Chapter 38 Nevelyn Tin’vori

There was a delicate mental balance.

She needed to access some of Tessa's knowledge, but without inviting the part of Tessa that was still there—deep in the recesses of her own conquered mind—to take back control. She could feel the scion like a freshly trapped lioness, stalking from end to end, waiting for the first chance to strike at her captors. Nevelyn was too careful for that. She found the easiest way to acquire the knowledge she needed was to ask.

How do I get back home?

There was a small touch of resistance. And then the answer:

A hired family driver is always on call at Ockley Square.

Nevelyn navigated down roads she'd never seen. They were foreign to her but second nature to Tessa Brood. The remembered path led her into the heart of the Safe Harbor district. A few people waved as she passed. Nevelyn would wave back, certain they were acquaintances of Tessa Brood, but never daring to risk an actual conversation with any of them.

Around the corner of a great monastery, she found herself walking through the politest market square she'd ever encountered. No one was hawking their goods. There was no hustling or bickering about prices. Just tables full to the brim with beautiful things, and rich people perusing at their leisure. Nevelyn spied the waiting carriage across the way. When she arrived, however, there was no sign of a driver. She circled once, eyeing the nearest pubs, starting to feel a little panicky.

"Looking for Len, Miss Brood?"

A man came striding over from one of the vegetable stands. He knew her name, but Nevelyn had no idea what kind of familiarity existed between them. She decided to go the safest route: a touch of entitlement. She lifted her chin.

"I wish I could say I wasn't."

The man nodded. "Of course. It's just bad luck on the timing. I saw him step away for a quick lunch. Not too long ago. He's never derelict when it comes to his duties."

"Except right now. Will you please find him for me?"

There was a touch of surprise on the man's face. Nevelyn thought maybe she'd overstepped. After all, the other man was no servant of House Brood. She saw no indications or markings that would give him any reason to obey her command. Except for the fact that people in Kathor always obeyed their rulers.

"Of course. Wait right here."

Waiting was not ideal. There was something about stillness that threatened to draw Nevelyn's mind back to the room. Back to the other dress and the body inside it. A small piece of her mind was still there. She felt it was like standing in a room, drinking in all the décor, and then catching sight of another world through one of the mirrors. Briefly, she saw Garth. Crouched right where she'd left him. A look of horror had bloomed on his face. The great black cords trembled with movement. The truth was clear. Tessa was currently occupying Nevelyn's body. After all, the spell was an exchange. It appeared that Tessa was screaming at Garth.

Nevelyn's mind lurched, lured in by that other reality, and she shook herself free of the image. She paced in the market square, trying to stay focused on these surroundings.

You are here. Not there. You are here. Not there.

Mercifully, the man appeared.

"He's coming, Miss Brood. Just a moment."

Len shoved through the doors, wiping at the corners of his mouth. He was an older gentleman with a bald head and quiet, blue eyes. Nevelyn hated the way he bent and groveled and begged her forgiveness. But Tessa Brood would expect such treatment. Len opened the door for her, and she did not bother to thank him as she climbed inside.

In a few moments, the poor man had the carriage moving. Lifting from the ground, rising over the tops of the nearest buildings. Nevelyn kept her face smooth and unbothered, but she hated heights. Her stomach churned uncomfortably. She suspected it would be breaking character to vomit in the back of a carriage that a person supposedly took with regularity.

The city shrank beneath them. It was a sweeping and breathless view of the place that she should have known so well. Street names and neighborhoods and favorite restaurants. It all would have been familiar to her if the Broods had not taken everything from them.

Len tried to make small talk, but Nevelyn kept her answers short and crisp. Nothing that would betray that she was very much not Tessa Brood. As soon as the estate loomed into view, Nevelyn made the one request that she knew was a risk. A very necessary risk.

"Could you please take me to the northern gates? I'd prefer to enter there."

Len reacted as expected. Clear hesitation. This was a departure from their normal practices. It was likely that Tessa Brood had never once approached the estate from that direction. Nevelyn looked out the window, though, pretending to study the trees below. Acting as if her strange request should be treated as law, simply because it had come from her lips.

