Page 145 of Revealing Fate

“Still? Why?”

“How should I know?” Fay replied. “She left hours ago. Conclave business.”

“What the hell is taking her so long?” he muttered.

Fay huffed in irritation. “Obviously, I can’t answer that Pennelton Porter.” Penn scowled at his sister’s use of his proper name. Fay spread her arms wide. “I’ve been here, with Miss Santhe, slaving over mother’s orders for tomorrow.”

Penn seemed to notice Santhe for the first time. He ducked his head in embarrassment for his pestering. “Hello, Miss Santhe, sorry ma’am.”

Santhe gave him a little wave and sipped her water. “What’s amiss, Penn? Anything I can help with?” Assisting the Porters with their seemingly endless chores, work, and worries was the least she could do for the room they’d graciously provided her. Until she found reliable work, Santhe was living on a seriously fixed income.

Penn looked about to speak, then shook his head in resignation. He gave his sister one last narrowed glare and said, “Thanks for nothing, La-fay-ette,” before ducking out into the hall.

Fay rolled her eyes with an exasperation unique to quarreling siblings. “He is such a pain,” she complained, turning to scrape flour off the smooth wooden counter.

Santhe pushed up from her stool, memories of the brother she’d lost threatening. “I’ll see if I can learn what his issue is.”

“Good luck,” Fay huffed, oblivious to Santhe’s warring emotions. “There are many.”

Santhe found Penn descending the front stoop. Dusk had crept into the wood, its blue-hued shadows bleeding down from the sky beyond the shelter of trees. “Penn,” she called after him. “Wait.”

He turned, the worried crease between his pale brows smoothing with some effort.

Santhe patted her rose-colored apron, sending little white puffs of flour into the air. “Alright. Out with it.”

Penn hesitated.

“I may not be as fearsome as your mother, Penn, but if you’re in trouble, I know a guy. Bit of a recluse. Lives in a cabin outside of town.” She winked.

Penn’s already pale face leached of remaining color. “Then you don’t know. Shit.” His eyes rounded. “Sorry, please don’t tell my mother I cursed in front of you. Or my sisters.”

“Penn,” Santhe urged. “What’s wrong? What don’t I know?”

“It’s Kal.”

All levity fled Santhe’s expression. “What about Kal?”

“I walked past the Conclave’s conference hall and saw Kal’s horse tied outside. The big red one? There was a cart hitched behind him.” His throat bobbed. “A cart carrying bodies.”

“Bodies? Whose?”

He shook his head, one narrow shoulder lifting. “I was across the lot. But I watched Harless walk by and lift the cover before going inside.”

Santhe frowned. “Rask Harless? Kal’s friend?” The last she’d heard, Rask had left town, heading for Asteros and his sister.

“I don’t think they’re friendly anymore, Miss Santhe.”

A chill swept through the darkening forest on a stealthy breeze, raising the little hairs along Santhe’s bare forearms. “What makes you think that?”

Penn’s blue eyes were grave. “Because I stayed to watch the building. Forty minutes after Harless went inside, he came back out again with Lucien Cross. They had Kal and Miss Kitty in cuffs and skullcages.”

Santhe swore. This was a problem. This was a big fucking problem. “Do you think your mother had something to do with this?”

Defiance settled into Penn’s adolescent features. “No,” he said, firmly. “But she must have been there. She’ll know what happened.”

Santhe rolled her neck, the bones popping. “Come on,” she said, crossing the yard. Penn caught up with a few long strides. She regarded him as they hurried down the street. “Why come home? Why not go into the conference hall to find your mother?”

“I followed Lucien and Rask as far as the center road. They were heading for The Hollows. When I finally doubled back to the conference hall, all the lights had gone out, and the door was locked. I thought Ma had come home for the night.”