CHAPTER 33 #2
“What?” My fingers dug into her arms, rubbing hard, trying to summon warmth back into her frozen skin. “How are you here?”
Then she glanced past me, her eyes filling with terror and anger all at once.
A huge chunk of ice fell from the ceiling, and Joy grabbed me, yanking me back as if shielding me from something.
“Him.” She spat the word through gritted teeth before her wild, frantic gaze darted back to mine. “He hurt Father. I think . . . I think he killed him.”
I followed her stare, looking over my shoulder.
Reagan stood in the doorway. His brows drew tightly together, his jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscle shift. His gaze flicked between us.
“What is she talking about? Why is she here?” I asked, my voice rising.
“We came for you, but he caught us.” She was panting, speaking faster and faster, her body beginning to shake. “I don’t know where he is. I . . .”
“Joy, it’s all right,” I murmured, holding her tightly. “You’re safe. Just breathe.”
“Are you not listening?” she hissed. “He killed him!”
“Your father is not dead,” Reagan said, his voice steady but soft. “He is in the infirmary, with our best healer taking care of him.”
I wrapped my arms around Joy, trying to warm her trembling body. “Why is she here? Why is she in a room that feels like a damn glacier?”
“It wasn’t like this before,” Gwinifer started to explain.
“I will explain everything,” Reagan said, still softly. “But you need to bring her with us. We’ll get you both out of here.”
“So you can grab us by the throat too?” my sister demanded.
I couldn’t think straight. My every instinct was focused on preventing her from straining herself too far. I hadn’t seen her react like this in a long time. I hadn’t seen her in such a long time.
“Joy, there is an explanation for this,” I said calmly. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m here, aren’t I? I’m here with you, so take a breath.”
I kept my gaze steady on her until her trembling eased. She remained unsure but relented. I turned back to the others, noticing Gwinifer muttering something under her breath, warming the icy room bit by bit.
Finnegan’s sharp eyes were fixed on my sister, studying her with a wary expression that I didn’t appreciate. Like she was some unpredictable threat. I had seen that look before, and every instance of it coiled a familiar resentment in my chest.
“You said my father is in the infirmary. What happened to him?” I asked, forcing the words out past the soul-crushing fear that came with the question.
“He’s alive,” Reagan said quickly, as if to stop me from spiralling. “But he’s been hurt.”
“I just spoke with Madam Hildegard,” Finnegan added. “He’s stable and still sleeping after the incident.”
“You hurt him!” Joy snarled at Reagan.
I turned to him, afraid to know if there was truth to her words. But Joy was not one to lie. He didn’t wait for me to speak.
“They came in from the Northern Forest, from the train station,” Reagan began.
“I didn’t realise they were your family when I found them, Jan.
I’d have to bring them to Court because of the issue with the entry between my estate and the human lands.
It was the second trespass. I needed to address it before more people started coming through.
I only realised she was your sister when I brought them here, and Finn recognised them. She was attacked by a Strzyga there.”
My chest constricted. Had she not been in my arms, I might’ve broken apart. I searched her for any sign of harm.
She tilted her head, exposing the side of her neck to me, and there it was. A bite mark.
I searched her eyes. “Are you all right?”
A pause. A nod. Not convincing. She must have been terrified.
The nightmare came rushing back to me. I’d been in Erisea when Reagan woke me from that dream.
Joy, caught in the Strzyga’s attack. I’d thought the dream was about me, but the blonde hair was just like hers.
It had been so vivid, as if I’d seen it.
I swallowed.
“Tell her what you did to our father,” Joy said. “He held Father in the air by his neck. He threatened him, saying he would act if we didn’t explain why we were there.”
I wanted to believe it wasn’t him. The possibility that he hurt him—
“Is that true?” I asked, my voice trembling. He heard it.
Reagan’s forehead creased as he kept his sorrowful gaze on me.
“Yes. I didn’t know he was your father when I confronted him, Jan.
I didn’t expect him to be so . . . nervous.
” He fumbled for words. “He collapsed in my arms, as if his heart were failing. So I brought them both here. Hildegard said it was a heart attack.”
I turned my head away, focusing on Joy.
“We want to see him,” I said.
Her distrust of them was clear in the furrow of her brow. I could tell she had countless questions, and I wanted to reassure her, but I couldn’t. Not while we were reeling from the news about Father. The only thing that would help was to see him, to confirm with my own eyes that he was alive.
The room was warm enough now. I helped Joy stand up from the bed, steadying her onto her feet.
“We can bring you, but . . .” Finnegan said, shooting Reagan a meaningful look.
I followed his gaze, narrowing my eyes. “What?” I asked.
The emissary took a cautious step towards us. “We have to be careful, Jan.” The wariness made my entire body go still. It wasn’t directed at me.
I glared at Finn. My arms tightened around my sister. “Careful of what?”
Finnegan’s eyes flicked briefly to Joy before meeting mine again.
That quick glance. My jaw clenched.
“Are you joking?” I rasped.
Reagan’s mouth tightened. “She was unhinged before you arrived, and your father is too weak right now. We don’t know if she might hurt him.”
“Hurt him?” Joy repeated, her body trembling.
“Either take us there or get out of the way,” I said firmly, hating the hurt in his eyes.
Reagan spoke, low and gentle, softening the hard edges of our discussion. “I just need you to understand, my love.”
It was a plea, a need for me to trust him. I didn’t know if I could, not without seeing my father first. “She will not hurt anyone, and she will not get a sentence. Is that clear?”
“It’s not a sentence, my love,” Reagan responded.
“Why is he calling you that?” Joy asked, her narrow gaze darting to me.
But I couldn’t explain that either. Not now.
“I wish I’d known earlier,” Reagan murmured, “but you were hiding from us. Or perhaps from yourself. Not knowing. Though at least . . . I don’t think you knew.”
I shook my head. “You’re not making any sense.”
“Forgive me,” he said softly, running a hand through his hair.
“I only pieced it together a few days ago. Your sister . . . She confirmed what I’d been suspecting for some time.
When she got upset, the weather shifted so suddenly, so drastically, it was impossible not to notice.
” His eyes grew tender, pulling me in, coaxing me to understand.
“And then I remembered the time you summoned my shirt to your room. It shouldn’t have been possible.
Your closet wouldn’t give you something from my chamber.
But there was a chance, however small, that someone had put it there by mistake.
” He paused, as if waiting for the realisation to settle over me.
“It’s why you have visions in your sleep, Jan.
” He hesitated, visibly battling the urge to come closer.
“It’s why the air turns colder when you or your sister are distressed.
It’s why you were able to enter the mage lands at all.
And, because I know how observant you are, I think you’ve already started to suspect yourself. ”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I snapped, though the words weren’t entirely true. Something flickered at the edges of my mind. Something that was not possible.
His expression softened, a knowing look crossing his face. “Darling, you do know. Take off your ring.”
“My ring?”
He nodded slowly.
Gwinifer’s voice startled me. “It’s a relic,” she said, arms crossed over her chest. “You should know what it does for you by now.”
“Somehow, you still managed to cover this room in ice even while wearing yours,” Finnegan said to Joy, gesturing at her hand, where a ring identical to mine rested.
Our family heirloom.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Joy asked.
“But she shouldn’t have been able to,” Reagan said. “You take it off when you sleep, so it doesn’t block your sight. At all other times, though, the ring nullifies your access. Whoever gave it to you wanted to hide you. Both of you.”
Reagan took a cautious step closer, his lips twitching between a tentative smile and a frown.
“Darling, you and your sister are mageborn.”
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The story continues. Read the first chapter by flipping to the next page or click here to get the sequel.