Page 34 of Fall of Ruin and Wrath

I opened my mouth, but words abandoned me. I was such a pathologicallyterribleliar. Especially when it came to Grady, because he knew me well enough to know that my lack of response to the news about the fires meant something. He knew me better than I did some days.

And lying to Grady, or trying to at the very least, always felt wrong. If he’d managed to peel me off when I first latched on to him, I wouldn’t have made it out of the first orphanage I’d been sent to after the Prioress of Mercy had died and no successor replaced her. I’d been weak. A hindrance. I didn’t know how to fend for myself— how to move about without making a sound. The streets we were left to roam were an unfamiliar and scary maze to me, nor did I know how to avoid the caretakers’ careless hands and fists.

Grady had been kind, even then. Or he’d simply taken pity on me. Either way, eventually I was no longer shadowing him but he was making sure I was right behind him. He made sure I survived.

Grady still made sure I survived.

Sighing, I crossed my arms. “I couldn’t sleep after leaving the Great Chamber and I went into the stables to spend time with Iris. While I was there, I overheard two people talking— Finn and Mickie. They had captured a Hyhborn.”

“Fuck,” he murmured.

I nodded slowly. “And I had to do something about it.”

Grady’s head tipped toward mine. “What?”

“I got this urge— you know, this need to do it. I had to— ”

“Are you about to tell me that you went by yourself to free this Hyhborn?”

I cringed. “I didn’t want to involve you— ”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes. Completely.”

Grady sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Dear gods.”

I took a deep breath, and then I told him what had happened— well, almost everything. One of the things I left out was the whole shower situation. He didn’t need to know that. “So, those fires? It has to be this Hyhborn lord.”

“I couldn’t give two shits about this lord at the moment,” Grady exclaimed, his gaze roaming over my face. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? Should I summon one of the physicians and have you checked over?”

“Nothing hurts. Seriously. I’m fine.” And I was. There hadn’t been a single bruise or even a dull ache when I looked myself over this morning.

“This Hyhborn lord you talked to?” Grady drew my attention back to him. “Was he from Primvera?”

“No, but I don’t know where he is from.” My stomach dipped and twisted. I hadn’t told Grady that the Lord had beenmyHyhborn lord. Grady didn’t like to talk about that night in Union City. That wasn’t a good enough excuse for not saying anything, but I’d also never told him that I knew I’d see the Lord again.

Glancing at the horizon, I saw that the faint traces of smoke remained, and it happened again. The coldness between my shoulder blades and the hollow in my stomach. The whisper returned, repeating the same two words it had said in the Great Chamber.

He’s coming.

Upon returning, I found the Baron in his study, seated at the settee with a cloth draped over his forehead and eyes, thankfully alone.

Straw hat in hand, I pushed the door all the way open. “Claude?”

He lifted a limp wrist. “Lis, darling, do come in.”

I closed the door behind me and went to the matching forest-green settee across from the one he sat in. “How are you doing this morning?”

“I’m feeling quite well.” He leaned back, crossing one long leg over the other. “Can’t you tell?”

I smiled a little, sort of amused by the fact that evencaelestiascould get hangovers. “Yes, you look energetic and ready to seize the day.”

“You are too kind, pet.” A wan grin appeared beneath the pale blue cloth. “What brings you to me this morning?”

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“I do hope it’s good news.” When I didn’t answer, he peeled the cloth back from one half-open eye. “What in the gods’ name are you wearing?”