“A story? I told you one last night before bed.” Pushing a loose strand of hair out of my eyes, I stepped away from the heated forge.
Bridget frowned, her fairylike features scrunching in displeasure. “But you always leave off the ending.”
My lips flattened, and I made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat.Because nothing good ever comes from an ending.
Benjamin crossed his short arms. “We’re not scared, Liana. We’re almost seven!”
I chuckled and reached for the top of Benjamin’s head, tousling the soft strands. “Hmm…you’re right. You are getting older. I thought I saw some gray hairs in here the other day.”
“We’re serious.” Bridget mimicked her brother’s stubborn pose, and I sighed. The two of them were little terrors, but I couldn’t say no whenever they stuck together. They reminded me too much of Hendrik and myself.
“All right, fine. But you asked for it.” I waggled my finger and deepened my voice, taking on the throaty cackle of the villain. “After the prince and the princess slayed the witch, they rode off into the sunset. And they all lived…until one day, the witch returned to lure—”
“Liana Archer!” Sarah hissed from the doorway. She stepped into the room and clapped her hands. “That’s enough storytime for today, you two. Run into the house and wash up for dinner.”
The twins groaned as they filed out of the workshop, while I cast Sarah a glare for ruining my story.
“Why did you stop me? They should know the truth. Love doesn’t conquer all, and sometimes, the ones you love disappear and it’s all your fault. Happily ever after doesn’t exist, and anyone telling them differently is selling them something.” Crossing to my workbench, I picked up my latest creation and tightened my grip around the hilt. Pointing the tip, I stepped into a lunge. “‘Fend for yourself,’ is what I always say. And never assume the witch is dead. They always come back.”
Sarah’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and she sat heavily in a chair beside my workbench. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”
I ignored her reply because I’d heard it all before. I could recite the rest of her speech in my sleep. Sarah and Thomas had been trying to convince me of it from the moment they took me in after that fateful day. The speech always ended with, “Your brother would have been so proud to see the woman you are today.”
Ugh, I hated that part. Who cared about how someone might have felt? For all I knew, Hendrik resented me for not finding him in time. Here I was, with my new family and comfortable home. It wasn’t fair. Where was his rescuer on a white horse?
Besides, it was my fault. Not only was I too late, but the witch had kidnapped us because of me. It wasn’t until after I’d settled in with the Archers I discovered the extent of my power. I had the ability to transfer magic, taking it from one place and putting it into another, just like I did when I absorbed the witch’s magic and used it to create a key. The witch had known about my ability—it was what she’d whispered while leaning over me before I tried to escape.
“Liana, I wish you would—”
Sarah’s plea was interrupted when the door to the workshop burst open and our maid, Lucy, rushed inside. She twisted her ruffled cap and choked back tears.
“Mrs. Archer, I have terrible news.”
Sarah stood, leaning heavily against the chair. Even the simple act of standing caused the breath to wheeze in her throat. She was getting worse. The illness was spreading faster than we imagined.
“What is it, Lucy?”
The maid’s lips trembled. “It’s Mr. Archer. He and Mr. Edwin are being held in the royal prison. They’re accused of stealing a jeweled scepter from Lord MacKenzie.”
“That’s absurd!” I sputtered, looking to Sarah to make sure the news hadn’t sent her into one of her coughing spells.
“They were caught with the scepter in their carriage. Lord MacKenzie is pressing charges.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Sarah asked, sinking back into the chair. Her face had taken on an ashen appearance, and she placed a hand against the base of her throat.
Lucy lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. “Their sentencing is tomorrow unless a family member can plead their case, but you aren’t well enough to travel across the channel.”
“I’ll go,” I said, my stomach already churning with nerves at the thought of leaving the village.
“You can’t go, Liana. You know how you get. What if you have one of your attacks?”
“I said I’m going.” There was steel in my tone, but not in my spine. Sarah had good reason to worry. I’d spent the past six years hiding in our remote village. I was probably the only woman my age afraid of the dark, and I was terrified of enclosed spaces. I needed the wide-open fields of our village where even the dark felt familiar and safe.
“Everything will be fine. I’ll go directly to the authorities. This will all be straightened out tomorrow, and the three of us will return safe and sound.” My muscles tightened, and those first terrifying seconds of paralysis crept through my body. Going back to the kingdom where everything had started made me want to lock the door to my workshop and hide in the hayloft.
I’d failed Hendrik all those years ago, and now, thanks to my crippling anxiety, I might fail Thomas too. The man who’d adopted me and tried valiantly to fix what was broken inside. But it couldn’t be fixed, only faced, and I refused to let him spend the rest of his life in prison for something he didn’t do.
There wasn’t any other choice. I was getting Thomas out of prison, one way or another.
