head whipped in his direction. One side of his mouth turned up as he looked at me. “I did a bit of investigating after you’d told me you had been patrolling the streets. I was relieved to learn you hadn’t been doing it alone.”
I searched Henry’s face with wide eyes. He didn’t seem upset, only amused by my reaction.
I swallowed and decided to go with the truth since the Lord knew most of it already.
“Waylon created the Order when the Ravager attacks started. He also taught me how to fight.”
“Is he the guard from the border?” Henry asked, and I nodded. “Your lover?” There was curiosity in his tone.
“No.” I shook my head, and the Lord gave me a skeptical look. “Not a lover…a friend who’s always wanted to be more. I’ve taken advantage of his feelings for me in the past, but I’ve decided I would no longer do that.”
I wasn’t sure why I’d shared what I had. Perhaps saying the words out loud made my decision to end things with Waylon more real, as if I were setting it in stone.
“How mature of you,” Henry teased, and I rolled my eyes.
Thankfully, we didn’t continue talking about my personal life because the Lord changed the subject.
“So, you traveled the country searching for the amulet, learned how to fight, and patrolled the streets, trying to prevent Ravager attacks. You had a busy year.”
He sounded impressed, and I couldn’t fight a small smile that pulled at my lips.
“I prefer it that way,” I said, my smile fading. “If I’m busy, then I don’t have time to dwell on the past or the things that are out of my control,” I admitted.
Henry’s eyes softened. “I understand. That’s why I spend so much time at the border.”
We stared at each other in silence for a moment. We were more alike than I’d realized.
The thought made me uncomfortable, and I cleared my throat before asking, “What’s the plan once we get to the Stern Estate?”
“I’ll compel the staff so we can search the mansion,” Henry replied.
“Will the clan be away?” I asked, frowning. Surely, he had thought the whole thing through.
“Yes.” Henry nodded. “They will be away in the Northern region. I’ve asked Camilla to provide a distraction.”
“What?” I jerked on the reins, making Annabelle stop and turn toward Onyx. Henry stopped his steed as well. “You told Camilla about the amulet?” I asked him, dismayed. It was bad enough that he and Isabelle knew.
“I didn’t tell her about the Tear. I told her I needed the Sterns away from the estate. She agreed to provide a distraction,” Henry explained.
“Do you think you can trust her?” I demanded.
“Yes,” he said confidently. “She has been a friend of the family for centuries.”
A low growl of frustration left me as I steered Annabelle toward the outskirts of the city and resumed our faster pace.
“You are upset with me,” Henry said, quickly catching up with me on my right. It wasn’t a question but a statement.
“I am more upset with myself for not asking what the plan was until now.” I scowled.
“It’s not the best plan, but it’s the only one we’ve got,” the Lord replied.
“What if we don’t find it?” I voiced one of my greatest fears as despair threatened to pull me under.
“Then we will figure out the next step,” Henry said calmly. “One step at a time, remember?”
His confidence and composure soothed my nerves, and my breaths became more even.
“Tell me more about your life,” I asked, looking for a distraction, willing my tense muscles to relax as we rode out of New Haven.
The Lord agreed to entertain me with his stories, and the next few hours were spent in conversation or amicable silence until we reached Avalon—a smaller city on the coast of the Starling Sea. It sat on the border with the Southern region and was one of my favorite places in the Empire. Waylon and I had visited it during our search for the Tear last year, and I’d fallen in love with the dazzling blue waters and the white beaches. Looking at the horizon where the sky met the Sea had made me feel limitless, as if there was a world of possibilities out there in the vast expanse of the blue waters. This time, I wouldn’t get to see the coastline in the light of day, and that made me a little sad. I needed to experience that feeling again, to reignite the spark of hope that had been doused by grief after Rory’s death.
When we arrived in Avalon, Henry pulled up the hood of his cloak to shield his face, and I did the same, noticing people still milling around despite it being the late hours of the night. The city was located some distance away from the border, and I assumed people here were not as concerned about being snatched up by Dark Witches, having the freedom to stay out even at night.
“Follow me,” Henry said, turning into an alleyway branching off the main city street.
We stopped at a medium-sized inn nestled between two taverns not far from the beach. I longingly glanced at the water glistening in the silvery moonlight as we walked to the entrance after leaving the horses at the stables.
“Two adjoining rooms if you have them,” Henry said, pulling some money from his cloak pocket. “Only for a day.”
The small foyer of the inn was mostly cast in shadows, the only light coming from a lone oil lamp on the front desk. The innkeeper nodded and grabbed the money, giving Henry two keys in exchange. He looked uneasy, eyeing the Lord as if trying to peer into the darkness hiding his face. Henry towered over him, his broad form taking up most of the foyer. I wondered if some inherent instinct was telling the innkeeper to be wary, that he was in the presence of something supernatural and inhuman.
Henry and I exchanged “goodnights” and retreated to our adjoining rooms. There was no running water, so I washed up the best I could using the lukewarm water that had been sent to my room. When I settled in the bed, sleep wouldn’t come. I lay there for several long minutes, my eyes peeled and staring at the wall. I had barely gotten any sleep since Rory’s death four days ago, and it looked like tonight would be yet another sleepless night. With a sigh, I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling for a few more minutes before giving up and leaving the bed.
Forgoing bringing my cloak, I slipped out of the inn and headed for the beach, dressed in the simple cotton tunic and thin leggings I’d brought with me to change into. A smile tugged at my lips as the balmy sea air clung to my skin, and the breeze stirred my unbound hair. I liked being here, close to the water and far from New Haven, where the horrors of my past lay. My steps faltered when I saw a tall figure standing by the water.
“You should be trying to get some rest,” Henry said when I approached.
He didn’t look at me. His eyes were trained on the murky waters sparkling in the light of the moon.
“So should you,” I countered, coming to stand next to him on the shore, my booted feet sinking into the sand.
“Sleep has eluded me since Rory’s death,” the Lord admitted, and my heart squeezed.
“Me, too,” I said low. “I keep thinking there was something I could’ve done to prevent what happened,” I confessed as my eyes pricked with tears.
“Her death is not on you; it is on me,” Henry said vehemently, turning to me. “I was the one who’d brought her into this life.”
“You thought you were saving her,” I pointed out, my brows knitting.
“Vincent thought he was saving me,” Henry said bitterly. “Perhaps I am even more like my father than I realized. We both made poor decisions that cost lives.”
The last sentence confused me. Was he referring to Vincent turning him? Did he think his life was over the moment he became a vampire?
“You are still here,” I said, my eyes searching his face.
“Living a life I never wanted,” Henry bit out.
I was at a loss for words for a few seconds until I found the ones that felt right.
“I didn’t know Vincent, but from what you’ve told me, he had strong values and always wanted to do the right thing. If anything, you should be comparing yourself to him in that regard.”
The Lord stared at me in shock for a moment. He seemed genuinely astonished. I could see it in his widened eyes and slightly parted lips.
“I think this is the first time you have ever said anything nice to me,” he said as a flicker of amusement crossed his striking features.
My cheeks heated as I averted my gaze.
“Don’t get used to it,” I said, trying to sound firm, but I couldn’t fight a small smile as it graced my lips.