Chapter 18 Veilmane #2
“You said you’re a waiting maid at Castle Gale?” she asks, her tone indecipherable.
“Yes,” I reply, wary at once. She pauses, deep in her thoughts. My pulse quickens.
“Is your friend Mavick?”
So Mavick’s reputation truly does precede them. Am I the only one unaware of their shady dealings? It now makes sense why they never told me about their day-to-day life. I sigh against Jasmeen’s shoulder.
“The fact that you deduced that says all I need to know about them,” I huff.
“Mavick’s not a bad fae,” Jasmeen says firmly, turning her chin to me. “Yes, they have some suspicious dealings but… it kind of comes with their job.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, forgetting to control my volume.
“Well… Mavick’s the Gatekeeper for the Gale family’s passageway. It’s their job to protect the mortal castle from the ill-intended who may try to storm it. No one in or out. It’s kind of an archaic duty, but the Sanctuarians take it very seriously.”
The Gale family’s passageway… Mavick’s passageway belongs to us?
Why did I never ask how they came to live there?
Did my father know Mavick? Did he know about Sanctuary?
I think of the tapestry of the Mayhem Bazaar in the long forgotten, unused corridor.
He must know. Not once did Mavick mention this—no doubt their commitment to their duty outweighed a friendship with an ungrateful mortal brat. Something strikes me—
“Does Vir know Mavick’s a Gatekeeper?”
Jasmeen shakes her head. “Not that I know of. Mavick was a regular in my shop. We became something like… friends. I would source rare elixirs for them and they would share any news from the mortal realm.” My body tenses and Jasmeen hurries on, “I did not sell them the Yield, though, I promise. And I am no seer. Seers are as rare as Yield.”
I’m quiet again, turning this new information over in my mind. I regret not asking Jasmeen days ago about Mavick. It would have saved a lot of time. Add it to the list of my recent poor choices.
“But Mavick was kind of reclusive—didn’t leave their post often,” Jasmeen continues, echoing the sentiment of every creature Brynn and I spoke with over the last few days. “Odd one. Spouted a lot of nonsense, even for a faerie. It would surprise me if Vir knew them all that well.”
This shouldn’t comfort me, yet it does. Good to know Brynn didn’t leave out the little he does know about Mavick.
Still, if Mavick’s duty was to protect the royal family and castle…
why did they give the mortal princess everything needed to poison the king?
Had they gone rogue? There are more questions than answers.
Apparently Jasmeen muses in her thoughts, too. She gives voice to them, though.
“I wonder if that’s why the door in their kitchen was an egress,” she says.
“It was likely intended to vanish… no one knows where the passageway to Castle Gale rests—where Mavick lives. Mavick would be a shit Gatekeeper if anyone knew, obviously. But since they would visit Mayhem on occasion, I always assumed it must be nearby.”
I consider this a long while. Intended to vanish. Did Mavick intend to trap me here?
“So why did Vir agree to help you? You didn’t have to sell your soul or something wild like that, right?” Jasmeen jests eventually, amusement coloring her voice.
When I don’t respond, she stiffens.
“No deals or bargains, right?”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
“No,” I say, “I’m not sure why he’s helping me.”
I do not enjoy lying to her. Again, Brynn’s secrets are not mine to share, and his motivations for finding his mother remain a mystery to me. He deflects any questions about her. Maybe it’s his determination to help me locate Mavick first. Or maybe I should’ve pushed for more details.
“Maybe he thinks you’re pretty,” Jasmeen shrugs.
Her pragmatic tone suggests she’s studying a mundane science experiment.
“Some fae make a game out of seducing mortals. It’s attractive, being taboo and all.
It’s a psychological urge, really—perhaps even biological.
I’m sure Vir has laid with plenty of mort—”
Brynn coughs so loudly that I jump in the saddle behind Jasmeen. I turn and realize how close they ride to Moon’s backside. Glo jolts awake thanks to his sudden fit, and Brynn’s cheeks burn an uncharacteristic red.
