“Yes, they did!” Norah flung the headband into its basket by the door. “Before they closed the castle gates and refused to let anyone in or out!” She put her hands on her head. “Nanny, we can’t live like this forever!” And though she knew it was useless, she ran to the older woman and grasped her hands. “Come with me on my adventure!”
“The adventure you’ve been planning since you were ten?” Nanny scoffed. “Norah, that quest would cost a fortune. I’m not sure why you keep making it up in your head that we could ever afford such a hop about the world!”
“Even if we didn’t go around the world,” Norah said, suddenly feeling desperate. “We could go to Cuicaine, and we could find my family! People who love us and want us to belong!”
“Love, youaremy family.” Nanny brushed a lock of Norah’s rebellious curls out of the way. “Your family has been my family forgenerations!”
“And I will be thelastin my line if I’m never able to leave this house or meet anyone younger than forty-and-five!”
“Listen,” Nanny said, taking Norah’s hands in her own. “We’ll go to the castle again tomorrow. And this time when we knock–”
“Nanny, I’mdonegoing to the castle!” Norah pulled her hands from the old woman’s and began removing her shoes. “I’m done begging for the attention of the betrothed who never thought I was good enough to be allowed into his presence.”
How many times had she waited at the copper gates since she was small, standing beside Nanny and hoping someone would let them inside? Even though it had been more than ten years ago, she still vividly recalled standing in the rain, barefoot and afraid as Nanny banged on the gates, demanding to be let in. Her hair had still smelled of ash and smoke, the pale, frozen faces of her family etched into her young mind. It had been years before she was able to shut her eyes without seeing her entire island being eaten by flames.
Nanny might not have thought she could, but Norah remembered that nightwell.
“I need to get supper on.” Nanny sighed. “But this conversation isn’t over. I’ll not let you give up your–”
“My gift isn’t good to anyone if I can’t share it!” Norah snapped, tears threatening to run down her face. Then she hurried to her room before her emotions betrayed her any more than they already had.
Norah fell asleep not long after throwing herself onto her bed. She’d been determined to think of a way out of their situation that Nanny might actually consider, but before she’d come up with even two possibilities, she’d fallen into a deep sleep that was broken hours later in what felt like the dead of night.
Norah jerked awake, looking immediately to the window, as she always did, to see the time. To her surprise, however, there was no early gray of coming dawn, as the night was still an inky black. Before she could wonder if it had been a nightmare that had awakened her, there was a violent banging against the front door. Norah hurried to her bedroom door and peeked out at the front of the house.
“Quickly!” Nanny said, coming up behind Norah and startling her nearly as much as the banging on the door. “Put on your headband and your shoes and cloak, then sneak out the back way! I’ll meet you at the castle!”
“Nanny, no–” Norah began to say, but Nanny, who had left the candle in Norah’s hands, had already fetched Norah’s headband and cloak. Knowing better than to argue further, Norah had just slid the headband into place, turning her locks back to their unnatural silky black, when the door fell in, and three masculine figures entered the house.
Chapter 4
Copper Gates
The one in the middle–the tallest one–removed his hat and spoke first. “Princess Norah of the Bianne line?”
Norah stared at him. She couldn’t make out any details or features, as it was the middle of the night, and the wind that blew in through the door had snuffed out her candle, but she resented the respectful, almost familiar tone he used when saying her name.
As if this intruder had any right.
Instead of answering, she searched the dark for Nanny’s shadow. But the older woman was nowhere to be seen.
The tall man took a few hesitant steps forward. “Are you Princess Norah?” he asked, pronouncing her name as though it were a caress.
Still, she didn’t answer.
“I’m sorry if we frightened you,” he said, coming yet closer. “That wasn’t my intention.”
This was more than Norah could handle. “Well then, you probably shouldn’t have broken down my door at such an evil hour like a petty thief!”
The man froze. This pause placed him near a window, lettingin just enough of the moon’s weak light that she realized his features were familiar. His hair was dark and thick, as were his brows and the scruff that was growing on his cheeks and chin. His jawline was strong. In fact, his entire face was unusually angular and would have been quite pleasing had he not just broken into her house in the middle of the night.
Where had she seen this man before?
“I truly am sorry,” he said in a gentle voice, holding out one black gloved hand. “I would have called like a decent gentleman if that insufferable woman had ever let anyone in.” His voice hardened as he said this, and Norah’s face flushed as she realized that Nanny’s fear–as overbearing as it often seemed–had absolutely been founded.
“Do you not recognize me?” he asked softly.
Norah’s heart, which had slowed slightly, began to race again. “You’ve seen me before?” She wasn’t about to admit to this man that there was something familiar about him. No, he could supply that information himself if he was so desperate for her to know it.
