THE wyvern landed on the front lawn. Through the windshield of the cabin, George could see every detail of Camarine Manor, including Declan and Rose standing side by side on the landing of the stone stairway leading to the front door.
They did not look happy.
"Courage." Kaldar clamped his hand on George's shoulder and rocked, unsteady on his feet. The loss of blood had been severe. Kaldar was walking, but not very well.
In the seat next to him, Jack swallowed.
George wished he were anywhere else. Then he wished he could fast-forward the day to after he had been given the chewing-out. Neither scenario seemed likely.
Gaston opened the door of the cabin.
Kaldar stepped out. Audrey followed.
"Come on." Gaston nodded at the door.
It was his turn.
George forced himself to rise and exit the cabin. Jack followed him, carrying his little cat. Kaldar waited for them by the cabin's door.
Both Declan and Rose looked eerily calm.
"Go on," Kaldar prompted.
George started walking across the lawn. He felt a most childish urge to hold someone's hand.
"We're dead," Jack murmured next to him.
"You say that a lot," George said.
"This time it's for sure."
"Hopefully not," Kaldar said behind them, striding next to Audrey.
"Why are you worried?" George asked.
"Would you be worried if you had kidnapped the wards of the Marshal of the Southern Provinces and nearly gotten them killed?"
"They don't seem that scary," Audrey said, looking at Declan and Rose.
"Looks can be deceiving," Kaldar murmured.
Declan and Rose were waiting. Lorimor, the house master, stood behind them with a worried look on his face.
George walked across the lawn. His legs felt heavy, as if filled with lead. He and Jack climbed the stairway, step by step. Suddenly, the steps were over.
George raised his head and looked at Declan. "My lord."
Declan stared at Jack. "When I said you needed additional supervision, I meant I would get you a valet."
Jack blinked.
"Watch my lips." Declan pointed to his mouth. "You will never be sent to Hawk's. You don't have to run away from home to escape. However, in the near future, you will wish you had been sent to Hawk's."
"You are grounded until you forget what color the sky is," Rose said.
"We're giving you to Lorimor," Declan said. "You will be doing laundry. You will be peeling potatoes. The pool needs replastering."
Laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside George. He tried to hold it in, but it was like trying to block a flood. It kept coming out in snorts and stifled giggles.
"Like I beat you," Declan growled. "Like I chained you in the dungeon or something. You ran away. On a Mirror agent's wyvern! What the devil is wrong with the two of you?"
"We are so sorry, Master Mar," Rose said. "We hope they weren't too much trouble."
"Not at all," Kaldar answered with a straight face.
"What's this?" Rose asked, looking at the cat in Jack's arms.
"This is my cat. I rescued him." Jack tensed the way he did before a fight.
Gods, George prayed silently. Please, no fight. Please, no fight.
"If you want him inside, you will be responsible for cleaning his fur off the furniture," Rose said.
Jack gazed at her, stumbled forward, and Rose hugged him.
"We love you," she told him. "I love you. It will be okay, Jack. It will all work out."
"We'll talk more later," Declan said, his voice no longer indignant. "Nancy Virai is inside in the study. She's waiting to speak to all of you."
They went inside and sat in the chairs by the study. Kaldar and Audrey went in first.
Rose sat next to George and hugged him and Jack. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he heard himself say. Jack sniffed.
His sister looked at him. "Please stop giving me gray hair. Take a couple of weeks off. Just for me."
"THE diffusers." Kaldar placed a wicker box on the surface of the heavy mahogany table.
Nancy Virai opened the box, reviewed the two diffusers cushioned in a piece of white cloth, and looked at them from behind the desk. He scrutinized her face. He'd sent a preliminary dispatch to the Mirror's office when they had crossed into Adrianglia, outlining the events that had occurred. He hid nothing. Experience had taught him that with Lady Virai, honesty was the best policy.
Lady Virai's face was unreadable.
Her gaze shifted to Audrey.
"This is my fiancee," Kaldar said. "Audrey Callahan. She is a victim of circumstance . . ."
"Kaldar," Lady Virai said. "Shut up."
He clamped his mouth shut.
The two women looked at each other.
"You've been exposed to the secrets of the Mirror," Lady Virai said. "You understand that there is no way back."
"I do," Audrey said.
"You will work for me. On a conditional basis for the first six months, with promotion to full agent if you don't screw up."
Kaldar quietly exhaled.
"And if I say no?"
"I wasn't asking," Lady Virai said. "You will find that 'no' is not a word I find acceptable."
"Can we have two weeks for our honeymoon?" Kaldar asked.
"Yes. Given that she risked her life against seven Hounds to save you - I can't imagine why - I would say two weeks of holiday are acceptable. And Kaldar, next time, do try to do your job without dragging children into it. You may go. And send George in."
THE door opened. George tensed.
Audrey emerged, her eyes huge on her face. "She's the scariest woman I've ever seen."
