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But Fordham’s realization was more than moving. It showed that people could change. They had the ability to see others as three-dimensional. And after he saw her as a real person and not lesser, he couldn’t unsee it. His world tilted on its axis and now, he had to look at the world through a new lens of empathy.
That was what she had seen from him over the last couple of weeks. Not a softening expressly to her, but a softening of his hardened core beliefs. And she fell for him even more in that moment.
“I’m glad that you came around. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“No,” he said, stepping forward.
She stilled under that gaze. His head dipped lower toward her. She wanted this. She wanted more from him. Her eyes fluttered closed of their own accord, and she hung in mid-air heavy with anticipation. His breath fell against her lips, hot and tantalizing. She could practically taste his lips.
But then he withdrew, leaving her hanging suspended.
She opened her eyes in surprise and a little more than embarrassed. Red tinged her freckled cheeks.
“Thank you for this evening,” he said formally, withdrawing a step.
“Oh… you’re welcome.”
“No one has ever done anything like that for me before, and I won’t soon forget it.”
She wanted to say so much more. She wanted to be bold enough to take that kiss for herself. But she saw something in his moody gray eyes that stilled her. It wasn’t fear, but it was taut with tension.
He wasn’t ready. For some reason, he still wasn’t ready to make that step. He had changed his views of half-Fae enough for her, but even still, he couldn’t move past that… couldn’t give her the kiss that she so desired. This was still to new. Too anathema to his upbringing.
So, she stepped backward, hid her plain desire from her face, and nodded. “I’m glad that you enjoyed it.”
“I should bid you good night.”
She saw the resolution in his eyes, the set of his jaw. The night was over.
“Good night,” she muttered wistfully and then reached for the handle.
The door fell open behind her, and she stepped inside, staring into Fordham’s gray eyes all the while. A crinkle sounded beneath her feet at the first step. Her brow furrowed in confusion, and when she looked down, she discovered a letter.
“What is it?” Fordham asked.
She reached down and picked it up, immediately recognizing the handwriting. “A letter from Ellerby.”
37
The South
Fordham followed Kerrigan into her room as she broke the Elsiande wax seal and opened the letter. “What does he say?”
She shook her head as she read through the letter. It was short with a flourishing signature at the bottom. And it said nothing. Not a damn thing.
Dear Kerrigan,
Thank you so much for your entreaty into my well-being. All is well with me. I have returned to the countryside for my health. It is wonderful to be back in my hometown of Archdale, where I can wake up every morning whole and hale and look out across the Corvian Sea.
It does bring me joy to hear from you. As ever, you should have no reason to worry over me. I merely wish to continue the long days I have left in this world with my family—particularly my nephew, Ever—nearby. The city has lost its luster of late.
I do wish to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Ellerby Emberton of Elsiande
She cast the letter aside, and Fordham gingerly plucked it off the ground.
“That bad?” he asked.
She huffed, “All he does is rave about his health. He says nothing about why he abandoned me to this fate. Only that he left to return home to be with his nephew.”
Fordham read through the letter once, twice, three times before he sighed. “I believe this is a code.”
“What?”
“I don’t believe he is speaking plainly. I think it is a cry for help.”
“What do you mean? He clearly says all is well.”
“Yes. He says it multiple times. How often do people write a letter and say over and over again that they are well?”
She shrugged. “I don’t get many letters. What do you think he’s really saying then?”
“That he was in trouble. He fled the city in haste and has given you explicit directions as to where he went. He reminds you not to worry, and that he just wanted to be with his nephew. I would suspect his nephew was part of all of this in some way. Then, he says he wants to hear from you soon. Soon, not again, which is the customary address, is it not?”
She reached for the letter and reread the whole thing. “It is. Soon is too immediate. It’s not used. I would have never realized all of that. So… he’s in trouble?” she asked. Fordham nodded. “Which means we need to get to Elsiande to speak to him. Maybe he knows why Lyam was killed and why the assassin tried to kill me next. Maybe he knows who is doing all of this.”
