AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ourson.
Garath looked at Fin, his stare assessing. I watched him scan Fin’s armor, then his hair—obviously a brighter red than Liam’s auburn, even when wet, but with the same floppy curl—then his face, lingering on his eyes. I saw the moment recognition struck, causing the slightest hitch of Garath’s eyebrows.
My bedroom was spacious, but with all the aggression and testosterone these two big men were throwing off, it felt cramped. Needing space, I stepped off to the side, away from Alastor’s body, so I could see both Garath and Fin.
I straightened my shoulders, held my head higher, and leveled a cool stare on Fin. “Garath let Alastor live onmyorders.”
Fin narrowed his eyes.
“Alastor liked to use the threat of invasion to keep mecompliant,” I explained. “Now that he’s dead, his father, King Eduart, won’t hesitate to take Corvo City and through it, the kingdom.”
I shifted my attention to Garath. “Liam?”
This Alastor situation was enough of a mess. The last thing I needed was for my son to stumble in, see the man he believed to be his father dead on the floor, killed by a stranger who just so happened to be his true father.
“With Ada in her chambers,” Garath confirmed.
“Good.” I nodded to myself. “Go to them—and take Sid. Make sure they stay put while we take care of this.” I glanced down at Alastor. “We’ll meet you there when we’re done. I need to see my son.”
Garath eyed Fin, clearly questioning the wisdom of letting Fin see Liam. “Are you certain?”
Fin had already witnessed my greatest shame. I couldn’t stand the idea of him thinking I hadchosento be with Alastor for any reason beyond desperation. He would know the truth, and I would erase the pity from his gaze. Even if he didn’t believe my words when I told him Liam was hisson, he would have to be a fool to deny the evidence seen with his own eyes. And Fin was no fool.
“Yes,” I told Garath.
“Very well.” Garath bowed his head. “Everything you need is already up in the north turret.”
“I know, I know,” I said, nodding. “Beneath the false bottom in the ammo box under the Gatling gun.”
Garath nodded once, his stare lingering on Fin for a long moment before he turned away and strode across the sitting room.
I glanced at the raven perched on the headboard. “Sid, go with Garath.”
Sid cawed, then spread his wings as he launched off the bed.
“Oh, and Garath?” I called, stepping into the doorway to the sitting room after Sid passed through.
Garath stopped two steps from the corridor and looked back at me, leaning away as Sid flew past him.
“Can you drag Zion in here? I’ll need to...” I raised one hand and wiggled my fingers toward my temple, indicating that I intended to tap into the lesser-known facet of my empathic gifts.
“Of course,” Garath said, bending over and hooking his hands under Zion’s armpits.
I inhaled deeply, steadying my fluttering nerves before planting my hands on my hips and turning back to Fin, half expecting to discover I had been mistaken and he was someone else entirely. Half expecting him to have vanished.
But he was still there, and he was still Fin, as impossible as it seemed. And he looked as flabbergasted as I felt, but we didn’t have time for explanations right now.
“Move the body to the rug over there, please,” I said, pointing to the antique rug with a swirling pattern of red, orange, and gold covering the hardwood floor in front of the fireplace. “I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting to see if he would comply, I hurried into the sitting room. I nodded my thanks to Garath a moment before he pulled the door shut, then knelt beside Macy, brushing her auburn hair out of the way and touching my fingertips to her temples. I closed my eyes and reached out with my empathic gifts. I dove into her head, searching her unconscious mind for the memory of Alastor’s arrival.
I found it quickly, only slightly jumbled by what I assumed to be a concussion from when her head had struck the floor, and slapped an illusory memory over the top of it, one of me coaxing both her and Zion into the sitting room to drink with me. The false memory would fade one day, years from now. But by then, hopefully, it wouldn’t matter.
Once I was finished with Macy, I scooted over to Zion and did the same to him. My head spun as I pulled out of his mind and sat back on my heels. Altering peoples’ memories always sapped my gifts, and right now, after sitting up all night and day with Mother, I was already exhausted.
I took a few slow, deep breaths, regathering my strength, then opened my eyes and stood. I hurried back to the bedroom, pleased to find Fin had not only moved Alastor’s body to the rug, but he had anticipated my intentions and rolled the body up in the rug as well.
“I tied his jacket around his neck to help contain the bleeding, too,” Fin said, standing and dry-washing his hands.
