Chapter 14
Elsedora
Summer meant warm days, but in the North Corridor no one avoided cool nights.
In the parlor, I curled up under a wool blanket on the leather sofa.
This remained my favorite room in the house—its viewpoint of the orchard was unmatched.
Even at the height of winter, dark-pink blossoms dropped into the pristine snow, creating a magical sight to behold.
Lamoreaux sat nestled between two mountain peaks. The breeze tunneled through the trees and rattled the windowpanes. Darkness blanketed the hillside, obscuring the landscape.
The hearths had roared to life hours ago. I’d grown better with my charms and could light all the fireplaces at once when the temperatures dropped.
I didn’t wish to keep the estate staffed, preferring the quiet respite. Asterie had helped me charm the kitchen to cook on its own. She and my brother had turned the Central Tower into a school for Source-wielders.
I’d never been an outstanding student; I could tell she grew frustrated with me when she had to explain things over and over again.
The flames danced, and I willed my mind to think of anything other than that dreadful dream and the words I’d left unspoken that morning.
Instead, I remembered a time when I’d returned to the fire after a long day playing in the snow.
My mother had pulled up a chair behind me and silently combed and braided my frost-tangled hair.
The scrape of her fingers against my scalp had soothed away all my young worries.
A war grew closer to home. And no matter how hard they tried to hide it, I could feel my parents’ tension heighten.
They had stopped allowing me to play past the orchard’s tree line, worried that Phynnic soldiers might pass through the woods.
Lost in my memories, I toyed with my father’s old pocket watch. The gentle tick in my palm, gears turning, calmed me.
Lark popped into the doorway. “Are you alright, Aunt Lora?”
It had been some years since she’d called me that. I’d place a sizable bet that Krait had warned her that I might be withdrawn or need checking on.
I sat up and forced a cheerful tone. “Of course.”
She frowned. “Did you visit the North King today?”
She held something behind her back. I’d noticed some of the romance novels had gone missing from the shelves; she was approaching an age where love likely seemed romantic.
I sighed. “No. Not today.”
Well, technically, I had—though telling my niece that I’d snuck off to the King’s beside in the dark hours of morning would only earn me a knowing smirk.
The spitfire took after her mother. Meddlesome creatures, the two of them.
The idea of returning to Luz that afternoon had tempted me. It always improved my mood to see Emmerick’s face, to hear his voice… That felt selfish now.
Sulking here had won out.
Cass and Wyeth had kept Lark busy most of the day, and then she’d gone up to her room to study for the past few hours.
“I quite enjoy reading to him still. We can go tomorrow,” she offered.
“I’d like that very much. Why are you up so late?”
She shrugged. “I got caught up in a new spell book and couldn’t put it down.”
“You’re beginning to sound like Asterie.”
“Don’t tell her that. She’ll start adding hours to my school day.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “I’m off to bed now, though,” she chirped and crossed the room, bending to peck me on the cheek.
“Goodnight, little troublemaker.” I ruffled her hair before she rose.
“Night, Aunty.” She conveniently backed away with her stolen romance tomes.
The years when she’d sat on my shoulders picking plums from the trees had been too short. Now she stood on the cusp of her teenage years. Her face had lost its chubbiness, and she was already outsmarting all of us.
This must have been how Fen felt when I was a child. He’d been born a century prior to me, and growing up, it had felt as though I had two fathers.
I’d never possessed much maternal instinct. Then Lark arrived in the world. There were no ends that I wouldn’t go to in order to keep her safe.
I settled back onto the sofa as my niece’s footsteps ascended the stairs. Her door closed, and I let out a sigh. My gaze returned to the flames as I pulled a quilt over myself.
Suddenly, my eyelids grew as heavy as cast-iron pans. Served me right for staying up all night.
I slipped into fitful sleep, dreaming of that horrid day. The Moirai screamed as they swarmed the pit of the amphitheater below.
Caym’s hand stretched toward Ryn, who stared at me.
No, no, no. Pay attention.
Just before Ryn’s face crumbled, it shifted into someone new. Emmerick smiled at me, then he turned into dust on the wind.