I waitedbehind the humans wearing all black, watching them mourn a woman they hadn’t even known. As sad and depressed as they appeared, none of their emotions rivaled my own. Not only did I ache with sadness, but rage and guilt filled the void inside me as well.
Pity the girl from Graystones who loved a heartless prince,
For the only way to save him was at her own expense.
Aveen had died, hadn’t she? Why was I still here, still feeling the weight of the Queen’s influence like an icy fog around my shoulders? Why hadn’t fate freed me?
Aveen’s sister clung to my arm as if I could offer her comfort when I had none to give. When she left with her father, I promised to accompany them shortly. News of our hasty betrothal had eclipsed that of Aveen’s death. As if losing a light in this world wasn’t as important as a feckin’ scandal.
One by one, the other mourners left, until it was only me and the man dumping dirt into the hole, grunting under the weight of the earth each time he filled his shovel. I tried shifting Aveen’s body to the castle, but something blocked my magic. Of course it did. Why would this be easy when it could be a pain in the arse? When my brother appeared on the other side of the tiny gray church, I resisted the urge to groan. One more thing I didn’t need to deal with.
Ah, well. Since he was here, I may as well use him.
I focused my magic once more. When nothing happened, I assumed Aveen’s father had bought an iron-lined casket. Where had he gotten the funds? Those things did not come cheap.
No matter.
I stepped forward, my boots knocking bits of dirt onto the coffin at the bottom of the pit. The man digging stopped to glower at me. “Would you mind giving me a moment alone to pay my respects,” I said in the ambassador’s commanding tone.
“Ye can pay ‘em once the hole’s filled in,” he grumbled, scooping another shovelful.
If I did that, I’d have to dig all the dirt right back out. “That doesn’t work for me.”
“I don’t give a—”
Tadhg stepped from the shadows, the tips of his pointed ears peeking through his unruly dark hair. The human’s bulging eyes bounced between us. I smiled, allowing darkness to leak into my eyes. Instead of running, the foolish bastard adjusted his grip on the shovel’s handle and swung it at my head, getting dirt all over my feckin’ shirt.
“You really shouldn’t have done that.” I caught him by the throat and snapped his neck. Perfectly legal considering he’d attacked me first. At least it was in Tearmann. And I abided by Tearmann law.Tadhg skipped over to my side with an impish grin.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“You always complain about me not helping with my bodies.”
Tadhg was usually as helpful as a thorn in my boot. He had an agenda, I was sure of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to figure out what it was. Shifting the dirt covering the coffin took no time at all, but still the wooden box inside refused to budge.
“You want to help?” I shifted a steel crowbar and thrust it into his chest. “Get in and open it up.”
When he did as I asked with no protest, Iknewhe was up to something. I evanesced next to him, my boots sinking into the squelching mud, making my stomach lurch. Filthy earthworms writhed and slugs inched along the walls of the pit. The flowers engraved on the beautiful casket left my chest caving in.
Tadhg wedged the crowbar into the gap and began prying it free while I directed far too much magic toward the latches. The wood creaked and groaned, and after a bit of effort, it popped. My brother stepped back. When I lifted the lid, I felt myself wilt.
Someone had covered the black curse with layer upon layer of makeup. Aveen looked like a painted doll. A bit more magic sorted that right out. Her freckles stood out against her pale skin. She didn’t blush when my eyes traced the lines of her body. She didn’t smile or curse when I lifted her into my arms.
“Throw the human inside and fill the hole,” I told my brother, nodding toward the casket. It would do no good to have someone passing by and finding a body.
I never would’ve been able to evanesce across the country with Aveen if she were alive. Seeing as she wasn’t, the trip took barely any magic at all. After bringing in hundreds of Tadhg’s victims, no one paid me any attention, nodding a greeting as if I were carrying a sack of grain.
Once I crossed the wards, I evanesced straight into the tallest tower, where I’d left the coffin I’d purchased in Swiftfell for a small fortune. The box may have been decorated in gold leaf, but what it held inside was infinitely more precious.
I couldn’t linger, even if I wanted to.
I needed to return to Graystones to marry Aveen’s sister.
* * *
Was this really necessary? Truly? What if I didn’t go through with it? No one would know. I could evanesce, never to return. Edward DeWarn wasn’t real. There would be no record of him anywhere.Ohhh, or I could die. Make it look like an accident. But then my glamour would slip, and the town would know Aveen’s family had been associating with the Danú. A scandal worse than bankruptcy and rushed nuptials put together. I could ask Tadhg to help hold the glamour until after I was buried, but that would require him being sober—something he hadn’t been since we collected Aveen.
I scrubbed at my weary eyes.How could this plan have gone so horribly wrong?It was the sister’s fault. If she had just listened to me and held still, none of this would’ve happened.