NATHAN

The second storm in as many days battered the little town of Velvetleaf. Hune and I had checked in to the inn just outside of the village because there was no way to get back to the cabin without risking our lives. Besides, going anywhere in this hellish rain was nigh on impossible.

We’d tracked down the staff of the livery stable and after some persuasion, two of the men admitted they’d accepted money to sabotage the Willowmarch carriage. Say what you wanted about Hune, but he had a way with torture that brought results.

Speaking of Hune ... he sat across from me in the dining area of the inn waiting for stew and bread. We both had beers in front of us. Hune’s was half-gone, but I’d barely touched mine.

It wasn’t like Willowmarch didn’t have enemies. More than a few people in town didn’t like him or his family. Despite the economic dependence on the Willowmarches, many villagers grumbled about Jace’s arrogance and cruelty. Penelope’s reputation was no better.

My thoughts circled back to Sophia. I missed her. I wondered what she was doing right now. If she was safe. If she was healing well. If her memories were returning. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Do you think she’s okay?" I asked Hune. "We’ve been apart for too long. I can’t wait to pry her out of her unworthy husband’s arms."

"I think Miss Sophia can weather this storm and any other," stated Hune confidently.

"Miss Sophia?" I lifted an eyebrow. "What happened to formalities, Hune?"

"You told me not call her Mrs. Willowmarch. And I can’t call her Mrs. Stonehart yet. Plus, she’s the only one who actually notices me and my good deeds."

"I notice you and your good deeds."

"That’s different." He paused. "And no, you don’t. I’m merely an extension of you. Like one of your limbs. You’d miss me if I was gone, but otherwise you don’t notice me at all."

I placed my hand against my chest and affected a hurt expression. "You wound me, Hune. Am I not the one who cares for you the most?"

Hune remained unmoved. "Are you? I can’t tell."

"Ungrateful," I muttered.

"You the ones looking for information about the Willowmarch carriage crash?"

We looked up and saw an old man leaning on a cane. He looked like a crumpled bit of paper, hunched shoulders, gnarled hands, hair whiter than snow.

"We are," I said. "What do you know?"

"My grandson’s been bewitched by that Penelope Shire. Not a decent bone in that girl’s body. I know it was him that paid the groomsmen to sabotage the carriage."

"Penelope Shire is in the Capital," said Hune.

The old man pulled a wrinkled letter out of his jacket pocket. "She writes to him. Got him twisted around her little finger. He’s young. Stupid. Can’t tell the wheat from the chaff."

I took the letter and unfolded it. Penelope had hidden her instructions in the banality of her words, but it was easy to decipher her meaning.

"What reward do you want for your help?" I asked.

"Send my grandson to your military camp. Let him serve the Stoneharts."

I touched the edge of my mask. "How did you know I’m a Stonehart?"

He shook his head. "I ain’t blind."

"It’s a deal," I said.

The old man nodded, satisfied, and then shuffled away. I handed the letter to Hune. "Track the boy down, take care of the details."

"Yes, sir." Hune put the letter in his pocket. "Do you think Peril is out in this storm?"

"My hawk isn’t stupid. He’ll find a place to hole up until the weather clears. That means Dunnie won’t get my missive until tomorrow." I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. "If only there was a way to communicate with others faster."

"By bird is the fastest," said Hune. "Faster than by horse."

"Maybe the Scanderoon has something that will do the trick."

"Are we returning to the Capital then, Your Grace?"

"After we check on Sophia, we’ll head there. We can see what Penelope and Jace are up to ourselves and make contact with the Scanderoon."

"Are you sure you want to trade with him again so soon? He’s such an odd fellow. And he asks for the strangest things in return for his help."

"Worth it," I said. I grabbed my beer and took a long gulp. "Best we can do is sleep well tonight and head out first thing in the morning. But make sure the old man’s grandson starts his journey to the camp. The sooner we get him away from Penelope’s clutches, the better."

"Understood, sir."

The stew and bread arrived. The meat soup was passable, but the bread was stale. We ate it anyway. After filling our bellies and paying the bill, we headed to our rooms. Hune’s was on the first floor and mine on the second floor.

We said good night, and I went upstairs. My room was at the furthest end of the hall. I unlocked the door and went inside.

It was clean-ish. Bed big enough to fit two people, but I was tall and inevitably my feet would hang off any bed. Except the one at my home. I had that one custom-made. But I hadn’t seen it or my home in months.

I couldn’t wait to take Sophia to Silverkeep. I wanted to show her the rose garden, with all of her favorite varieties. I’d had also created a section of garden with butterfly bushes. There were benches there, too, so she could sit whenever she wanted and enjoy herself.

There many things I had created and prepared over the years in the hopes that Sophia would be my wife. After all, I was the boy in the garden. The one she actually wanted to marry.

But Jace, that asshat, had stolen my place in her memory. In her heart. In her life.

I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands.

Hmph. Maybe I would.