“The third floor is already on fire,” Camille said as we reached the landing. “Where are the Graces?”
“They were on the first floor with Lenore.” I prayed they’d not ventured upstairs.
The fire traveled fast as we fled down the stairs, a monstrous orange fist trying to smash us. Bursting out into the garden, we choked back smoke. The storm raged across Salten, whipping sharp flakes into our eyes. It should have been cold, but the blaze threw off so much heat, we were in no danger of frostbite.
People gathered around the fountain, huddling together for warmth and comfort. I sobbed in relief as I spotted Lenore, Honor, and Mercy pressed together under a blanket.
“Camille? Annaleigh!” Hanna cried, seeing us. “Thank Pontus! The main staircase was already in flames when we tried to go up for you. I was so scared we’d lost you both.” She pulled us into a painfully tight embrace. “Have you seen Fisher?”
I stared at her dumbly.
“Fisher!” she screamed again, as if I’d simply misheard her. “I couldn’t find him when the fire broke out. Did he go with Roland and the others to the shipwreck? Did you see him then? I don’t know where he is!” Hot tears ran down her face.
I ran my fingers over my own cheeks, smearing soot and pushing aside the last of Kosamaras’s beguiling.
It had been a lie, earlier in the Blue Room, one of Kosamaras’s tricks. There’d been no accident. No funeral. I was the only one who knew Fisher was already dead. Had died before ever arriving for the triplets’ ball.
Lenore left the fountain, joining us. Her eyes were bright with tears, and the flames reflected across them, reminding me of Viscardi’s burning irises. “Where’s Papa? Why isn’t he with you?”
Hanna let out another wail. “He helped the little ones out, then ran back in, saying he was going after Lady Thaumas. You were up with her…” She trailed off, taking in our silence. “Didn’t you see him?”
I locked eyes with Camille. She shook her head, silent tears welling up.
“We didn’t see him. Not since he took the baby…not since he went downstairs.”
“We must go after him.” Hanna let go of us, looking for other servants to rally. As I squinted through the snow, I could see there weren’t many to call upon. Roland and many of the footmen were missing. Regnard and Sterland too.
I grabbed her sleeve. “The back stairs were already engulfed as we came down. He wasn’t there.”
As if confirming my words, there was a great rumbling crash from deep within Highmoor, a section of flooring giving way under the weight of charred wood and flames. Honor and Mercy let out shrieks, and Hanna started crying again.
I wrapped my arms around Camille, bracing myself against her sobs. No one ever needed to know what had actually taken place tonight. We held on to each other with a fierce protectiveness and watched Highmoor burn.
As the late afternoon wore into twilight, more servants escaped from the house, piling out the back doors and making their way to the garden. Camille joined the girls at the fountain, snuggling against them, comforting their tears. She beckoned me to come too, but I couldn’t sit still. Wandering through the groups of people, I tallied how many had made it out, who was still missing.
Every male servant was gone. TheRusalkahad truly run aground, and they’d all gone after it. Seeing Sterland and Roland in the Blue Room had just been another beguiling.
As the flames made their way down the wing, windows shattered in the heat, raining shards of glass like wicked snowflakes. Something inside exploded—stores of wine or kerosene oil, no doubt—and a ball of fire burst free. It flew down the steps, throwing itself into a snowbank.
It wasn’t part of the explosion—it was a person!
Horrified, I raced over and threw handfuls of snow to stifle the flames.
With trembling fingers, I turned the body over and saw not one but two people.
Verity gazed up at me, flushed and smeared with soot but looking relatively unscathed.
“Annaleigh!” She hurtled into my arms, tears streaming down her blackened cheeks. “Annaleigh, you’re alive!” She turned back to the other figure, lying motionless in the snow. “Is Cassius okay?”
I looked over at the pile of burnt clothing, trying to see the form beneath. “What did you say?”
“Is he okay?” She pulled away a piece of fabric, revealing hisface.
My heart stopped. It was Cassius. He was real. Verity saw him, and I could feel his body beneath my fingertips. Kosamaras had beguiled us into forgetting him. “Cassius?”
Verity pawed at his legs, seeking a reaction. “It was so awful, Annaleigh. I woke up this morning and no one could see me or hear me. It was like I didn’t exist. I followed Mercy and Honor everywhere today, but they didn’t know I was there. I fell asleep in the Blue Room when the storm came. When I woke up, there were flames everywhere. But then Cassius came, and he could see me! He pulled me out of the fire. He saved me!”
I leaned over the blackened body. “Cassius?” I gently shook him, rousing him back to consciousness.
