NATHAN

I stared at Hune. "Did you..."

"No, no. We didn’t do it. We returned from disposing of you-know-what and found the mansion on fire."

I looked at Sophia, saw her shell-shocked expression, and immediately pulled her onto my lap. She buried her face in my chest, her fists clenched against my stomach. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly, loving her with all my might. "You’re okay, butterfly. You’re okay."

She burst into tears.

The day had been overwhelming. She still wasn’t healed, and I dragged her to another fire. I worried that she’d breathed in more smoke. Her lungs were already damaged.

Stupid, Nathan, I thought as guilt stabbed me like knives. You’re an idiot.

Hune rapped the top of the carriage, and the driver took off. The horses moved at quick clip.

After a few minutes, Sophia stopped crying. She fell asleep, her body finally relaxing. Her hands unclenched,too.

I kissed the top of her head. "Everything will be all right, Sophia," I whispered.

Hune opened his mouth, but I put a finger against my lips and shook my head. He nodded then turned his gaze toward the window.

Velvetleaf Inn. Chapter House. Amaranth Manor.

All set on fire. The cause of the inn fire was still unknown, but my concern was how Sophia was connected to all three locations. At the Inn, If she hadn’t jumped out the second-story window, she would’ve died.

Chapter House had been her childhood home. While she had few happy moments there, it was still the place she had grown up. Milestones had been reached. Her life had unfolded within its walls. Her dreams. Her agonies. Her life.

Someone had wanted Chapter House to burn. Maybe it had secrets like Amaranth Manor. Sophia was one of its secrets, but what else did it hold? Evidence about what happened to the Rosebrights? Or maybe things the Pagemoores wanted to be buried forever. Nearly eveything in that house had turned to ash. Not even old ghosts would haunt that place now.

As for Amaranth Manor, the people who knew its secrets best were the Willowmarches. I knew from communications with Dunnie that the memorial service for Jace had been family only. They wanted low-key because they didn’t want to have deal with the questions about how he died. Not to mention who he died with. Most people knew Jace had been married, but since he never took Sophia to the Capital or to events, everyone assumed Penelope was his wife.

But now everyone knows Penelope had been his mistress.

Had the Willowmarches sent someone to torch the old house? Maybe they heard about the flood and destruction and decided it would be better to purge everthing so they didn’t have to answer questions about the dungeon. I wonder if they knew anything about the bodies of the three men?

Maybe there were more bodies buried in the walls. Had the bodies of the Rosebrights been hidden behind a different wall?

I tried to remember what the dungeon had looked like. I’d been too focused on the torture instruments to pay much attention to other parts of the room. My impression was that everything in there had been there for a long time. Maybe the Rosebrights were there somewhere.

Although with the mansion now a pile of smoking ash, what could we do? Dig through the debris in the basement? Was there even a basement left?

We reached Tilda’s dress shop, and I carried Sophia inside. I woke her long enough for her to take her antibiotic, but she fell right back asleep. I was worried that she’d over-exerted herself.

"I can’t believe you took her to a fire," Tilda whisper-yelled at me in the front of the store. "Did you not think she was suffering enough?"

"It was stupid, and I’m deeply sorry I wasn’t more careful with her."

Tilda blinked. "Oh. You ... uh, are admitting you’re at fault and apologizing?

"It’s what I should do. You’re right to be upset. Hell, I’m upset."

"You really a romance hero," she muttered under her breath. "I wish the men from my world were more like the male lead of this world."

"What world? Male lead?"

She shook her head. "Don’t worry about it, Hunky Hunkerson. Just watch over your princess. Let her heal before you take off on another godforsaken adventure."

I paced the tiny room. "I want to take her back to the Capital. There’s much to do. We have to see the Emperor. I need to speak with the Pagemoores and the Willowmarches. There’s the wedding to plan, of course. And a visit to Silverkeep. Hey, what are all these boxes?"

Tilda patted the mannequin nearest her that was wearing a pink lace dress with silver beading. "I"m packing everything up. I’m going to leave Velvetleaf."

"For where?"

"Wherever I go, of course, Your Grace." Scanderoon entered the front door and the bell above it jingled merrily. "Tilda’s talent and skills are wasted in this little town." He winked at her, and she giggled.

I looked at him, then at her. I crossed my arms and leaned back on my heels. "What have you two been up to?"

"This and that," said Scanderoon. "How your girl?"

"Tired. Overwhelmed. Still sick."

"He took her to Chapter House while it was on fire," said Tilda.

"That seems like a stupid idea," said Scanderoon.

"It was." I rubbed my face, suddenly feeling tired myself. "Chapter House burned to the ground. And so did Amaranth Manor."

Scanderoon stared at me, obviously surprised. "Two different houses at opposite ends of town both caught fire?"

"Not to mention the inn fire."

"Do you have arsonist in Velvetleaf?" Scanderoon tapped his cane on the floor. "Or is someone trying to get rid of all the links your Sophia has to the Rosebrights?"

"Who are the Rosebrights?" asked Tilda.

"Likely Sophia’s real parents," I answered. "But they disappeared fifteen years ago."

"So did the magic artifact they were protecting," added Scanderoon.

"I think we need a pot of tea," said Tilda.

"More like a keg of whiskey." Scanderoon smiled widely. "But tea it is. I’ll help you."

They left to go to the back kitchen. I looked out the front shop window and watched passerbys. The cloudless blue sky had turned gray.

And snow began to fall.