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Gavin

T he late afternoon sun glinted off of her hair, making it look like spun gold as the loose curls bounced with her movements. Gavin wasn’t certain if it was guilt rotting in the pit of his stomach or trepidation. If anyone found out he was following a mere maid, a woman of little suspicion, he’d be reprimanded by the Council of Magic for abusing his power.

But if his growing suspicions proved to be true, he’d finally have a way to find Mistress Scrabs and bring an end to her operation.

That’s the justification he held on to as he followed Adelaide from the estate. Staying several yards behind her, Gavin didn’t know which he would rather be true: that she was an agent sent by the Master of Thieves and therefore her thief, or that he was making a complete fool of himself and wasting his magic by invisibly following an innocent woman.

If the latter proved to be the case, he could already hear William chastising him for letting his theories get the better of his rational mind. But if he was right and Adelaide was the thief referenced in all of the reports and in his informants’ letters, Gavin would finally have the break he needed to make actual progress in putting a stop to Mistress Scrabs’s underground markets and maybe even connecting Lady Alyton to the Den of Thieves as the Master of Thieves herself.

It didn’t ease the guilt curling inside his gut.

In the two weeks she’d been at the estate, Adelaide hadn’t done anything to perpetuate his suspicions. It was certainly possible that she’d only lied about her work experience and nothing else.

Granted, forgery was a crime in and of itself, but it wasn’t like her lie had hurt anyone. Or at least, not that Gavin, Thomas, or William could find out about anyway. All of their inquiries had turned up only dust.

And much like their inquiries, if Gavin didn’t have time to change before he had to see anyone upon his return to Castle Belmont, the dust of walking along the dirt road would surely give him away.

As it was, he hadn’t told anyone of his plan, only that he would be away from the estate this afternoon. He’d refused to elaborate any further, though the fact didn’t stop William from hounding him with questions all during their training session this morning.

He didn’t understand how a man could talk, fend off attacks, and conjure magic as freely as William could without so much as showing any signs of tiring. Then again, Gavin hadn’t either. There was a reason why his cousin had trusted Gavin and William more than even the Commander of the Royal Legion.

The three of them had grown up together, they’d trained together, and they’d managed to survive together. And with their survival, their kingdom had remained intact, even if their late sovereign couldn’t be saved.

Gavin remembered the day the moon had eclipsed the sun. The veil between worlds had evaporated, if only for an hour, but it had been enough for Darshovi to conjure the Penumbral Realm’s army and overwhelm the palace without ever having to step foot in the heart of Kordouva. While Gavin, Jameson, William, and the forces they commanded waged war at the borderlands, Penumbra’s army had assassinated their royal family and decimated the capital city.

It was only when the light of their swords had been extinguished that anyone knew anything was wrong.

But by then, it had been too late.

Despite that, they had survived. The eclipse had ended, and in its wake, Gavin had become the White Hawk of Kordouva for his courage through the dark trial, his cousin had become king as the only survivor of the royal family, and William had steadfastly refused the position of Commander of the Royal Legion in favor of serving beside Gavin.

Together, the three of them had restored their kingdom, and ever since, they’d shared the burden of protecting it. But if Gavin’s fears concerning the Master of Thieves proved true, and it was power she sought more than wealth, all of their efforts would have been in vain.

And with another solar eclipse on the horizon, Gavin’s patience had turned into desperation.

He needed to find the Master of Thieves before it was too late. Just once, Gavin wanted his intuition to be wrong. He knew it was possible that he was utterly fixated on finding the thief, and that he was drawing conclusions where no such evidence existed. Adelaide was calm, elegant, and utterly transparent. Though, Gavin admitted, he didn’t quite understand her. Could someone be both open and a mystery? Or perhaps he found her puzzling because the persona she presented was all an act.

If he was right…Gavin wouldn’t be terribly disappointed. It wouldn’t be the first time someone, or the idea of them he’d conjured in his head, had betrayed him.

Watching curiously as the endless field was interrupted by a worn fence and a small two-story house, Gavin’s gaze gravitated back toward Adelaide. Her pace had quickened. He followed suit and hurried to keep up with her.

Adelaide nearly bounced down the path up to the house in her haste. Gavin stayed behind, observing from the gate as a figure in the upper window disappeared. A moment later, the front door opened, and a tall figure pulled Adelaide into a hug.

“Addie!” the man said, excitement buzzing in his astonished voice.

Gavin shook his head and turned away.

So she hadn’t lied about that. She really did have relations here. Whether or not he was right in assuming this was her family or if Adelaide was just close to the inhabitants of this household, Gavin knew for certain that he had no right in witnessing their private moments.

What a fool he’d been.

Taking one last glance at the plain house and its chipping porch supports and turned spandrils and trim, Gavin just made out a man helping a woman to a seat in what must have been a sitting room.

Gavin shut his eyes to gather his composure. Adelaide hadn’t lied about her family, or her mother’s health. His shoulders slumped. He wasn’t certain if it was from relief or disappointment. Adelaide hadn’t lied about her motivation for coming to Castle Belmont.

But still, Gavin’s mind nagged at him. He had to be certain of her innocence before he could move on in his investigation.

Glancing down the dusty lane, Gavin turned and squared himself with the house once more. Lifting a hand, Gavin’s magic unfurled and reached out to the house. Passing through the cool windowpane, his magic touched the woman he presumed was Adelaide’s mother and examined her. He wasn’t well adept at healing magic, but knowing what ailed the woman couldn’t hurt. Maybe there was something he or William could do to help Adelaide, regardless of how invasive his actions were.

An icy shock flooded his veins. Gavin’s eyes widened. A foul swear leapt from his tongue before he could stop it. Still, he pressed harder. Maybe he was wrong.

The cold didn’t recede, and neither did the suffocating darkness that unfurled from her mother’s aura.

Gavin’s lips pressed into a grim line. Withdrawing his magic, he turned on his heel and took long strides back the way he’d come. His chest tightened. Blind to the world around him, Gavin’s thoughts swirled darkly.

Maybe it was as he thought.

Adelaide’s mother should have been dead.