Then again, most folks found him a bit mad, which was exactly why they never would believe a word he said, anyway.
He was undeniably one of the most intelligent people she had ever met, though. She chased the secrets of Kava. Rollie chased the secrets of the universe itself.
It did help, of course, that she could tell him anything and no matter who he told, they would not believe him. A secret’s best friend was an unreliable source.
Elysia carefully weaved through the room and perched on the edge of an ancient table. She crossed her ankles and watched Rollie heartily tuck into the maple cake. He ignored her until he ate the last morsel of the cake.
Elysia cleared her throat to talk, and he held out a finger.
She huffed at the silencing gesture, but Rollie continued as though he had not even heard her, and pulled out a cloth napkin, dipped it into the water glass beside him, and proceeded to clean his fingers slowly and thoroughly of any sticky maple residue.
He finally set the napkin down and looked at her with a tilted head. “Well?”
Elysia folded her fingers. “There is a mystery that I seek your help in solving.”
She had to be careful, so very careful, even with Rollickus. Every fiber of her being was screaming to keep her secrets and to find another way, but she'd made her decision. Rollie was her best shot at finding an actual solution and fixing her life. Whatever magic drove her into the arms of Kava’s secrets had steered her down to him, and she was banking on him being able to help.
She continued, her eyes drifting to the ceiling as she spoke. “What would you make of someone who, instead of falling into slumber, perhaps they fell into another world? Another place?”
Rollie sat up straighter, his fingers pausing right above the pile of pastries. “A dream you mean?”
She gripped the table’s edge. “No, not a dream. This person leaves their body, but also takes it with them to this new place.”
The fizzing eccentricity that kept others at an arm’s length from Mr. Timmons seemed to die in that moment, and only the cold, stark clarity of his brilliance shone through his deep blue eyes.
He leaned back against the table and mulled over her words, mulled over what knowledge he felt safe enough to share.
He stared at her unflinchingly and finally spoke. “Elysia Parker, swear upon the undead gods that Kava denies. Swear upon the lives of everyone you hold close to your wretched, beating heart that this conversation does not leave this room.”
Elysia had heard conversations that could ruin a kingdom flung into the world with drunken frivolity. She’d heard them delivered with vengeance. But never had she heard such a demand for protecting hidden words.
The death moths with their pretty red-lined throats danced behind her eyes as she returned Rollie’s fierce gaze. “I swear it.”
He clipped his chin in a nod and tugged on his already disheveled hair, beginning to pace.
He stopped abruptly and faced her. “There are people who may be able to answer your questions. It’s better that you bring your claims to them. It’s not my knowledge to share.” His face turned shrewd, but his voice was free from condemnation. “This is about you, isn’t it? You wouldn’t be here for anyone but yourself. Maybe Beatriz, but we both know this isn’t about her.”
Unease and dread filled her gut. People were nothing more than behavioral patterns to some extent, and unfortunately, Rollie was extremely good with patterns. He called it like he saw it, knowing that Elysia needed him and wouldn’t do anything to harm him in spite of him now knowing her secret.
“Rollie, I don’t want to meet with other people.”He has no idea what he’s asking.
She remembered all the people she had accidentally brought to death’s gate without meaning to as a child, and her stomach clenched. People she’d been drawn to because their secrets flared brighter than all the rest. It’d taken her years to control her curse well enough that heads stopped rolling in her wake, years before her father quit tailing her every move, knowing that she would somehow inevitably end up on the doorstep of someone who’d managed to cling to some wisp of magic.
And then there were all the lives she had taken later. When Jack Parker said it was time for another sweep. That he needed another feather in his hat. She lost sight of Rollie and the tunnels, feeling only the hollowness inside her. It could beworse, she reminded herself. She could be working for the king. Searching every day through the whole kingdom. She could just be dead.
You would think any magic in their land would be a blessing, but the people had been spurned once by the fickleness of fate, and what was once a gift was now a curse. Illegal and to be rooted out at all costs lest they find themselves reliant on a force outside themselves once more.
She stared pointedly at Rollie, her eyes imploring him. “Isn’t this, just between us, unsafe enough? Youknowhow dangerous this is. Or you would not have asked for such an oath.”
The pacing resumed, but he shook his head, looking pained. “Elysia, you don’t understand. What affects one could affect all. It is not my place to answer your questions.”
He paused. “Does anyone know? Has that over-pressed royal Crown squinch noticed yet?”
Elysia blinked, her voice going flat. “Royal Crown squinch.Really, Rollie?”
He shrugged. “You knew who I was talking about, didn’t you?”
She scowled. “No, Topp hasn’t noticed. I think I threw Remy and Daphne off for now, but if I don’t start controlling it, then I’m going to have a problem. I already have a problem.” Gods knew how long she could hold Gage off, she thought to herself.It’s a miracle I’ve lasted this long.
