Glancing at the clock over the mantle, I realized I had spent hours drafting my letter to Berklay. It was well past midnight, and I was exhausted. Marc would return the next afternoon. By the morning after, I’d bid my companions farewell.
???
I opted toavoid Isa until I could present her with the contract addendum with her father’s signature. I needed to prepare myself for a lifetime of solitude and spending more time with her would not help. Better to think about the fact that living by myself would undoubtedly be better than having Marc around.
Isa had only been at the castle for half a week. I couldn’t already be used to her presence. I shouldn’t crave it. Nonetheless, I found myself tracking her through the castle as the morning went on. She had already been in the southeast spire by the time I awoke. She stayed there for hours, then went to the great hall.
I couldn’t even tell her to forget about breaking the curse. What did it matter now that I knew the node had been unlocked? To maintain the secret, I had to keep everyone away. It hardly mattered if I regained my human form under such circumstances. Maybe it’d even be better if I stayed a cat; they were supposed to be solitary creatures, right?
Then again, Isa already knew the secret. She was also bound by a very careful non-disclosure agreement. It would be safe for her to return to Rose Castle. Perhaps I didn’t have to spend my days in complete solitude, in which case breaking the curse might still be worthwhile.
I caught the direction of my thoughts and laughed at myself. Once she was free, Isa would never want to see me again, whether Iwas a man or beast. Wasn’t that the point of Cecily's curse? That I was an unlovable monster?
I had certainly done my best to ensure Isa saw me the same way.
So, my form didn’t matter.
I returned to my study, once more calling in the materials to write a letter. This time I addressed the missive to my cousin, Charlotte. Though her parents were still alive, my uncle had decided he had no interest in signing an heir’s contract when I took the title. Instead, his daughter became my heir. Before signing the contract, she had told me in no uncertain terms that I was to marry and produce an heir, a spare, and a few more spares just to be safe. She didn’t want to be pulled from her life in the capital city to live in a castle on the edge of the kingdom, hours from the nearest town.
I was going to have to tell her what had happened. Though looking on the bright side, if the node was unlocked, perhaps we could break her heir’s contract and abandon the family’s duties to Truthhold altogether. The thought wasn’t particularly cheering to me, but perhaps Charlotte would see it differently.
I hesitated with my claw dripping over the paper, not sure how much I could risk committing to paper. I might have to beg her to make the trip out to Rose Castle so I could tell her in person. Or perhaps Isa would be willing to deliver this letter, too? If I paid her expenses, a trip to Haiwella might even be something she saw as a reward. She could make sure the letter went nowhere but into Charlotte’s hand, with a warning to read it in private.
With that thought in mind, I wrote my letter.
Even knowing I would only send the letter if Isa agreed to deliver it, I still struggled to decide what to say. I went through several drafts, not sure which was best.
Then I felt Marc cross the boundary to Rose Castle lands.
I glanced at the clock in surprise. I had missed noon and a couple more hours besides. Hopefully, Isa hadn’t had any trouble calling in her own food. That was two meals in a row I hadn’t sent her anything.
I moved from the tower room to the public office where I usually met Marc. I didn’t want to wait a moment longer than necessary to get my hands on the contract freeing Isa. He would come directly here to deliver any contracts I was supposed to witness, otherwise the castle might decide to file them somewhere we’d never find. The provisions and his own bag could be left anywhere on the hillside, and they’d move to the correct locations without trouble.
Marc greeted me with a curt nod and placed the familiar satchel on my desk. “Here are the latest contracts for you to witness. Since I arrived a few days ahead of the normal schedule, there are fewer than usual.”
“Thank you.” I itched to get to one contract in particular, but I could handle a few minutes of politeness first. “Did you have any issues on your trip?”
Marc shrugged. “I did what I needed to.”
His words left me wondering what Isa would have heard if she had been in the room. “Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind a chance to rest. I’ll see you at supper.”
“Until supper, Your Grace.”
Marc left, and I worked the satchel open. There were only a handful of contracts inside. I glanced at each, then went back and looked through them all again. I shoved my head into the satchel, certain I must have missed one, but it was empty.
The contract releasing Isa wasn’t there.
Fourteen
Isabel
???
I woke upfeeling like I was forgetting something important. Something about the node and ley lines. An obvious answer that would reassure Felix and allow him to minimize the risk of people discovering his node was no longer locked. I knew better than to brood over the feeling. My subconscious would speak to me when it was ready, and not a moment before.
Giving in to the inevitable, I rose from the ridiculously comfortable bed and got dressed. I stepped from my bedroom into the sitting room and wondered what the invocation was to move items out of a room. Perhaps I could use the same general summoning as I had the night before. I simply needed to know where to send all the extra furniture. Knowing that there were Truths that had been lost to time made me want to experiment. Did Felix ever tug on the wisps of power he didn’t recognize? I might hesitate, worried about the outcome, but he didn’t seem like the overly cautious sort.
He didn’t seem particularly evil, either. I was no longer certain I wanted to hate him. I wasn’t even positive that I was mad at him for forcing me to come to Rose Castle. His methods were abominable, of course, but being stuck here wasn’t so bad.