After a moment's hesitation, Len directed their carriage that way. He brought the floating vehicle lower and lower. Nevelyn could not resist looking north. Her eyes combed the great forest there for any signs of movement. There wasn't a single flicker of sunlight on metal. She could not decide if she was thrilled by her brother's caution or frightened by the possibility that they were not there, that something had gone terribly wrong with the plan.

"Hold on to something, my lady."

The carriage shook, so much that she was nearly thrown into the seat across from her. She caught herself just in time. Len's eyes flicked back to her as the vehicle skidded to a halt.

"Apologies, Miss Brood. It's been some time since I landed here. The ground isn't quite as well maintained on this side of the estate.…"

She waved a hand, dismissing the subject without a word.

"You can leave now, Len. Thank you for your services."

He stared at her for a long, uncomfortable moment.

"Is there something else you need?"

He fumbled awkwardly. "It's just… we usually wait? For you to come back to the gate after you're done with your family matters. And I… I'm sorry, my lady, but you've never called me Len before."

A clear slip of the tongue. Nevelyn knew it would take a great deal more for him to believe the reality of the situation. Who would guess that their normal heiress was being mind-controlled by someone using a set of magical, matching dresses? That was quite a leap to make, but Nevelyn knew there were plenty of stories about manipulation magic. Wizards who specialized in the art of steering the actions of others with quiet bursts of powerful magic. It was not a far cry that the Broods' hired employees would fear such a thing. Either way, she could not afford for him to do exactly what he was doing right now: study her more closely.

She did her best to channel the Tessa Brood she'd witnessed earlier that morning. "That was clearly a mistake, because it seems that using that name has granted you some imagined permission to question my commands." She tilted her chin, ever so slightly. "I will repeat myself for the last time: you are to leave. If I have need of your services—and you should hope with all your heart that we do indeed require your services in the future—you will be summoned back to the estate. Is that clear, or shall I recite it a third time?"

Len actually averted his eyes. His response was mumbled.

"Of course, my lady."

She could tell he was genuinely hurt. Maybe his relationship with Tessa was a positive one. Nevelyn could not spare time to consider it further, as she began her descent of the carriage steps. It was a struggle to keep the edges of her long dress from dragging in the mud.

As soon as she was clear, Len had the carriage moving. It glided up and out of sight, and Nevelyn found herself standing outside the looming gates of the Brood estate. She waited there for as long as she dared. Making sure that she was visible from the forests to the north. Her eyes darted briefly that way. There, between the branches, she saw a single, bright slash.

Nevelyn smiled to herself and turned.

Guards watched her from the ramparts. All of them would instantly recognize Tessa Brood. The great heiress to the unspoken throne that was House Brood. She adjusted the straps of her black dress and started walking forward. But now came the final test of her magic.

This had been Ren Monroe's only fear. The magic protecting the Broods' estate was ancient. Layered and harvested over centuries. Magic like that often moved past its original designs. It took on a sort of sentience. Ren's fear had been that the magic would know Tessa was no longer Tessa. Nevelyn could show no hesitation.

She walked straight up to the waiting gates. In the very center, binding them together, was the great emblem of House Brood. An image of four hawks, all facing outward, circling a smaller emblem that represented the city. Their wings and talons had been drawn at such an angle that there was no gap in their ranks. The perfect emblem for the house that had long been Kathor's first defense. But who will defend you from us?

Nevelyn reached out with a hand she did not recognize. She whispered a prayer and set her palm to the waiting stone. The door rumbled to life. The magic was actually working. All of this plotting and practice, the sleepless years in a dozen different homes, and it had actually worked. The impregnable gates of the Brood estate groaned open. Nevelyn stood there in triumph.

Her part of the plan was finished.

She did not look back. She did not want to give away the surprise. But as a pair of guards came forward to greet their heiress, she knew hundreds of soldiers were sprinting down the forested hills. They would undoubtedly use the trees to cover their approach until the very last possible moment. Nevelyn walked forward, pretending to be Tessa Brood, chatting loudly enough that she would draw the attention of all the surrounding guards.

Not one of them knew the wolves were inside the house.

Time to feast.