“Yeah,” I reply. “I promised everyone I’d be back to help them.”
I look over at Hyacinth, wondering if I should take her with me, and that’s when I remember she asked for a tour around the gardens.
“Would you like to take that walk now?” I ask her. “We might as well while we’re still here.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Sadie says. “You might find a trigger for your magic, Hyacinth.”
“I don’t know about that,” Hyacinth says. “But it’s just kind of blowing my mind that all of this is real. I read about the manor—it seems bizarre that it really exists.”
“What did you read?” Sadie asks. “You wouldn’t have access to the special reference section?”
“Ah… I might have found some old texts in the main library and kind of forgot to tell you,” Hyacinth says sheepishly.
“Forgot, huh?” Trina asks, elbowing her gently. “I’d be mad, except moving those texts was my job, and if it turns out I didn’t do it right, Angela could roast me.”
“What did you read?” Sadie asks again, urgency in her voice.
Hyacinth looks up at her, the dark violet of her eyes seeming to deepen to the blue of a midnight sky. “There were a lot of official documents regarding trade and ownership of land. I read all the information relating to the construction of buildings and divisions of land—that’s how I know about the manor. I was mostly focused on the folklore, the personal stories of magic and witches. I thought it was all just scary tales. Now I’m wondering if all of it was true.”
“Probably not all,” Sadie says. “But a lot of it, yes. I think it’s a very good idea for you to take a walk around the manor—try and connect the information in your mind to the vibes you get around here. I’m not convinced yet, but I do believe there’s a chance you’re a part of this.”
“All of us were drawn to the old books,” Trina adds thoughtfully. “We should talk about this again when we have more time.”
“Yes,” Sadie agrees. “Rhys and Owen will be waiting for us. I’ll catch up with you soon, okay, Shane?”
“Yes,” I agree.
Part of me feels like I should be part of that meeting… and the other part of me would do anything to avoid going back in there.
I watch the girls walking back inside, not envying them in the slightest. A shudder runs through Hyacinth, and I know she feels exactly the same way.
“It’s creepy in there,” she says. “Like a tomb.”
“I can confirm that it’s worse today than it’s ever been before,” I reply. “The manor has always had a dark presence, but now it feels…”
“Malevolent,” Hyacinth whispers.
“Yes,” I agree.
She turns to walk around to the back of the building, and I follow behind her. She pauses to look at the stone-ringed courtyards, then follows the path out to the gardens and wild fields beyond.
“Tell me about the past,” she says. “Your history. How did the wolves come to be the supreme power here?”
“I actually don’t know,” I answer. “You’ll have to ask Sadie and Trina. Both of them have done extensive research, and they know far more about it than I do.”
Hyacinth pauses, looking at a sickly-looking rose bush. “Have you noticed every plant in these gardens is withered and stunted? None of them are blooming, even though some of them should be.”
“I can’t say I ever paid too much attention,” I admit. “But now that you mention it, the place looks like a plant graveyard.”
“Hmm,” Hyacinth hums, touching the thorns. “It’s odd. This can happen because of conditions in the soil, but it’s too widespread. Has the garden always been like this?”
“I have no idea,” I say. “But I know when Rhys got married, some of the plants were blooming.”
“So it’s gotten worse since the curse started to be broken? Interesting.”
All of it makes very little sense to me, so I let her mull over her thoughts without interruption.
“Do the others have real, primary sources of evidence?” Hyacinth asks. “I’ve been reading a lot, and Lynette and Darian are always mentioned in the history books. She disappeared, Darian inherited everything, and it’s suggested in the books that the manor was destroyed, maybe burned down? I wonder why he wanted everyone to believe that.”
