HARLOW
The unfortunate thing about madness is that the more I think about it, the more paranoid I feel, and the less certain I am of my own sanity.
My father’s words are fresh in my mind, as is the vision of Able thrashing in his bed. But even between the two of them, I cannot see it in the rest of my siblings. Not in Aidia, who is so fiery and passionate. Not in Kellan, who is pragmatic and stoic. Not in any of the rest of my siblings, who are so rational all the time and consumed by their vapid parties or annoying children.
Then again, so is Able in public. If I had not seen what happened last night with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.
I walk down a dark hallway in Havenwood House, ignoring the quiet click of Gaven’s boots on the wood floors several paces behind me. For once, he’s not judging me for exploring. He must be as desperate as I am to get the lay of the land. The hallway to our left is dimly lit by candles and gray light coming in the windows.
“What’s down there?”
“A library and a solarium,” Gaven says.
I look down the hallway to my right.
“A private ritual room and some sort of temple to Kennymyra and some meeting rooms,” Gaven says without prompting.
I start down the right hallway. There’s a startling lack of guards. No one is watching as far as I can tell, and there’s not an aura in sight but my own. I thought security here would be tight, but it’s lax.
“What do you make of it? The scar in the wall? The bustling city?” I ask.
Gaven speeds up so he’s walking beside me. “I’ve seen some things in my day, but never a horde which could take down the mighty wall of Mountain Haven.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I think that someone helped things along.”
I stop and turn to look at Gaven head-on. “You mean someone on the insidehelpedthe Drained?”
“Their claws meet our walls daily and the city walls are made of the same stone. They have scrambled over or broken the gates, or tricked guards at the gates. But they have never once managed to break through the wall, no matter how frantic and furious their thirst is. I find it hard to believe that they bothered for a much smaller prize than they’d find in the city.”
“There are a lot of people here. Perhaps the Drained are smarter than we thought. Perhaps they’ve learned enough to know that the Haven was not as well-armed. Maybe they thought it was an easier target,” I say.
Gaven shakes his head, glancing down the hall, and I can read it on his face. Between the scar in the wall and what Kellan told us, it’s starting to look more and more like there’s merit to the theory that someone helped the Drained get in. Now I just need to figure out if it was actually my family or if there was someone else with just as much to gain in bringing them down and making my father look bad. Someone like Rochelli or Rafe Mattingly…if they’re not one and the same.
We walk past the meeting room doors and round the corner toward the temple and ritual room, only to find Henry leaning against the wall.
“There she is. My lovely wife-to-be.”
I scowl at him. “You said I could explore.”
“I said I would escort you on a tour.”
I wave a hand at Gaven. “I have an escort.”
Henry holds out an arm. I reluctantly take it and let him usher medown the hall. He turns to look over his shoulder at Gaven. “We don’t need your services.”
“My services aren’t optional. Miss Carrenwell is under my protection,” Gaven says.
“As she is under mine,” Henry says smoothly. “It would not be in my best interest for anything to happen to her now.”
Gaven and I lock eyes, and I know he’s focused on the same word I am.Now. Meaning that my safety is linked to how useful I am to Henry. I knew that was the case already, but it’s nice to hear him admit it.
“You can go, Gaven.” I raise a brow and hope he reads the subtext:go spy elsewhere.
Henry waits for Gaven to round the corner before he begins down the hallway in the opposite direction. “Let’s start outside. You look like you could use some air.”
He ushers me around another corner, and it strikes me how labyrinthine this manor is. I retrace my steps in my mind as a servant appears from a doorway at the end of the hall, holding my cloak.
