Page 60 of A Spell of Heart & Havoc

Stiv ignored me. “You two, stack however many of these paintings you can carry in one trip and load them in the wagon. I’ll meet you down there.”

I bit back a furious cry before it escaped. Controlling my expression back into what I hoped looked like a bored scowl, I looked away from the two thieves piling Dove’s beautiful paintings on the floor. This was wrong, all wrong. She’ll never forgive me. All that work—her art that she poured her soul into…

I couldn’t watch. Stiv held the door open for the thieves after they extinguished the magelight, and they slipped back down the hall with their bounty. He motioned for me, and I followed him down the hall.

Where he halted in front of Dove’s suite. My heart stuttered.

“There’s nothing of significant value in there,” I whispered. “I searched it myself.”

“We’ve been assured there is.”

“And what if you can’t find it?”

“Don’t you mean we?” he asked, voice hard.

I swallowed. “Of course. What happens if we can’t find it? This is a big manor.”

Stiv shifted on his feet, then said, “We aren’t to leave without it, unless absolutely necessary.”

My stomach plummeted. I knew what that meant. The knives arrayed on the thieves’ persons took on an extra-menacing edge, and my mind raced.

“Alright, then. I can get us in,” I said, keeping my voice as level as possible, even as my hands shook.

Standing in front of Dove’s flower-carved door, I paused. It was a risky plan, but I couldn’t think of anything else. All that mattered now was keeping her safe. I could do this. I could do this.

As quietly as possible, I whispered over my shoulder to Stiv, “Step back. It’s a magically sealed door. I need space to undo the charm.”

After checking to make sure he’d moved back a few paces, I pressed my palm against the wood before he could second-guess me. As soon as I felt the familiar tingle of it unlocking, I opened the door as little as possible, slipped in, and whirled around, slamming my palm against the wood again to reseal it immediately. The swoosh of it locking just audible above the fierce pounding of my heart, I backed away.

A sigh sounded through the wood. From the other side, I heard Stiv jiggling the knob once, though I’m sure he knew there was no point. His man on the inside surely had told him about the strength of Dove’s door charms. She’d given me access to this second one some days ago, thank the goddess.

“Maerryl, don’t do this,” he said. “Z won’t be pleased.”

“Just go. You’ve got everything you need. There’s something else going on here, you must know that. This isn’t how Zephyra operates.”

Another resigned sigh. Then, so quietly I almost couldn’t hear it: “I’m sorry it had to come to this, kid.”

I backed away from the door. Was he going to try and break it down? Exactly how sturdy was this door? I couldn’t risk it—I had to get Dove out of here, now. We could use the window, shimmy down and hide in the woods until morning. Until they left. Then grab horses. Ride to the priory?

My mind raced, trying to plan through the panic. Chest tight, I tried to breathe.

“Mae? What’s going on?” a sleepy voice came from behind me.

I turned around, and Dove stood in the doorway of her bedroom, lit only by the moonlight pooling through the windows. She pulled her robe closed, peering at me.

“Who is Zephyra?”

I turned, stricken. Dove’s sleepy face stared back at me in the darkness. She waved a hand to ignite a couple magelights around the sitting room, moving closer to me.

Fuck. Fuck! What should I do? Think, Maerryl, think.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Frozen, I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment while trying to wrap my head around this situation.

Dove clasped my forearms, as if trying to shake me out of a trance. “Mae? Maerryl, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?” she asked, a flicker of fear appearing. My gaze slid to the closed door, and hers followed. “Was someone at the door? Is—is someone in the house?”

She squeezed me, and I nodded once, jerkily. Her breath caught.

“Dove,” I croaked, “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”