Chapter 28 Nevelyn Tin’vori

Her tasks were complete.

The black dress hung ominously in the center of the room. Finished, it looked like a fancy shadow ready to drape itself over a queen. She'd also continued layering the walls of the room with magic. The spells were so thick now that the sounds of the lovers next door hadn't been audible in days. None of the evening foot traffic in the nearby square could be heard.

It was as silent as a tomb.

There was evidence of her last craft project as well. The wax shavings littered one corner, but the results were worth the mess. Dozens of candles, all cut down to stubs. It hadn't been easy to find the right pearl-gray foundation, but once she had them, it had been a simple matter of painting on the midnight-blue veins that shot through a typical waxway candle. She'd held up a real one and her fakes in the light and could scarcely tell the difference.

Now all she needed was a knock on the door of her apartment. She'd been waiting for three days. The red ribbon dangled limply in the window, obvious to anyone who passed. And yet Ren Monroe had made no appearance. It was starting to unnerve Nevelyn. What if their partner had abandoned them? Worse, what if she decided to hand them over to the Broods? It was a logical move. One that would nestle the girl deeper into the bosom of their wealth and power. Nevelyn could almost imagine a team of guards surrounding her apartment and crashing through her door to find a poor girl with a strange dress dangling from the ceiling.

"What a disappointing treasure I would make," she said to no one.

There was a knock at the door. Finally. Nevelyn cast a glance around the room, making sure all was in order, before rising. She opened the door—no more than a crack—and was shocked to stillness. It was not Ren Monroe. It was not the Broods or their henchmen.

"Garth?"

"I am so sorry to visit uninvited. I know… I know it's not… This is all rather uncouth. I haven't had the chance to see you. Not since our dinner. I walked you home that night.…"

"And I specifically had you leave me in the square. A square that is surrounded by ten different apartment buildings. Hundreds of possible living spaces. There is a reason that I did not invite you to the place where I lived, Garth. What did you do? Follow me?"

She was angling the door to keep his view narrowed to the blank wall behind her. Any wider and he'd have a visual of one of the dangling black cords that connected to the dress. There was the natural instinct to hide her plans from him, but there was another truth buried beneath that one: she liked Garth. She wanted to remain Nan to him, for fear that if he knew her as Nevelyn—he might decide to ignore her like everyone else did.

"No!" Garth said, blushing with proper embarrassment. "I mean, of course not. That would be awful. I just… I asked around about you. I really didn't mean to be creepy. It's just… I like you, Nan. I can't stop thinking about you. I guess I just wanted to spend more time with you. I knew this wasn't the right way—"

Nevelyn could think of no other course of action. She slid boldly through the crack in the door, shut it behind her, and reached up to kiss him. It was fumbling and awkward and she felt like she caught more beard than lips. Garth corrected that. He bent down to her. A warm hand found her cheek. There was something about the way he pressed forward that wasn't forceful, but inviting. Nevelyn did not mind the way his hands tangled in her hair. She did not mind that he smelled like sweat and burned cocoa and rain. She realized, as they pulled away from each other, that she'd been waiting to kiss him for years—even if she had only met him weeks ago.

"So… you're not mad?" Garth whispered.

"Of course I'm mad. You stalked me!"

"Right. Yes. I'm sorry. But…"

"But I kissed you. And I think I will again."

Garth smiled and she made good on her word, standing on tiptoes so that she could peck his cheek. She found herself half wishing there was not a strange dress dangling from the walls of her apartment. But to wish that away was to wish away the entire revenge. It was to pretend there had never been a House Tin'Vori or a brother named Ware who their enemies had planted in the ground. It was to pretend they'd not lost everything and that she was only a peasant girl named Nan with nimble fingers. She could not bring herself to do that, even if Garth was warm and kind and a fine kisser.

"You can't come in. It would be… uncouth." She used his word, which made him smile. "But I do like you. And I do want to see you again. For now, go home."