“I think it’s time for a break?” he asks, tone full of practiced nonchalance. Glo stretches, as much as one can sitting atop a veilmane, and nods. Brynn leads Shadow a short way off the beaten path and Jasmeen spurring Moon to follow.
The second the veilmane halt, Brynn slips from their mount and offers a hand to Glo.
I take the opportunity to dismount on my own, though it’s uncoordinated and I all but fall on my ass.
I recover quickly, sensing Brynn’s gaze boring into me.
I offer Jasmeen a hand and she dismounts with much more grace.
She mentions finding a private place to relieve herself and Glo seizes the chance to accompany her, leaving me alone with Brynn.
“Tell me you were not eavesdropping,” I say, rounding Moon to face him.
I am reminded at once of his declaration: he can hear my racing heart every time he touches me.
He may be half-mortal, but I’m willing to bet even half-fae hearing reigns superior.
Brynn gives me his back, busying himself with readjusting Shadow’s saddle.
Realization dawns. He dodges an answer because he cannot lie.
“Then how much did you hear?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I tried really hard not to listen,” he says, guilt clear as day, “but Glo was snoring on me and it’s quiet in the Blackwoods today—it was hard to focus on anything else.”
“Fucking magical hearing,” I mutter under my breath. “I should have known better when you boasted about hearing my heart speed.”
“My hearing isn’t that extraordinary,” he sighs, deflating before me. “I am just very aware of your heart beating.”
My gaze snaps to his and his brows draw together at once, as though he’s finally digested what he overheard.
“Is that why you were so upset outside of Jasmeen’s stall earlier? You used Yield on your father?” he whispers, horror-struck.
“I didn’t know it was Yield until today, as Mavick gave it to me with no explanation of how unethical it was,” I say. “But yes, it’s why I was upset—it’s also why I need to get back. I need to ensure I didn’t get my own father killed.”
“I wish you had told me,” he says, looking torn between believing me and scolding me. “It was hard to hear you lie so easily.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, rather paranoid.
“You lied. You omitted our deal and told her you didn’t know why I would help you,” he says. It’s a simple statement that burns like a slap.
“Would you rather me tell her all your secrets? I was protecting you—protecting what you entrusted me with,” I hiss, heat rising in my cheeks as I jab a finger into my own chest. He scrutinizes my face as though desperate to decipher my truthfulness.
“You’re right,” he says at last. “That was… Thank you for that, Thea.”
All the fight in me dissolves at his unexpected softness. “No problem,” I mumble.
We stand there in a stifling silence. I regret not going off with Glo and Jasmeen to piss. Brynn breaks it first.
“No, by the way, I did not know Mavick was a Gatekeeper. That’s news to me. Now their dealings make more sense. They likely kept up with Oathbreakers for any word of plans to infiltrate the mortal realm.”
“I don’t know what to think about Mavick,” I say, rubbing my temples in an attempt to clear my head. Brynn nods toward the trees to alert me of Glo and Jasmeen’s return, which he for sure heard first on account of his great hearing.
“Did we miss anything?” Glo asks cheerily as the pair approaches.
“No,” I say, ignoring Brynn’s moody huff at my obvious lie. “How much farther until we reach the rest area?”
“Well, it was about midday when we left. Two hours of daylight remain, at best,” Jasmeen says, glancing toward the sky through the canopy of trees. “Darkness settles more quickly in the Blackwoods. We can camp for the night.”
“Shouldn’t we just take a brief respite and travel through the night?” I ask, my stomach rolling with a fresh wave of anxiety.
“What’s the rush?” Glo asks, one arched brow lifting. Jasmeen shoots me a knowing glance. But it’s Brynn who answers.
“It’s not safe to travel the Blackwoods in the dark. Best we stay at the rest area for the night.”
“Sounds fantastic. I could use a stiff drink,” Glo says, losing the battle against an oncoming yawn. Her glamours drop before our very eyes.