“Right, Hans,” I say, shooting a look at Zarev. Neve gave us a brief summary of the old Court of Cards hierarchy, from what she could recall, and random tidbits Odette seemed familiar with. They’re piecing together history, and as interesting as it is, I don’t know if it will do much good.
King Jasper, the King of Diamonds, is long since dead. And this brother of his, Hans, he–
Blinking, I lose focus on what Neve and Odette are debating now. “Neve?”
“Hmm?”
“When did Hans die?”
She frowns, pressing her hands to the table. “I’m not sure. You’re the one who told me when Jasper died. But I assume Hansisdead. He was about a decade older than I was a hundred years ago, and unless he pulled some tricks like Davina–”
“He could,” Zarev interrupts, “if he were the King’s brother.”
Neve hesitates, worrying her bottom lip. “Well, depending on how long ago he died, maybe it’s on record. It wouldn’t be in my lifetime pre-sleep, but it could be before or after Jasper’s.”
“Does it make a difference?” I ask honestly. “If he’s the Sandman, maybe he can only be seen in dreams. Dreams are a space like the in-between, where we collect spirits and send them on. Theoretically, he could be dead and taking care of that, right? But if he’s dead, what he does shouldn’t affect the living.”
“But it did,” Neve debates, crossing her arms. “After our trip to the mountains,beforemy mother tried to kill me, I saw him.” She points in Zarev’s direction. “I think you were talking to them. I couldn’t make myself go back to the palace yet, so I lingered in the hills. He came and spoke to me. Outside my dreams.”
I exchange glances with Zarev. “If he can interact with us in the land of the living, he might be a problem after all.”
“Maybe you’ve seen him before and you didn’t even know it,” Neve argues, tapping her chin. “Oh! Come this way. It won’t help us much with timelines or alliances, but I’m pretty sure my parents have paintings down this way—if Mother didn’t have them destroyed.”
“Portraits of rulers of other kingdoms?” Odette asks her skeptically. “Isn’t that odd?”
“We didn’t often receive guests,” she says with a shrug, grabbing Zarev’s container of pixie dust. “Bundle up again, Princess. The halls will be even colder than the central room.”
Neve spins, taking off without a backward glance, and I follow after her. A few moments later, I hear the other two following after us.
“When my parents had guests, they sometimes convinced visiting royals to sit for a portrait. It helped show good relations between the kingdoms to our people en masse, and itwas an excuse for them to spend more time with guests in a relaxed setting. My father used to gloat about brokering his best deals during a painting session.”
Neve wasn’t lying when she said the halls would be colder, and Odette’s chattering teeth is the only other noise besides our quiet footsteps as we move through the room.
“Let’s see…” Her voice trails off as we enter a hall of paintings, and I’m struck by how many there are. “When the visitors left, Father usually had the portraits brought to storage until they returned. It was too common a practice when wecouldget visitors to keep their portraits displayed all over the palace, as if they were friends. These people were allies, nothing more.”
There’s got to be at least fifty framed pictures back here, and my gaze cuts to Zarev who looks just as curious as I do in the shadows. Odette smashes herself between us, shaking, cursing under her breath about how damn cold it is here.
“Here’s King Oberson and his son, Prince Gordias. They were from Tressa. You can tell from the gold. That looks like King Dillon. You mentioned him, Odette. And over here… Ah! This way.”
She beckons us halfway down the hall, and the three of us follow, Odette planting herself between me and Zarev again. There are two paintings that Neve is pointing at, and I freeze when I catch sight of them.
Behind me, Zarev curses, and even Odette grabs my arm.
“This is King Jasper,” she explains, indicating a man with light brown hair and dark eyes. He has aristocratic features, a polar opposite to the other man. “Father had the prince painted separately. It was presented as a polite choice to give both of them time with the King, but it was purely strategic. He wanted to learn more about them before he agreed to an alliance by marriage. This one is Hans.”
Hans. But it doesn’t look like how I pictured Hans. The black hair is the opposite of Jasper, though the eyes match his twin. His skin is less ashen than I remember, but the set of his eyes, the angular jaw, even the almost sandy colors of his clothes…
Odette beats either of us to it, surprise and terror mixing together in her voice. “The Shadow Man.”
Chapter 30 Neve
I give Odette a strange look, glancing between the three of them. “No, the Sandman. He’s the Dreammaker I have mentioned.”
“No,” Zarev replies, his orange-red eyes cutting to me. “Perhaps that’s the name you know him by, but we know him as another. That’s the Shadow Man.” He holds up his arm, and I can barely see the shadows leaking off him in the dim light. “He’s the one who gave us these powers in lieu of death.”
Frowning, I look to Ban for confirmation. It looks like he’s seen a ghost. I don’t wait to see what my mage has to say. “Hans wasn’t violent. I don’t think he had any ability to play God with Death. He was the Sandman. He helped with dreams.”
“The Icebound mentioned him, Neve,” Ban reminds him, his cool eyes settling on me. “Do not pretend you know a lot about him, when the spirits know things you do not.”
