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“I saw it.Allof it.”
“And you’re still looking at me the way you are. How can you even bear to be in the same room as me?”
“Because you were a victim as much as Nala’s mum was,” I say softly.
His relief is palpable, but it’s quickly overshadowed by panic. “How the fuck am I going to tell her? I don’t want Nala to hate me, even though I deserve nothing less.”
“Normally I believe in telling the truth, no matter how painful. But honestly, she’s been through so much already. What would she gain knowing it was you who killed her mum, apart from more heartache? For now this stays between us,” I say, reaching for his hand and squeezing it tightly.
Konrad sinks back in his chair, nodding.
With a tremulous breath, I turn to face Jakub. “Your turn,” I say.
“Sure,” he replies, and for a moment his attention is focused on his wine glass as he swirls the liquid around and around. When he lifts his gaze to meet mine, I see sorrow first and foremost. It makes my throat dry and I have a very real need to reach for him and take away some of the pain he harbours so deeply. Instead I listen.
“Every year on the anniversary of Star’s death I take the same walk that we used to do together when she was alive. She loved me unconditionally and I miss her,” he says, picking up his glass of wine and taking a sip before continuing. “I don’t drink tea or coffee, I prefer chamomile tea, it helps me to sleep because most nights I can’t. That day when I first kissed you, the lotion you were covered in had the scent of patchouli. I love the smell, it reminds me of…”
“Of?” I prompt.
“My mother,” he says, meeting my gaze.
“So you remember her?”
He shakes his head. “Not particularly, but that smell, it’s like home.”
“I understand, scent can be very powerful, especially when it comes to unlocking memories.”
“I’ve been collecting obscure objects for years now,” he continues with a nod. “I appreciate uniqueness, and find comfort in what others find unattractive.”
“Why?” I ask, knowing this is an important part of his psyche.
“Because my father would bring home beautiful women to use and abuse, then when he didn’t get what he wanted out of them he would take it out on me. Beautiful things only ever caused me pain.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, stroking my fingers briefly over his forearm. He grits his teeth at the memories, then continues.
“I have a telescope set up on the roof of the castle because I’m into astronomy.”
“You study the stars?”
“Yeah, Jakub’s got a thing aboutUranus…” Konrad smirks, and Leon barks out a laugh. Even Jakub smiles.
“Hilarious,” he replies, and the soft chuckle that parts his lips makes my stomach flip. That little spark of happiness changes his whole demeanour completely.
“Got you laughing didn’t it?” Konrad retorts with a wink as Jakub removes his mask and places it on the table before focussing back on me, his expression serious once more.
“And something you’ve kept secret?” I prompt.
Jakub presses his mouth into a hard line, then pulls out a mobile phone from his pocket. “Charles, our hacker, intercepted a call between your sister, Beast, and Arden Dálaigh. It took him a while to unscramble the conversation—they’ve got a pretty good set-up—he only recently sent it to me.”
“And you kept this from us because?” Konrad asks, his tone of voice one of annoyance.
“The conversation was an interesting one, but not surprising,” Jakub continues, ignoring Konrad’s question as he presses play on the message.
My skin turns ice cold at the sound of Kate’s voice, not because of what she’s saying, but because I’ve already heard it. It was the conversation she had about attending The Brònach Masquerade Ball. The one I’d seen in my vision.
“How long have you known?” I ask.
“Oh I’ve always known they’d come, Christy, but I received this information about a week ago,” he adds. “Your sister protects the people she loves. It was inevitable. The difference now is how we’re going to handle it.” Jakub glances at his brothers. Leon frowns and Konrad drags a hand along his jaw.
