CHAPTER 32
Varian and his lackeys flung the instant the judge uttered the final decree.
Gwinifer lunged for him, but her fingers grasped air.
He was gone.
“We’ll find Mr Ilya and his companions soon enough,” Malory said. “For now, I have a request for Miss Darling.”
The words took a moment to pierce through the haze clouding my mind.
I forced my breath to steady. “I’m listening.”
“Since you will be remaining in Mountheim, and as you were the only one perceptive enough to notice the irregularity with his curse, I would like your assistance in finding the source of the meddling.”
I went still.
If it hadn’t been for the suspicion already surging in my mind about what could have interfered with his curse, I might have told the magister that I was unsuited for this.
But I had been quick on my feet today, and I knew I would help them figure out how it had been done, whether or not she asked me.
“I will help Reagan,” I said.
“Good,” Malory replied. “In return, I will offer you a deal.”
“A deal?” I echoed.
“You will be permitted to visit your family in the human lands, as you have proven yourself trustworthy. And you will be allowed to return to Mountheim afterward, where you will remain until the completion of your sentence.” She tilted her head slightly. “Do you accept this arrangement?”
My heart stumbled over itself. To see my family again. The idea struck me like a gust of wind after a lifetime underground. But . . .
I swallowed, my voice steady. “What will I have to do?”
“Seek out the possible causes. Study them as you did before, and bring your theories to me. That is all.”
“Will we be allowed to help her?” Finnegan asked, stepping behind me.
Malory merely inclined her head in assent.
I wasn’t na?ve enough to believe this was an act of generosity. Malory had something to lose if the curses were being tampered with. She couldn’t afford the risk, not when it could cost a life.
I forced my shoulders back.
“I’ll help you, and I’ll accept your deal on the condition that you also bring him back. No matter what we find out, he has fulfilled his sentence.”
I hadn’t noticed when the dim cabin grew warmer, when the bitter chill was chased away, but the flickering candlelight now cast the room in bright relief.
Gwinifer’s raven-dark hair gleamed in its glow.
Finn stood rigid beside me, his hands clenched at his sides.
I wondered if the emissary was unaware that his power coiled around his fingers in restless wisps of blue smoke.
Malory kept her gaze steady. “Agreed,” she said. “Give me your arm.”
I tugged up the sleeve of my gown, now stained with Reagan’s blood.
Malory’s hands hovered on either side of my wrist as her power surged.
“Hereby, the terms of your sentence are adjusted,” she said. “Jane Darling shall serve Mountheim, aiding in the investigation of its curse.”
The lines of my mark shifted. Where once there had been a simple spiral tipped like a spear, now a single line carved through a perfect circle around my forearm. Three slender crests rose from the line, their silhouettes stark and unmistakable.
Mountheim.
“Is it done?” I asked.
Malory nodded, stepping past me, palms turning upward.
“I recognised the fulfilment of this sentence,” she announced to the room. Silver light shimmered across her hands.
On the wooden floor, Reagan’s still form began to shift. Despite the sickening sounds, I couldn’t look away, not until he was whole again.
And then, soon, sun-kissed skin greeted my eyes, a shade so familiar it sent relief coursing through me.
Finn moved toward him, snatching the cloak from the floor and draping it over Reagan’s bare form.
I took a hesitant step forward as he stirred, his back to us. Slowly, Reagan sat upright and turned.
My heart clenched.
Ice-blue eyes locked with mine, wide with disbelief. Then he swept the room, taking in every person within it. A deep scar marred his chest, where the heartstone had once been.
“Welcome back, Mage Lord,” Malory said. “You have fulfilled every condition Fate set upon you. You endured the trials placed in your path. You accepted your burdens, and in doing so, you have been redeemed.”
His throat worked as he swallowed, his eyes shining with emotion.
I sank to my knees beside him and reached for his face, needing to feel him again, needing the certainty that he was here. My fingers brushed his cheek.
Reagan exhaled, his hand rising to cradle mine, pressing his cheek into my palm.
We had come so close to losing him. The damning weight of it pressed against my ribs, my legs, everywhere, as if the aftermath had finally caught up with me, along with every still-throbbing injury.
My eyes stung.
Reagan saw my shoulders quake, saw the way my fingers refused to stay still.
He shifted forward, pulling himself to his knees before me, his arms circling me in a steadying hold.
I didn’t think. I threw my arms around his neck, clinging to him with everything in me, breathing him in as though that alone could prove he was real.
That he was here.
“Don’t you ever, ever do something like that again,” I said, my voice breaking.
His hand slid to the back of my head. His breath ghosted against my temple, and I heard the promise in the quiet steel of his voice.
“I won’t.”
Judge Malory’s voice, softer than I had ever heard it, cut through the moment. “Lord Reagan, you and Miss Darling should rise now.”
Reagan pulled back just enough to cup my face, then we finally stood. Malory’s gaze settled on us both. “I will formalise the end of your sentence and Miss Darling’s deal at Court.”
Reagan’s arm tensed around me.
“Deal?” His gaze darted between the judge and me.
Malory barely paused. “I will also issue an Infamous notice for Varian and the other three. Keep your outposts on high alert for any sign of them. In the coming weeks, your estate will begin to recover. Continue the work your staff spoke of today.”
Reagan inclined his head in acknowledgement, his eyes flicking to Gwinifer and Finnegan.
Malory studied him for a beat longer. Then, turning her gaze to me, she said, “I expect to hear from you in nine days.”
She flung out of the room.
As I stepped aside, Gwinifer reached for her brother and fixed him with a glare. “Your plan was rubbish,” she bit out, though her voice betrayed a hint of unease.
“We’d be knee-deep in shit if Jane hadn’t been so sure you’d broken the curse,” Finn said, pressing a hand to Reagan’s shoulder. “You good?”
Reagan dipped his chin, his gaze finding mine, fathomless and threaded with something. Something he seemed about to say as his mouth parted.
“Varian ran,” Gwinifer said with a frown. “If this is not an admission of guilt, I don’t know what is.”
Reagan nodded. “He’ll be summoned to court.” His brows furrowed as he turned to me. “What deal, Jane? And why does Malory want to hear from you in nine days?”
Three pairs of eyes fixed on me.
I sighed. “She thinks I can help discover who meddled with your sentence. And actually, I might have overheard something I wasn’t supposed to hear.
” The conversation drifted to the edges of my mind.
“There was someone here before you all arrived. This man said he would act when the time came. Something about threads.” I shook my head, trying to make sense of what he meant.
“I don’t think it was only Varian who wanted you cursed. ”