“I’ll take your word for now.”
“We’re lucky to have her with us. Finally, the way is clear. She’ll fix this.”
“At what cost to her?”
“Whatever it takes.”
I released a low growl that made her suck in a breath. “I won’t allow you or anyone else to harm her.”
“I love my niece. Both of them. I gave up everything, even Mayline, to protect them.”
“Yet you’re alive and she isn’t.”
“You know what he did to her.”
It was hard to miss when I stood there beside him. “You spent your life manipulating your nieces to force them onto the path you chose for them.”
“Sawfor them!”
“Youforcedthem. Have you seen Tempest’s scars?”
“I muted her pain while it was done.”
As if that was enough? My growl rumbled low, deadly. “I should kill you for not protecting her.”
“She couldn’t wear the mark any longer or he would’ve found her long before she’d grown up enough to protect herself. It had to be done.”
“You’re as bad as he is. Twisting everyone for some plan you’ve dreamed up that may or may not save the world.”
“Not dreamed of. Seen, Vexxion.Seen.” Her chin lifted. “Do you think I’ve found this any easier than you?”
“You’ve spent years sitting inside a portrait, contemplating all the lovely things you’d do with your nieces once you were free. I don’t see your scars. Your screams don’t echo in the air around us.” If I listened closely, I could still hear my own, still hear my mother’s.
“Some scars don’t show on the surface.”
“You’re correct about that.” I turned back to the flowers and continued working, a snip here, a snip there, slowly taking their beauty to another level and restoring the thread of calm I only found here.
“I was shocked to arrive here a short time ago to find someone had dared to touch Mayline’s favorite roses,” she finally said. “You left no clue about your identity behind.”
“They called to me when I was fifteen, and I knew I had to find them. It took me three years of flitting to get past the thorns.”
She sighed. “Mayline’s power was amazing. Her sacrifice has protected this island and the court’s core for a very long time.”
“Tempest will awaken them and then what will you do?”
“Help her mold them into an army.”
“Do you truly think they’re capable of defeating what’s coming?”
“They have to be, don’t you think? If they aren’t, every horrifying sacrifice will have been for nothing.”
Leaning forward, I closed my eyes and drew in the lightfloral scent of a nearly perfect blossom. Then I continued clipping.
“I’m surprised you remember the roses,” she said.
“The only memories I’ve lost relate to my time with Tempest.” Another snip was followed by a toss of the thick, brittle cane onto the pile.
“Why do you think that is?”
