Page 56
Thorne
D evastation often happened on beautiful days.
The day my Iris died was the most pleasant autumn day Mysthelm had seen in months.
Bright sky, warm sun chased by a chilly breeze, the smell of changing leaves and fresh soil mixing with the crisp fall air.
I’d been walking with three-year-old Marigold along the palm trees bordering our mansion when the servants rushed to us, bearing the news that Iris had suffered another heart attack.
One she never recovered from.
Mere months before that, we’d had the wettest spring season in recent history.
Multiple floods in the North Territory, villages overrun with rainwater, and hardly a dry day in sight.
Until one morning, we woke to birds chirping and the sun peeking through the never-ending clouds, bringing with it blooming gardens and a reprieve from the storms.
That was the day my father abandoned us.
He took three quarters of the gold we kept in our treasury and disappeared without a backward glance. He left no note, no warning, no explanation. Just a legacy to uphold and a new title added to my name .
I stared out the window of the carriage with Clarissa, taking in the sunlight over the rugged horizon of mountain peaks. The water had kept our clothes cool in the mild summer heat. It was the perfect day.
And as it so often went, its beauty was deceptive.
Across from me, Clarissa gave a little shiver and rubbed a hand over her bare forearms. I picked up the cloak I’d brought this morning, just in case, and leaned forward, undoing the clasp to tuck it around her shoulders.
Her dark brown eyes caught mine as I pulled away, and I swear, it was as if something that had been locked inside me had burst free ever since our kiss.
A raging, burning, ruinous desire I’d suppressed from the moment I met her.
And for good reason. We both had more important things in our lives that needed our attention—her with her empire and marriage alliance, and me with raising my daughter and overseeing the North Territory.
The old Thorne would think nothing of instant attraction, of getting it out of our systems and going back to our normal lives. The old Thorne never felt much beyond the surface. Anything pleasurable or joyful was there for a moment and gone once I’d had my use for it.
My life was shades of black and white before Iris and Marigold. They taught me how to see beauty and love the way it should be—deep and enduring, not as a tool or distraction.
For four years now, the brightness had been slowly fading, with my daughter as the only beam of light in a graying world.
And in fourteen short days, Clarissa had brought the color back.
It exploded before my eyes, vivid hues and tones I’d long forgotten.
Peace like white clouds drifting across a pale blue sky.
Anger like red and orange flames dancing in the wind.
Passion like the deep pink of her cheeks, her swollen lips parting beneath mine.
Strength and steadiness like the brown eyes staring back at me, or the unshakeable dark mountains drenched in sunlight at our backs.
Fates, maybe she was right. I was becoming a romantic. Or I’d always been one. A fool, as my mother called me, to once again even consider the idea of love being a force strong enough to conquer the darkness.
I didn’t know what might exist between Clarissa and me. It could’ve been something beautiful. Something to rival the Fates themselves.
I supposed the Fates were the only ones who would ever know.
The halls of the Penworth Estates seemed darker as I watched Clarissa make her way to her room, my cloak pulled tight around her shoulders. I ached to follow her, but I knew the best thing for me—for both of us—was to keep my distance before my heart could travel even further down this path.
I rounded a corner in the corridor where my daughter’s room lay when voices behind my mother’s cracked door caught my attention.
“...promised me you had this under control,” my mother whispered, her tone cold.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. Things didn’t go as planned.
” I couldn’t place the second person’s voice, but it was definitely female.
Through the small open sliver in the doorway, I could only see Mother’s frame and half of her dark purple gown.
Her back was to me, her body hiding any hint of the person she was speaking to.
“Obviously. I want it done before we get to the island. Or do you not understand what I…” Mother moved farther into the room, and her voice grew so soft, I could no longer make out what she was saying.
I shuffled closer to the door, and the tip of my shoe bumped against the frame. I cursed under my breath as their whispers ceased, followed by the sound of a skirt ruffling and footsteps tracking across the wooden floor. When I pushed the door open, my mother stood alone.
“Who were you speaking to?” I asked .
“A servant,” she responded with a shrug, adjusting the bun at the top of her head.
“That wasn’t a servant.” I took a step toward her.
My mind raced through the few words I’d heard, doubts I didn’t want to face growing with each second.
I’d barely spent any time with my mother since our disagreement at the Harvest Festival.
I hadn’t wanted to be around her much. She didn’t particularly approve of the empress nor Galen’s reign, but I thought she’d agreed to stop plotting against them after learning the truth about the curse.
