“That’s ridiculous,” Sandy grinds out and forces her daughter to turn away from us.
That’s the last thing I see before Torben ushers me out of the room. I’m in a daze as we hurry through the manor and out the front door. I barely notice when we return to the coach. Barely notice the tears streaming down my cheeks.
All I can see is Danielle’s maniacal face, her thin frame, her dismal living quarters.
All I can hear is her voice.
Astrid ruined my life.
33
ASTRID
Torben and I don’t speak during our ride home. He must sense that I couldn’t talk if I tried. My throat is too tight, too dry, while my cheeks are too wet with tears. Instead of speaking, we sit next to each other in the coach, each looking out our respective windows. Halfway through our ride, I feel his hand fold around mine. He gives my palm a squeeze like he did in Danielle’s bedroom, but this time he doesn’t let go. This time he entwines our fingers as if he knows how badly I need to feel rooted to something right now.
There’s a petty part of me that wants to pull away, to reject his kind gesture. I still haven’t gotten over what he said to me this morning—that we should keep our relationship professional. And yet, I can’t bring myself to leave the comfort of his grasp. So I don’t.
Night has fallen by the time the cab lets us out in downtown Larklawn. Only then does Torben release my hand. From there, we walk back to the edge of town and into the countryside. Once we draw near Davenport Estate, Torben gestures for me to follow him off the main road and onto a dirt path that winds through what looks like overgrown farmland. His estate’s farmland, I assume.
“I want to walk the perimeter before we return to the manor,” Torben says. His tone is so soft, so gentle, it’s nearly unbearable. “Just to ensure no one has come stalking around the property in our absence. If they have, they’ll have left a scent trail.”
I follow him for several agonizingly silent minutes before I blurt out, “You can stop tiptoeing around me like I’m made of glass, you know. You don’t have to keep quiet or talk to me in a half whisper, as if you fear I’ll bolt away like a scared little deer. You don’t have to—” I’m about to sayyou don’t have to hold my hand, but I can’t force the words from my lips.
He glances over his shoulder, and the moonlight overhead reveals a quirked brow. “I was speaking softly to keep from alerting any potential lurkers, but if you aren’t wary of being attacked, by all means, I’ll shout at you instead.”
I open my mouth to argue but realize he’s given me what I asked for.
He returns his attention to the path ahead, brushing aside stray branches and brambles where they’ve taken over the trail. “Also, I wanted to give you time to process what happened.”
“Well, I have.” That’s a lie. Thankfully, Torben doesn’t call me out on it.
“Then let’s talk about what we’ve discovered. Despite Danielle having a firm motive to work against you, I find it unlikely she’s the one controlling Marybeth. Not only was I unable to scent any lies coming from her, but she had no qualms about declaring her disdain for you in the first place. If she was involved in an attempt on your life—even one resulting in someone else’s death—I think she’d admit it.”
My stomach sours. Perhaps pretending I’m ready to talk about Danielle was the wrong choice. Still, if we are to find Marybeth and prove who’s controlling her, we need to figure out what to do next. I release a heavy sigh. “You’re probably right. I don’t think we can consider Danielle a strong suspect. What’s our next step?”
“I’m not sure yet.” He slows his pace as he untangles a particularly unruly patch of overgrowth. Once he manages to part it from the path, he holds the gnarled greenery aside for me to pass. The space is so narrow I have no choice but to press myself against him as I scoot by. My chest brushes his and I hear him take in a sharp breath. The sound sends my pulse quickening, but I ignore it and proceed down the path. I take no more than five steps before I pull up short.
Before me stands a grove of cherry trees. Their pink blossoms glow under the moonlight while luminescent pink petals flutter amongst the boughs. Are those…pixies? Or some kind of flower sprite? Whatever they are, they’re dainty and charming, lighting up the grove like a canopy of stars. The earth beneath the trees is overgrown with moss and weeds, which somehow only adds to the enchanting sight.
“Is this part of your property?” I ask.
Torben nods and enters the grove. One of the petal fae lands on his shoulder, and I see it has a plump, glowing, bee-like body and two pink wings that look exactly like the petals in the cherry trees. For as long as I’ve lived in the Spring Court, I’ve never seen this creature before.
Torben reaches overhead, which sends the little fae flying off, and plucks something from the nearest tree. He hands it to me—a cherry. He picks another and pops it into his mouth. “These were our specialty cherries. They seem to be flourishing even with such neglect, probably thanks to the cerapis sprites.”
“Cerapis sprites? Is that what the glowing petal fae are?”
“They’re only found around fae varieties of cherry trees and pollinate them. Even so, I’m surprised no one has come to chop this grove down or transplant it. Several of my berry crops have been robbed.”
I stare down at the cherry he placed in my hand. The cerapis sprites who continue to flutter and buzz overhead illuminate the fruit’s unique pale pink color speckled with little gold spots that glitter like starlight. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Try it,” he says, then picks another for himself.
It almost seems a shame to eat something so pretty, but I oblige and bring it to my lips. The first taste nearly drags a moan from me. The flavor is sweet and tangy, the flesh reminiscent of a classic cherry but with a rosy floral aftertaste. I pluck out the seed and eat the rest. “I’m surprised you like these, what with your disdain for florals. In fact, I’m surprised you can tolerate standing in this grove.”
As I meet his eyes, I find his are locked on my lips. There’s something hungry about his expression. It makes every muscle in my body go still.
Blinking furiously, he tears his eyes away and leans against the trunk of a tree. “I told you. The smell of berry blossoms doesn’t bother me, nor does it cloud my senses. And the taste…” His eyes slowly slide back to my lips as if caught by some magnetic force.
