The door to the workroom slammed open as Rhea rushed inside, a mortar and pestle cupped in her hands.
“I ground up the linseed and bezoar as Aura instructed.” Rhea set the bowl down on the table.
With deft fingers, Mother took boiling water from the kettle on the stove and poured it over the crushed linseed. She quickly stirred it together into a hot paste. “Hand me that linen.”
Rhea took the clean linen from the shelf and watched as Mother spread the poultice across the linen. After testing the temperature against her own skin, she packed it against the man’s wounds. “The bezoar should work against the poison while the linseed will draw out the infection.”
“You haven’t lost your touch,” Lorn said.
“I had an excellent teacher,” she said and glanced away. She looked across the room and our eyes met. “You did well, Aura.”
“Is there nothing else you can do?” I asked helplessly, staring at the man who hadn’t moved or opened his eyes since they brought him to the house.
Mother shook her head. “No, and I won’t until I know who he is and why he was in our woods.” She glanced toward the fireplace and our crystal protection wards. None of them had gone off, but he was also found beyond our ward boundaries. “What did you learn, Aura?” She moved to the basin and scrubbed her hands clean of the blood.
I swallowed. “Not much. His pain was palpable and distracting. I wasn’t able to get anything else from him.”
“Pity.” She turned to Lorn. “What do you think?”
Lorn’s silver eyes carefully looked over the man’s clothing. “He looks to be from the northern kingdom of Rya, but they haven’t traveled this far south since the last gathering of kings when you ceremoniously made a fool of them. The journey is treacherous and not for the faint of heart. He must be a man of great determination to make it this far while wounded.”
Mother dried her hands on a tea towel and frowned. “It’s as I thought. The mirror has shown me nothing but fog over Rya for the last few weeks. This means there’s trouble brewing.” From the hidden pocket within the folds of her skirt, she pulled a dagger and placed it under the sleeping man’s throat, scraping dangerously close to his Adam’s apple. “Make no mistake, if he is here to harm us, I will kill him.”
Lorn placed a gentle hand on my mother’s wrist, pulling the dagger away from his neck. “Lorelai, it won’t come to that.” He carefully took the blade from her and placed it out of reach on the windowsill. “Because I will kill him before he touches any of you.”
Her hand shook, and she nodded. Turning to us, she pointed up the stairs toward our rooms. “You, all of you, go to your rooms and stay there. Lorn and I will watch over him until he wakes, and we can question him thoroughly.”
“But what if you need us?” Maeve argued.
“We won’t,” she said firmly.
None of us budged. We stood in place, all defying her. Until Honor flicked her braid over her shoulder in annoyance and handed Lorn three more daggers she unloaded from hidden pockets in her clothes. She marched up the stairs first and turned to glare at us. “You heard Mother; move!” Honor snapped.
Startled by the command, Maeve ran up the stairs first, pushing against Honor, knocking her into the wall. Rhea followed second. I passed Honor on the steps and she hesitated, staring at the man on the table. She was having second thoughts about leaving.
“Honor,” I said softly. “Let’s give them some privacy.”
She watched Lorn as he placed his hands on Mother’s shoulders and whispered into her ear.
“Oh,” Honor said, realizing for the first time what I had always known. Lorn had feelings for our mother. I was always the first to know everything about everyone. I couldn’t pry into the vault that was my mother’s mind, but I knew Lorn’s feelings. I headed up the stairs and Honor took up the rear, making sure that we were all heading to our floors. Rhea and Maeve stopped on the second floor and headed into their room, while the stairs narrowed and I headed further up into the tower, to the empty and dreary third floor.
I stepped into the round room and stared at the empty mattresses that belonged to Eden and Rosalie. Their bedding had been rolled up and stowed away what felt like ages ago. It was almost two years since Rosalie had left to marry Prince Xander, and they now had a wonderful daughter named Violet. Eden had found happiness with Dorian in Candor, and we had recently received a missive announcing the wedding of my sister, Meri.
All of them had gone on grand adventures, and the one time I attempted to, I messed up. Many months ago, I faltered when cornered by thugs in town. Unable to defend myself, I cried out for help and Meri had come to my rescue. She inadvertently killed a man, Armon, while protecting me. She ran away, and I attempted to follow.
Sighing, I flopped back onto my bed, fingering the pink needlework flowers on my bedding. It was a disaster. I dragged my pillow over my head as I tried to drown out the memories. I had begged my sisters to let me follow Meri. Knowing my limitations with travel and large crowds, Rhea had given me her three corded magical bracelet that took her six months to make. It would allow me to travel through a mirror exactly two times.
I used the bracelet and traveled through the mirror to Isla and arrived just in time to stop my sister’s curse from taking hold and killing her. By reading her mind, I could garner the knowledge to save her from the sea witch, but to do so, I would have to kill the one person she loved—the Prince of Isla.
I flung the pillow to the floor and held up my hand, studying the lines along my palm, envisioning the feel of the dagger. I had tried to do it, to stab him, but as an empath I couldn’t hurt someone. In the end, it was someone else who made the sacrifice. A guard of the Undersea named Vasili. He took his own life to save Meri’s. Another death that weighed heavy on my conscience.
My fingers trembled. I blinked, and my vision blurred with my tears. It was my fault that Meri had a bounty on her head and had to run away, which led to her getting cursed. If I were brave like Honor or Rosalie, I would have thought to sacrifice myself and save her.
I laid my head on the pillow and watched the moonlight stream through my open window. I just hoped that the stranger sleeping on our kitchen table wouldn’t suffer the bad luck that seemed to follow me.
I couldn’t sleep. Slipping out of bed, I grabbed a robe and tied it around my waist. Tiptoeing down the stairs, I hung back in the stairwell and listened to Lorn and Mother speaking in hushed voices.
“I don’t like it, Lorelai,” Lorn whispered. “There should be no reason for someone from Rya to be so close to your home. He could put you and your daughters in danger.”
“I don’t either. But we’re hardly in danger. My daughters and I can handle ourselves quite well.”
“Not Aura,” Lorn muttered. “Ever since the accidental murder of the village boy, she’s been unstable. I know she tries to hide it, but that incident did more damage to her than she will admit.”
“She’s fine,” Mother admonished.
“No, she’s not. She’s still unable to shield herself properly. If she doesn’t soon learn to control her powers, she will become a danger to herself and the girls.”