I never found Marin that night. And I turned a blind eye when it mattered most.
“Keep going,” I said, the failure knifing under my ribs.
Reid swallowed. “I knocked on her door. She made me an offer.Me.No one ever looks twice at me, but she did. And with the knowledge she promised, everyone would finally know my name.”
He pulled off his spectacles and wiped his eyes. “At first, all she asked me to do was bring her the comb, and I found it in the treasure room right where the witch said it would be. It was so easy. But when I brought it to her the night before we left, the offer changed. She refused our bargain unless I gave the comb to Marin on the ship.”
Bowen's jaw tightened beside me. I couldn't breathe.
Reid hung his head. “I should have refused. Finding Incantus should have been enough, but by then, I’d lost my notebook in the hot spring. All my research, everything I'd worked for, gone in an instant. I was drunk and desperate.”
He stared into the bottom of his mug, his voice low. “So I agreed to the deal. The witch said it had to be a gift. I didn’t ask why. But I needed a reason to make it one. Sure, Marin and I were friends, but why would I give her jewelry like that? She might have refused. It had to come from you. So when I saw the note and the box you left her, I took my chance.”
“What happened to what was in the box?” I asked quietly.
Reid’s red-rimmed gaze held mine. “I still have it.”
My eyes closed. Something twisted sharply inside my chest.I didn’t trust myself to speak.
“I’m sorry, Gavin! I should have come clean, but I didn’t know how. Everything happened so fast. Then we were back here, and we lost the treasure. We were ruined! And in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to use what the witch gave me. When we went our separate ways, the truth didn’t seem to matter anymore.”
“It mattered,” I said.
“I know that now, and I’ll tell her the truth.” Reid reached an unsteady hand across the table, knocking over his empty mug. “Let me see Marin. I’ll make it right and beg her forgiveness.” He made a choking sound. “She’ll forgive me, right?”
Bowen squeezed his shoulder. “I don’t know. But it’s a start. You can build from there.” Bowen turned to the side, asking me a question with his eyes.
It would be so easy to tell him no. To let Reid drown in his guilt, the way Marin had drowned. But dying was easy. It was living with regret that was hard.
I nodded, and Bowen continued, “We’re going to help you, Reid. We can’t change the past, but this—” he motioned to the tavern. “is not a future. We’ll figure this out. All of us. Together.”
Reid’s features crumpled as he stumbled to his feet. “Let’s go now. I want to see her.”
I hesitated. But if Marin knew the truth, it would help my cause. She’d trust me again. And trust was probably the only thing that would keep us alive on our hunt. I was also selfish. After tonight, she’d stop looking at me like I’d broken her heart. Like she was dying to destroy what was left of mine.
Bowen paid Reid’s tab, and the three of us walked into the late evening sun. The streets were quiet, nearly empty, and theyhadn’t been that way when we’d entered the tavern. I tensed as I searched the deepening shadows. Reid staggered along, his notes tucked under his arm. He looked over his shoulder every few feet.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when Reid slowed at the mouth of the alley.
He shook his head. “Nothing. They wouldn’t dare at this hour. It’s still daylight. But we should…uh…go another way.”
“Reid…” Bowen hooked an arm under his shoulder. “What’s going on? Does this have anything to do with the stuff in the papers, and the man watching you inside the tavern?”
Reid faltered, nearly losing the grip on his notes. “There was a man?” He scraped a shaky hand over his jaw. “I infiltrated a gang for a story, and plan to identify each one of them. It’s fine. Part of the job these days. When I publish my article—”
“We need to move. Now.” I unsheathed a weapon as Bowen dragged Reid away from the alley. We maneuvered through the streets, keeping an eye out for anyone lurking in the shadows.
“What were you thinking, getting involved in something like that?” Bowen growled as we came to a narrow intersection.
“I needed something big. Something that would leave my mark.”
“Yeah. Great way to get attention. You’ll trade articles for a byline under the death notices.” I held up my hand, halting our movement as a shadow peeled away from a nearby building.
The man from the tavern. His blade glinted in the dying light of the sun. Another figure emerged behind us. Four more prowled from a side street, each gripping wooden clubs.
We were outnumbered six to two—plus a drunk. And the streets were still empty. Anyone with half an ounce of sense was keeping their distance.
The man from the tavern bared a set of blackened teeth, his dagger aimed in Reid’s direction.
