AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her mind raced as she worked. Was there a secondary door inside the bedroom? Maybe a basement stairwell that led into the actual house? Nevelyn thought if that was the case, the little girl would use that route as well. And perhaps that would be too little privacy? Still, what other answer was there? Determined to learn, Nevelyn set up again in the early-morning hours.
Kersey woke at the same time, prepared the same tea, and returned to her room. Once more, she didn’t reappear. Nevelyn angled herself so she could see both Kersey’s alley entrance and the front door to the actual manor. No one came out of either. Nevelyn watched and waited until she was certain the woman wasn’t coming—and then she raced to work again.
Kersey was already there.
Nevelyn paced through the dark labyrinth of the underground until the answer hit her right in the chest, like a stun spell. Of course. There was only one possible explanation. Clues had been sitting there all along too. She’d never really seen Kersey arrive at work, had she?
“You’re using the waxways to get here,” she whispered to herself.
Nevelyn smiled. She could work with that.
* * *
Over the next few days, she abandoned her spying, refocusing her efforts on the dress in her apartment instead. It was a patient and deliberate process. Weaving thread and then magic and then thread and then magic. She kept walking back over to her inspiration—a very old picture of a very lovely dress—in the hopes of making sure she was maintaining the integrity of the project. She worked until her bones felt like dust and her eyes had grown so heavy that they might never open again.
She slept better than she had in months. All of her nervousness siphoned away. When she finally finished Tessa’s dress, Nevelyn opened her alley-facing window. She set a piece of red ribbon there and closed it—so that the fabric would dangle down, visible to anyone who passed.
This was their prearranged signal.
It was time for one more meeting with Ren Monroe.
PART THREE The Execution
26 REN MONROE
An incessant whisper brought her back to the waking world.
Ren groaned, turning over slightly, too weak to really push back to her feet. It was a surprise to find herself unbound. The ghost memories of her time being tortured on that remote farm last year threatened to surface, but this was not that. Still, unbound did not mean free. There were others in the room with her. At least six livestone creatures by her count—and their master, seated in the center of the room.
She’d never met Zell Carrowynd in person. Really, she’d never heard of the woman until Theo mentioned their family at the same party where he’d been exiled. Afterward, she’d been handed the post of warden instead of Theo. All so that Landwin Brood could publicly spite his own son.
Zell’s family was a minor house connected to the Graylantians. Ren’s research had turned up little beyond that. No romantic relationships. No close friends. She knew the woman was quite cautious, though. After all, Ren had been expecting this meeting weeks ago.
“Ahh,” Carrowynd said, leaning forward in her chair. “She lives.”
Zell was one of the tallest women Ren had ever met. Even seated, she appeared to be a giant in comparison with Ren. This effect was emphasized by a trio of stone mice that skittered around her ankles, fussing over the shoelaces of her boots. The gargoyle was there too, perched in an open window well above their heads. The last two livestone statues present were the tigresses. A younger version of Ren would have thrilled to see them. Now they looked a bit too menacing for her liking. The two guardians had prowled the docks all her life. Watching as boats loaded and unloaded. Ren remembered there was a running dare amongst Lower Quarter kids to see if anyone was brave enough to tug their stone tails. She’d never met someone foolish enough to try. It took Ren a moment to realize that the whisper that woke her was not from anyone—or anything—in the room.
It was coming across her bond. Theo had felt Ren’s absence. That sudden departure from awareness would have been quite startling for him. She tried her best to communicate a feeling of comfort back to him. She was alive. She was all right. At least for now.
“You’re Zell Carrowynd.”
“And you’re Ren Monroe.”
Ren nodded, and immediately regretted it. Wincing, she touched the back of her head. The source of all that throbbing pain was there—though the blood felt like it had long dried.
“How long was I out?”
“A few hours.”
“Did you really have to hit me on the head?”
Zell shrugged. “I’ll only feel bad about that if you have the right answers to the questions I’m going to ask you.”
Ren almost nodded again but caught herself. “Ask them.”
“I was… approached. By an heir to one of the great houses.”
Approached. Ren could tell that was a very carefully chosen wording. The warden of Kathor could not be hired or requisitioned. It would be illegal to ask an official servant of the city to serve the interests of one specific house—though Ren knew it happened all the time. She also knew exactly who had approached Zell. None other than Thugar Brood.