He did not mind being dismissed. She'd given him the confirmation he'd wanted. It made her own heart sail, to see someone so taken with her—in a way no one else had ever been taken with her. Garth leaned in to kiss her forehead, the softest brush of a kiss she'd ever felt, and then he was walking back down the steps that fed into the alleyway.

"I'll see you at the opera house," she called after him.

She'd never seen a man look so delighted with himself. She watched him walk back toward the market. It was a struggle to not go running after him. Before she could retreat back inside, she spied another figure, striding with purpose across the opposite end of the square. It was impossible not to recognize Ren Monroe. The girl kept her head down, trying to be circumspect. Nevelyn watched her make a show of examining the nearest market cart. After a few seconds of eyeing the wares, Ren slipped down the alleyway.

"What are you doing out here?"

Nevelyn frowned. "Am I to be locked away at all hours?"

Ren rolled her eyes before making a shooing gesture. Nevelyn obediently cracked open the door and the two of them vanished inside. There was a satisfying oh sound as her visitor spotted the waiting dress. Nevelyn had already been quite proud of her work, but compliments never hurt.

"Do you think she'll go for it?" Ren asked.

"Yes. I've positioned it well."

"Good. It's nearly time. Dahvid's gauntlet is tonight."

Nevelyn's eyes snapped in that direction. "What?! How do you know?"

"My contact in Ravinia," Ren answered. "It was scheduled for tonight. We'll have word in the morning about the result."

Nevelyn couldn't help it. She slumped into the only chair in the room. Her face fell into her hands. They'd spent so much time working toward this moment. Dahvid was as prepared as he could be. And truly, she believed in his skill. But she still felt a bone-deep fear come over her. What if she lost him, too? The way she'd lost Ware and all the others? If it worked, the other pieces of their plan would snap into place shortly after. If it didn't work, she'd be without yet another family member, living in a city she barely remembered, with no viable path to taking revenge against the people who'd taken everything from her.

"He'll win," Ren Monroe said, breathing hope back into Nevelyn's mind. "We have to believe that. If he does, will you be ready?"

"Go stand outside the door."

Ren frowned. "What?"

"Just do it."

Ren obeyed, slipping out and closing the door behind her. Nevelyn waited for a moment, and then she channeled all her fear and rage and terror into her chest. She let out a scream that could wake the dead. A long and terrible note that shook through the entire room. When she was done, she reached out and opened the door.

"Did you hear that?"

Ren Monroe frowned again. "Hear what?"

"Good. The room is ready. All we have to do now is get the timing right."

"You're certain? There's nothing else you need at the playhouse?"

Nevelyn smiled with satisfaction. "No. I have it all under control."

"Fine. I won't be visiting you again. I will send Vega instead. If Dahvid wins, I'll send her to the corner building. Across the square. That will be the sign to begin your part in the plan."

Their partner and confidant hesitated.

"I thought… Was there a man just now? Leaving your apartment?"

"A drunk," Nevelyn confirmed, her face betraying nothing. "He stumbled down the alleyway and took a piss outside my window. This really is a charming place you've put me in."

"Free and charming are rarely bedmates," Ren answered. "You won't be here much longer."

"No," Nevelyn answered. "Regardless of what might happen, it is not my fate to scrape out a living in a hovel like this. We were meant for more than that."

Ren quietly crossed the room. She stood in the shadow of the black dress. Nevelyn watched the girl trace the intricate laces with a finger.

"My mother used to tell me that no darkness lasts for long."

Nevelyn nodded. "I used to tell my sister the same."

"But beautiful things can come from darkness. Can't they?"

"Beautiful," Nevelyn agreed. "And dangerous."

There was nothing left to say. With a quiet nod, Ren Monroe departed. As soon as the door closed, Nevelyn slumped back into the chair. Her thoughts were for Dahvid, and Dahvid alone. Who was he fighting? Did any of her research help him? She fretted and fretted until sleep claimed her early in the morning. Her dreams were shapeless, colorless, barely dreams at all.