I didn’t want to believe she had anything to do with the terrible things that had happened to both Clarissa and Galen in the past weeks. But after what I’d just overheard…
“What are you planning, Mother?”
“I’m not planning anything, son ,” she said, drawing out the word as she crossed the room to her vanity. “I asked a servant to fetch me some more decent clothing for this territory, and they failed to deliver. I was expressing my disappointment.”
“That’s a terrible lie, even for you.”
She whipped her head toward me. “Watch your tone,” she snapped.
“Then tell me the truth. What hasn’t gone to plan?” I clenched my hands at my sides, paranoia causing new, unthinkable suspicions to come into the light. “Do you know who’s behind what’s happened to Clarissa and Galen?”
She turned to her mirror and picked up a makeup brush.
“Why does someone have to be ‘behind it’ at all? They are merely coincidences, Thorne. Terrible coincidences that have thankfully seemed to stop.” She dabbed blush along her sharp cheeks.
“You’ve always had such an active imagination. Just like that woman you married.”
I’d often been frustrated with my mother, but I’d hardly ever felt the kind of anger that burned beneath my skin as it did now. She’d never been this cruel . Condescension seeped from her pores, and for the first time, my rose-colored glasses toward the woman who gave me life began to lift .
Was this how she’d always been? Scoffing at me, hurling underhanded insults toward the people I loved?
“I could have you arrested,” I said. “Conspiracy against the king is treason.”
She rolled her eyes and threw the brush down.
“For Fates’ sake, Thorne, I’m not conspiring against anyone.
And even if I were, you’d do well to remember that you , my dear son, were once in agreement with me about the Grimaldis.
” Standing abruptly, her chair went skidding along the floor.
“If you’re going to throw around allegations of treason, you better be prepared to face the consequences. ”
“Are you threatening me?”
She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, rubbing her fingers in a circle at her temples.
When she opened them again, the anger had left her features.
“Of course not, Thorne. I would never do anything to put you or Marigold in danger. You caught me at a bad time. I’m frustrated, and I’ve taken it out on you. I’m sorry, dear.”
I let my breaths even out, trying to force aside my momentary rage. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Then tell me what that conversation was about.”
She paused, then said, “Your father.”
My lips parted as I took a step back. That was the last thing I expected her to say. “What does he have to do with this?”
“I’ve been looking for him. I’ve paid several people to uncover his whereabouts and track him down. That’s what you heard. My latest informant was unable to bring me anything helpful.”
My features screwed in confusion. “Wait, how long has this been going on?”
“Several months. But he’s certainly made himself difficult to find.”
“He could be dead, for all we know,” I muttered, combing my fingers through my hair as I tried to take in this revelation.
“Yes, well, based on what little I’ve discovered so far, that’s very possible. ”
“What have you found out?” I was irritated with myself for how much I cared. I thought I’d put that man behind me. I thought we both had.
She let out a sigh. “Your father had a gambling problem. It was always one of his vices, but even I didn’t know the extent of it until I found some of the people he owed money to.
It was worse than I thought. They threatened him, and when it hit the breaking point, he drained our funds to pay some of it off and?—”
“And left us with next to nothing.” I had no idea he was a gambler.
My father was always so disciplined—to a fault.
Everything had to be precisely how he liked it.
His food, his clothes, his son. If anything was out of line, there were punishments.
If his breakfast was overcooked, if the tablecloth had a stain, if there was a single coin missing from the North Territory treasury.
“Why do you even want to find him? He’s not worth any more of your time, Mother.”
She ran her tongue along her teeth. “Call it curiosity. Or retribution. After the way he treated both of us, I just—” Her shoulders fell as she paused.
“I simply want to know, Thorne. There’s nothing I can do about it, but perhaps it would give me peace of mind.” She moved closer, the hard lines on her face softening slightly as she held out a hand to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to bring you back into this.”
I hadn’t realized this was on her mind at all, but it shouldn’t have surprised me.
Both my father and Iris had entered my thoughts more often than usual in the last couple of weeks.
Maybe she was feeling the effects too. We’d been traveling among all the other regent families that she’d once spent so much time with at my father’s side, and now she had to watch me carry on that role.
A sliver of guilt crept in as I let her take my hand. I’d been so quick to assume the worst in her. No wonder she didn’t want to admit the truth.
“I understand,” I said. “And I’m sorry for accusing you of anything else. I had a hard day too, and I guess I was also taking it out on you.” Before I could talk myself out of it, I added, “Will you let me know if there are any updates?”
She squeezed my fingers. “Of course, dear. Now, let’s get ready for the ball.”
Table of Contents
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