He moved toward the door as Finn rapped lightly before entering.
They lifted their heads from their conversation.
“I hate to interrupt,” Finn said. “Jane, may we speak with you?”
“I’ll be right back,” she said to Joy, rising from the bed.
Reagan forced his thoughts away from last night as Jane followed them into the corridor. Her dusty hazel eyes met his, glinting with something, and he wondered if her mind had gone where his had. If she was thinking of last night too.
“We retrieved Malory’s list of time weavers,” Finn said. “Madden’s on it.”
Jane frowned. “So Varian was telling the truth. It was Madden who interfered with your curse.”
“It makes sense,” Reagan said, folding his arms. “He’s operating primarily out of Ashenagth. If he could secure control of another estate, he would gain more land and more influence for the Order’s agenda. All he needed was a pliable heir to a title.”
“And your dear cousin was happy to oblige,” she muttered.
“Yes, but he lost that chance, and now they’ll be plotting something else,” Reagan went on. “I don’t think for one minute that Varian told us everything. I think the Order is moving quietly, but we don’t know toward what specifically. We looked into Madden, but he’s careful. Publicly, there are only mentions of partnerships and funding from other businesses that he is using to expand his influence.”
“Some of it looks a lot like fronts for shady businesses,” Finn added.
“They don’t disclose much,” Reagan said. “Madden’s family used to own a mining company years ago. It supplied raw ores for alchemists to refine into energy-rich ingots.” At her scrunched expression, he clarified, “Electrical power. More importantly, it relied on human labour. When that became forbidden, their costs soared, and they were forced to shut down much of the operation. It doesn’t run anymore.”
“So that’s why he’s leaning on Ashenagth to fund the Order,” Jane said. “Maybe he was also hoping to get his funding from Mountheim.”
“What if it’s not just the estate’s money?” Reagan asked. “What if there are other reasons he wanted Varian here?”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Resources. Location,” Finn supplied.
Jane blinked, eyes widening. “The border to the human lands.”
“We’re still speculating,” Finn said. “We need more information.”
Reagan inclined his head. “Which means speaking to people who might know Madden’s plans, or who are capable of finding out. And giving them a reason to share.”
“And you know those people?” Jane asked softly, meeting his gaze.
Finn sighed, already bracing himself.
“Finnegan’s lovely family in Banfgaard keeps an impressive network of spies,” Reagan said. “Finnegan here is the worst of them.”
Finn scoffed, and Jane’s mouth twitched with quiet amusement.
“We’d like to pay them a visit,” Reagan went on. “You can decide whether you want to be involved in what comes next. But we’ll need to travel.”
When she hesitated, he allowed himself a grin, giving her time to take it all in. “Zara knows I’m tired of Finnegan’s company.”
“It’s mutual,” Finn muttered.
She laughed softly through her nose, glancing between them before her gaze drifted to the window, to the two figures inside, and her mouth pinched.
At a subtle signal from Reagan, Finn inclined his head and moved toward the infirmary door.
“I’ll…check on your father’s condition,” he said.
Reagan reached for her, taking her hands in his. Her eyes followed the movement of his thumbs tracing slow circles against the inside of her wrists.
