Page 56 of Goldflame
Look at me now—exactly the way Lady Harrow has always wanted me—fallen from grace.
I hobble toward Adrian’s room, each step like a negotiation to keep my body moving. The single guard watches me as I make this humiliating journey back to my prison cell.
Thankfully, I turn a corner and I’m out of his line of sight.
The hallway stretches endlessly before me, the distance to Adrian’s room seeming to expand with each painful step. As I pass Lady Harrow’s room, I notice her door is cracked open slightly—unusual for a woman so obsessed with privacy. Her voice drifts out, clipped and precise, in what sounds like a phone conversation.
I glance around, making sure no guards are nearby. Seeing none, I slip into a recessed alcove in the hallway—a blind spot from the security cameras that Adrian once showed me years ago. My heart twists at the memory. What possessed him to reveal that vulnerability in their security system? Was it another subtle way he tried to protect me, giving me an escape route I was too blind to recognize at the time?
My focus turns to the conversation in Lady Harrow’s room. It’s on speaker phone and her voice fluctuates as she paces around inside.
“—he might be unraveling,” she says, her tone sharp with frustration. “You’re not helping him as you should.”
I strain to hear the response, the other voice too muffled until Lady Harrow paces closer to the door.
“—won’t listen,” the voice replies, and my stomach drops as I recognize it instantly.
Valentine.
My blood turns to ice. Is Lady Harrow trying to manipulate Valentine now? Has she sunk her poisonous claws into the only person I have left to trust?
Anger floods through me, temporarily numbing the physical pain as a new, deeper wound opens in my chest. I need to take care of her before she turns everyone against me. Hell, she might even go after Eleanora even though she’s not part of this world.
Maybe I should just burst in there and strangle her right now. This is actually a great opportunity, if only I had the strength.
“Keep talking to him,” Lady Harrow says. Her voice is clearer, like she’s closer to the door. “Keep guiding him.”
“And what if I don’t?” Valentine snaps. “You certainly didn’t follow your end of the bargain.”
I hold my breath.What bargain?
“How is that? I haven’t killed her.”
“You said she wouldn’t beharmed.” Valentine’s voice turns hard, vibrating with barely contained fury. “What’s Julian doing to her? She’s terrified. Julian’s in power. That was our agreement. Aurelia was supposed to remain safe.”
I still can’t breathe as I listen.
I… I have to be imagining this in my injured state.
“Circumstances change,” Lady Harrow replies.
“That wasn’t the deal.” The edge in Valentine’s voice could cut glass. “I helped with everything and I didn’t ask questions. In return?—”
“Yes, yes. Thank you. Though I suppose I could’ve done it without you. Getting her to find her mother’s diary wasn’t hard. You act like you didso much.” I can hear the eye roll in her voice. “The killings—I’ll give you credit for those.”
“Do you hear yourself? I’ve put everything on the line for you. All of it to help you get whatyouwanted. But I was clear about one thing: Aurelia stays safe. Yet, where is she now? You let Julian lock her away.”
My lungs collapse. Reality shifts sideways. This can’t be happening.
God, please don’t let this be happening.
“Your… attachment to her is clouding your judgment.”
“My attachment?” Valentine’s laugh is bitter. “I raised her. After what your husband did to her mother, Ipromised myself I’d protect that child.” A pause. “Let her go. Julian is firmly in control now. That’s what you wanted. I swear, I’ll take Aurelia away and you’ll never see her again. But she goesfree.”
The silence stretches, tight and thin.
“Think carefully about your next move, Valentine.” Lady Harrow’s voice drops lower, almost purring. “Julian trusts me implicitly. One word from me, and he’ll believe you were involved in Adrian’s death.”
