His mother’s laughter swirled through the room.“Ali!That’s not what I meant.”
“It is!You just don’t want to admit it.”Alison grinned at Connor when he looked up from the book.“Tell her I’m right, Con.”
He didn’t quite understand what they were discussing—something about the way his family chose names with the same letter for all the children of each generation—but he could tell from their vocal tones that Alison was winning whatever debate they were having.
Alison liked to debate things and always made the conversation lively.It was always fun to listen to her argue with someone, even when that someone was his mother.
“I agree with Ali,” he said conspiratorially.
Alison winked at him.“Two against one, Davina, you’ll just have to give in and admit that we’re right.”
His mother put her hand on her heavily pregnant belly and laughed again.“You two, honestly.”
“What are we right about?”Connor whisper-asked Alison.
“That your mother, great mighty warrior that she is, is afraid to tell her aunt that the royal naming convention is silly.None of the other royal families in the other realms name all their children with the same letter.It’s ridiculous.”Alison turned back to Davina.“You’re having trouble naming your second, what if you have eight!?”
Connor laughed at the aghast look on Alison’s face and her big hand gestures.
His mother rolled her eyes.“Three!I’m having three children, not eight.For goodness’s sake!I’d never make it back to the field.”
“Well, that would truly be a real tragedy,” Alison said.She was still smiling, but her tone had turned serious.“We missed you on the last mission.No one has a sword arm like you, myself included.”
“And I despise sitting behind a desk.Very soon, now.”She rubbed her giant belly.“Thank goodness this one is a girl.The queen can stop harassing us about lineage and we can wait longer before the next one.”
Alison chuckled.“I bet she already has a soul-guardian picked out for her grandniece.”
“Several,” his mother sighed and shook her head.“I just don’t like any of them.A soul-guardian should be more than politics, even if, as my first daughter, she is destined to be matriarch after me.She should have a true guardian, like you are for Connor.I want that for all my children, no matter what their futures hold.”
“I’m sure the queen wasn’t pleased with you naming me Connor’s soul-guardian at the time, but it means a lot to me.You know that, right?”
“I do.”She reached out to grasp Alison’s hand.“It means a lot to me, too.”
With an unsteady breath, Connor tried to shake off the memory.Needing a moment, he leaned against the bookcase and closed his eyes to block the view of the familiar space.To shut out the image of Alison and his mother sitting in the chairs across from him.
“You okay?”Ryan asked, pausing as he went through an open file drawer.
“Yeah.Just…” Connor ran his hand through his hair.“Upsetting.”
“We’ll get her,” Ryan promised.“And anyone she’s working with.”
“I know.”That wasn’t the upsetting part.At the moment, his history… his memories of the Alison who had been his guiding force were plaguing him.Making his heart heavy and his steps slow.
He stared at the familiar painting on the wall opposite the desk while he gathered his emotions and reordered them to focus on what was important.The prominent mantle had been redone since he’d been a child.The dark ebony wood was gleaming with a high polish and carved swirls along the edges.The top was designed as a ledge, wide enough to boast mementos.She had a few books he knew were family records displayed in the center with small keepsakes on either side.
Something about it tugged at him.The mantle was still a statement piece, framed from the room’s entrance, but bigger now.Breaking, entering, and hiding things was Thalia’s specialty, not his.He turned just as she came back into the den.
“Tals, come take a closer look at this.”
“Got something?”she asked.
“Yeah, maybe.The mantle didn’t always look like this.She rebuilt it… I don’t know… ten years ago, maybe?Long enough I’d forgotten.”
“Before or after your mother died?”
“Definitely after,” he said.
“Could have a hidden compartment,” she surmised.Her eyes flicked to study the piece, cataloging information Connor didn’t see when he looked at it.“If it does, it’s a slim one, though.Look for a way to open it.There will be a latch, maybe two.”