Kaldar followed. "Your turn."
George rose and walked through the door.
Nancy Virai sat behind the desk. She had eyes like a predatory bird: when she looked at him, a vision of deadly talons aimed at his heart flashed in his head.
George carefully closed the door, approached the desk, and stopped, his hands at his sides.
"Sit."
He sat in the chair.
"People who work for me are trained killers. Once in a while, an exception is made for those with a special talent, like Audrey. This isn't a business for tender hearts."
"I can be a killer," he told her.
"It's not a natural state of being for you."
"It's what I want," he told her.
Lady Virai leaned forward. "Why?"
"Because I believe someone must protect the country from the Hand. That someone might as well be me."
"Very articulate. Try again."
George opened his mouth, and the ugly truth spilled out. "Because I'm tired of always being seen as a second-class citizen. I would rather work for you and be the best agent you've ever had than fight a hopeless battle to prove myself to people who will always see me only as an Edger."
She pondered him for a moment, then pushed a piece of paper to him across the desk. "These are your goals for this school year. You will receive one just like it every year. Fail to meet them, and our relationship is over."
George scanned the list. Several subjects, with examinations and scores required. Necromancy testing.
"Your summers belong to me." Lady Virai leaned back. "If you agree, your childhood is over. Do we have a deal?"
He didn't hesitate for a second. "Yes."
"You are dismissed."
George rose. At the door he paused. "What about my brother?"
"All in good time," Lady Virai said. "Don't worry. The realm won't run out of enemies while the two of you grow up."
THE air smelled of ripened grapes. Sunshine warmed Spider's hands and face. He tilted his head to the sky, rolling his wheelchair to the stone rail of the balcony. He loved it here. Below him, rows and rows of grapevines crossed the green hills. He used to walk there, between the rows of vines.
It felt like an eternity ago.
Footsteps echoed behind him, uneven. Someone was limping.
Spider turned.
Helena emerged into the sunlight, dragging her left foot. A blue bruise claimed most of her neck. Her beautiful hair was a tangled mess caked with blood.
His heart clenched. He still remembered her when she was small, a serious, solemn child. She had laughed so rarely, each giggle was a gift.
"How badly are you hurt?" he asked.
"I will heal."
She knelt by his wheelchair. Her eyes were luminescent. "I have a gift for you, Uncle."
Behind her, Sebastian moved into the light and set a steel box on the ground. Helena flipped open the lid. Inside, bags of blood lay buried in the ice.
"The blood of Kaldar Mar," Helena said. "I'm sorry. That's all I could get." She bowed her head.
He patted her hair. "Thank you. Thank you, child."
I will walk the hills again. I will run through them. And then I will settle my debts.
THE house perched on the green lawn next to a lovely lake. It looked beautiful. Audrey smiled.
Kaldar hugged her, and she leaned against him. "So this is it?"
"Mhm. I bought it for a steal. The merchant who had commissioned it backed out at the last minute, leaving the builder with the bill."
He swept her off her feet and started toward the house. He was still weak and swayed a little as he carried her over the threshold, but she said nothing. It was important.
Kaldar set her down inside. The walls and floor were golden, and as the sunlight spilled through the huge windows, the place seemed to glow. Ling the Merciless snuck in behind them and slunk through the house, her claws clicking on the floor. "You have no furniture."
"I had to buy the place with cash. It wiped me out. Besides, I was never here long enough to need any furniture. Until now."
"We don't need much," she told him. "A table, two chairs, and a bed. With both of us working, we'll get it set up in no time."
"Come, sit on the porch with me," he said.
They went out the back door and sat on the wooden porch, guarded by a wooden rail. He put his arm around her. Audrey snuggled against him.
"I thought I had lost you," she murmured. "Are you going to be all noble and chastise me for coming to rescue you?"
"Hell no! I'm bloody thrilled to be alive."
Ling padded out onto the porch and sniffed the air. She paused, poised for a long moment, and trotted down to the water.
"I believe she approves of my glorious palace," Kaldar said.
Audrey wound her arms around him. "I think we'll be very happy here."
"We will. The best thing: no neighbors. Well, except for my family, but they are five miles down."
"So nobody could see us?"
"No."
She grinned at him. "Hey. Do you want to make out?"
Kaldar gave her the wicked grin that made him unbearably handsome. "Do you really need to ask?"
She pulled him to her, and they landed on the boards. He kissed her, and Audrey melted into the kiss.
"You make me feel so wonderful," she said.
He squeezed her to him. "Did I ever tell you that you are like sunshine in the middle of the night?"
Audrey shook her head. Being with Kaldar felt so good. If this is a dream, then please, God, let me keep dreaming. "I hope you know you are caught, Kaldar Mar," she whispered.
"You have it wrong," he told her. "I caught you."
They kissed and made love on bare porch boards. Later, they drank sweet berry wine and ate sandwiches out of their picnic basket, watching the water lap gently at the shore in front of their home.