Penny let out a rush of breath and shoved his plate away. “So, he just gets away with it? I know he stole Father’s body.Heput the curse on our family?—”
“There’s no curse,” I said softly.
Penny scoffed. “I don’t think he would’ve minded if there was.”
I turned my chair to face him fully. “I’m sorry, Penny. I know this isn’t what you wanted to happen, but it’s not safe for you to stay.”
Before he could respond, a knock sounded from the front door. I motioned for Penny to stay where he was while I crossed into the main living area.
My shoulders relaxed when I saw an unfamiliar woman on the front step, relieved not to see Merrick or Violette again. When I pulled the door open, the stranger held up a letter sealed with blood-red wax.
“Mister Koesters?” she asked.
Hearing that name so casually thrown around was taking some getting used to.
“That’s me,” I said.
She extended her hand. “For you and your recruit.”
“Thank you,” I said as I plucked the paper from her fingers.
With a nod, she turned and started back down the road.
I closed the door behind her, then ran my finger under the drop of wax, already dreading what I might find inside. I shook out the folded sheet of parchment and scanned the brief message. It was an official summons, and it named both of us.
Tomorrow before first light was looking like it would be too late.
I returned to the kitchen and sank into my chair, sliding the letter across the tabletop so Penny could see. “Our presence is requested by the Right Hand. We’re expected in his chambers within the hour. If we go now, I can sneak you out of town, but you’ll have to find your way back to Eastcliff alone. Can you manage that?”
He stared down at the letter, his expression grim. “I’ll probably walk off a cliff because the map says there should be a road there,” he muttered.
I cringed at ever having said something so cruel, but before I could respond, Penny looked up.
“Why should I go alone?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“To Eastcliff. You have to pass there on your way back to Forstford. I’m sure you’re not eager to be trapped with my mother and sister again, but we could at least go that far together.”
I sat back in my chair and shook my head. “Penny, I’m not leaving.”
“But you came here for me,” he protested. “Why would you stay if I left?”
“Because I’mnothere for you. I’m here to find a way to put a stop to all of this, to make sure the Bone Men never finish their Vessel or bring Eeus and his suffering into this world. Clearly nothing can be done from the outside, so I’ll figure out how to do it from in here. It’s what I should have done years ago.”
Penny was quiet a moment, dropping his eyes back to the summons and picking at a frayed corner of the parchment.
“You said they’re expecting me, too.” He pushed theletter back. “What will you tell them when I’m not there? I thought you needed a recruit to get back in.”
The same question had occurred to me, but I didn’t have a great answer. All I knew was that I needed to get him out of town before that was no longer an option, and the rest would work itself out. With Levitt as the Right Hand, maybe I could get away with not having a recruit to offer at all.
“I’ll manage,” I said and stood. “Come on. Get your things.”
When he looked up at me, his eyes shone like he was holding back tears. “You shouldn’thaveto manage. I’ve made things worse for you. That’s all I’ve done from the start.”
I wanted to protest, to make him feel better, but he was right. Of all the people who could have dragged me back to Ashpoint, it had been him, and a relatively simple—albeit unlikely—plan had ended in complete disaster by day two. Had he been anyone else, we might have managed to pull it off.
Penny shook his head, and his expression hardened. “No. No, none of this is right. I won’t let Merrick get away with this. I won't be the reason you can’t do what you came to do. And I’mnotleaving without my father’s body.”
