Chapter 12 #2
“Are you sure about that?” If Caroline still cared for Darcy, that would explain her sour attitude toward me.
“Positive.”
Steam wafted to me from the shower, and I turned my face away to hide my blushing cheeks. “I don’t see what that has to do with Easton’s death or why he was so mad.”
“I think he had a thing for Caroline, but she didn’t return his feelings. I’m not sure what that has to do with his death though.”
I chewed my lip, trying to connect the dots.
Crimes of passion were pretty common, but if Easton had no girlfriend, there went that theory.
Plus, I couldn’t help but feel like his death was connected to today’s attack.
“If we assume that the person from today is the same who killed Easton, then we can rule out any Unmarked as suspects.”
The water shut off, and the door opened, bringing a rush of humid air with it. The air shifted in front of me as Darcy reached for a towel. I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter and tried to focus on the issue at hand. “Is there a way to track the magic from today?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” His voice was muffled, probably pulling a shirt over his head. “But we can at least start by making a list of those with strong enough nature magic to have pulled off a stunt like today.”
“Do you have any idea who it could be?”
“No, do you?”
“No, I—” I cut off, remembering the man with the sunglasses. Could he be involved? I hadn’t seen him before that night at the club, and he’d had the silvery outline of the Marked. He was probably one of the Bingleys’ bodyguards.
“Did you think of something?” With Darcy out of the shower and the water no longer running, his voice was too close, too deep, too protective.
“I’m not sure.” I fought off another shiver and touched the blindfold reflexively. Being in the dark made me feel even more vulnerable.
“You can take off the tie now.”
I removed it slowly, giving him a few extra seconds to get fully clothed.
He took my hand in his strong one. “What did you think of a moment ago?”
“I might have an idea of someone.”
“Is it Riley?”
“What? No. Of course not. Riley would never hurt me.” I shook my head.
“But there’s a man I’ve seen a few times.
He was there that night at the club, and I saw him again at the festival.
He’s Marked and may be connected to your group.
At least, he was with the group who knew you were staying at Netherfield.
And if he has weather magic, he’s probably fae. ” I should’ve known to suspect a fae.
Darcy’s expression grew as stormy as the weather.
“I tried to catch him at the fair, but he got away and—”
“That’s why you took off? He could have killed you!” Darcy’s voice cracked, and fury raged in his eyes.
“But he didn’t.” I threw my shoulders back. “I’m not completely defenseless, you know.”
“That’s probably why he attacked you, because you chased after him yesterday.” Darcy’s strained breathing filled the limited space between us, and I struggled to read the emotions in his eyes. There was frustration, sure, that was nothing new, but there was something else.
Not wanting to go back to the earlier tension, I said, “Thanks for what you did.”
He blinked at me in surprise. Clearly, my thanks was the last thing he’d expected.
“I don’t know if I said it before, but I’m glad you were there.”
“I’m glad I was there too,” he muttered, some of the stress leaking from his expression.
We stood there for a moment in silence.
“Do you think Charles and Jane are back yet?” I asked.
Darcy let out a slow breath and opened the bathroom door. “They should be.” He smiled, and though it looked forced, at least he was trying. “We should find your sister. I’m afraid to think of what she might do to me if I kept you in here much longer.”
I laughed, the sound foreign after the stress from the last hour, then my eyes widened. “I didn’t know you could joke around.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” His eyes were hooded.
My stomach tightened, reminding me of how right he was. His not being a murderer answered one question about Darcy, but there were still a hundred more demanding attention. Unsure what to do, I changed the subject. “Jane is far too sweet to hurt anyone.”
“At least not on purpose,” he murmured so softly I wasn’t sure if he’d intended for me to hear.
We followed the scent of cinnamon drifting in the air to the kitchen to find Jane brewing a pot of tea. Charles stood next to her, the two of them speaking in soft voices.
At our approach, Jane passed everyone steaming mugs and Charles led us into a sitting room which already had a crackling fire.
I settled myself on the floor in front of the flames, and Darcy joined me, both of us holding our mugs of tea with one hand.
Charles joined Jane on the couch, a hard mask falling over his expression. “I think we should leave Austen Heights.”
Jane blanched. “You’re leaving?”
Charles met her gaze with regret. “Hopefully not for long, but until things have calmed down, it might be for the best.”
“Don’t I have a say in this?” I held up the arm linked to Darcy. “If he leaves, I have to leave too, and I can’t go right now.” Although I still had zero leads and nothing to turn in for my outline tomorrow, I couldn’t leave my family.
“She’s right. It isn’t fair to uproot Elizabeth,” Darcy said. “We’re better off finding whoever killed Easton and putting a stop to this before anyone else gets hurt.”
“I agree.” I tried to ignore how the feel of Darcy sitting so close made my heart pound.
“We need to make a list of any fae with nature magic strong enough to have manipulated the lightning.” Darcy’s lips pressed into a firm line, and the firelight flickered over his eyes, making them appear a darker green than normal.
“With the storm as strong as it was, it wouldn’t have taken as much magic as usual,” Charles said. “I don’t think we’ll be able to narrow it down with that.”
Darcy scowled. “Well, we need to do something—”
“No, you need to stay here and let me do my job,” Charles interrupted. “You’re lucky I had a tracker on you. Who knows what else could have happened?”
“A tracker?” I glanced between the two men, who were exchanging a tense look.
Charles’s words peeled away the last layer of mystery around Darcy so the full story came into focus.
The reason Darcy didn’t like opening up to people.
The fact that he was so dodgy about his magic, and why he’d been so determined to hide it.
Why Charles taste-tested his food and how he’d found us so fast in the fortune-teller’s tent.
And, most incriminating of all, the reason that Charles, a member of one of the most elite Marked families in the country, still deferred to Darcy.
Darcy wasn’t just another highborn fae.
“Your name isn’t Darcy,” I whispered, my hand trembling slightly on the table. “It’s Fitzwilliam Valehaert.” And the only reason I hadn’t recognized him earlier must’ve been because of a glamour.
Next to me, Jane stiffened.
Darcy met my gaze, his emerald eyes inscrutable, but a hint of approval softened his mouth. “It’s Fitzwilliam Darcellion Valemont.”
My stomach swooped out from under me like I was on a roller coaster, but I couldn’t look away from him. “You’re the crown prince.”