Page 56 of Seas the Reckoning

“Thank you for your time, Father. I will give deep consideration to everything you said.”

“See that you do.”

Both of their voices are formal.

I run. The idea of coming face to face with the councilman makes the decision for me, when I realize that I’m not ready to face him. I wouldn’t be able to act. I’m liable to sing at him, with my throat burning the way it is.

Sprinting down the halls, I make my way back to the one that houses our rooms, and then I freeze in front of that door as well. How can I stay here?

I clench my hands, nails digging into my palms.

“Leena?”

Spinning, I see Starla.

The witch’s pallor is grey. At some point after the ball, she has pulled her hair back into a ponytail. The magic covering her tattoos has faded, and they decorate her arms, which are twisted together in front of her.

She breaks my gaze and stares at the ground.

I’ve always loved how we can figure each other out without needing words. The sister I never had. The person I’ve trusted the longest in this world, who has always had my back.

Starla is trembling. Her lip is quivering, and her eyes are watering.

She knows. I have no idea how, but her expression reflects the same devastation I feel inside.

I reach out and pull her into an embrace. We can’t speak yet, but I want her to know that no matter what was said, it changes nothing about how I see her.

Starla stills after a moment, then wraps her arms around me, hugging me back. She pulls away and gives a sharp nod. She takes my hand, tugging on it. The two of us make our way back along the hall, down the stairs. When we hit the main entrance hall, I can see that while the crowd has significantly lessened, there are still several curious lookers-on lingering.

Starla tugs me again and takes us into a library. Not a welcoming one with gorgeous windows that would let the sun stream in. The drapes are pulled shut, the fire out for the moment. The room, more than any other in the manor, gives the chilly feel of winter.

And the books. All leather-bound. All clearly expensive. And all uniform in height and style. The only differentiation is in the color. Some a deep green, some a deep red, and some brown or black. But none vibrant or bright.

“Can we talk in here?”

She puts a finger to her face, shaking her head and walking us with purpose toward one particular wall. I can’t see any difference to it, other than it’s on one side of the unused fireplace. She hesitates for just a moment as we reach the bookcase; she points a finger into the air and moves it as if she’s counting the books in the row. She repeats the action twice, like she’s checking herself.

I’m beginning to think she’ll pull a book out, like they do in old cartoons, to activate a trap door. Instead, she reaches underneath one of the books, pressing onto the wooden shelf. I don’t even see a seam, but something does click.

The book shelf slides open.

Starla ushers me inside. The pathway is dark and narrow, but we’re in it a blessedly short amount of time. We’re let out on a side wall of the manor, into the portion of the garden where I saw Never and Danger.

Starla pulls us into the hedges, going several rows deep until we hit a seating area that’s densely covered.

Before I can say anything she waves her hands, light glowing from her palms.

“There. That should muffle us from anyone around,” she says evenly. But I don’t miss the way her knees nearly buckle as she sits on the stone bench.

“You shouldn’t keep doing that. You’ll need to charge up your magic again. Soon,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “No. I mean, I will. You know how tricky spells are for me, but it’s not that. As soon as the deal with my father was made I started practicing sneaky spells like this, anticipating they might come in handy. Plus, now that Imogen can identify other supernatural species for us, I needed to find a new specialty. Not that being made redundant is what bugs me. It’s … everything else. Leena, how can you look so calm? The look you gave me outside our rooms. I know you have to know. At least some of it?”

I sigh.

She’s ready me just as well as I read her.

“I know, or at least I think I know, that it’s your family who’s connected to my curse. I also know that your father has the same crest above his office door that Ivyrn Works used, and the same one Claude wears.”