Chapter 7

7

Ella

Tarran agreed to tend to the animals after only a little begging, but it took some strong negotiation to convince his father, and I had to promise him a little extra as a fee. I wouldn't be able to afford it long on my meager savings, but I'd heard that the castle staff were well paid. It was the only reason anyone wanted to work there, after all.

I showed him the ropes, and after an hour, he wiped his brow. "You've been doing all this yourself with your sister gone?" Sweat glistened on his biceps and made his shirt cling to his chest.

I shrugged, pulling my gaze away. "I'm used to the work. Belle's often gone."

He shook his head. "Well, I'll give it my best, though I can't say I liked the way your stepmother's horses looked at me."

"At least she doesn't expect you to do the cooking."

"Gods, no—not if she expects to live."

I laughed and self-consciously brushed a strand of my hair from my face. "Thanks for looking after the manor. It means a lot to me."

"I know."

Of course he did. We'd known each other since my father was still alive, and he'd heard me talk about how much I treasured it dozens of times. My heart ached just thinking of losing it.

"Are you okay?" he asked as his fingers lightly brushed my arm.

My cheeks heated. "I should go. I have a lot to do to get ready before I apply."

I turned to leave, but he pulled me back. "Are you sure about this? Those bastards are ruthless, and they take what they want. I can't stand the thought of one of them laying their hands on you—not again."

"I'll be fine, Tarran. Plenty of people work there."

His eyes flashed with anger. "And plenty must pay the tithe, whether they like it or not, while others don't return. I don't want you to be one of them."

"I won't." I stepped back at the protectiveness in his voice, suddenly frustrated for reasons I couldn't quite explain.

His shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, El—I didn't mean to frighten you. I just don't understand why you're applying for work at that place when you've got more than enough waiting for you here. The castle is perilous." He glanced toward the manor, and his voice lowered. "Is it to get away from her? Has it gotten that bad?"

Tarran knew so much about my life. Too much . It was one reason it would never work between us. I wasn't certain he'd ever stop seeing me as the little girl struggling beneath her stepmother's thumb and start seeing the woman I was capable of being despite her.

I shook my head. "No, it's not Lucille."

He read my expression like a book. "It's Belle, then, isn't it?"

I'd promised my stepmother not to speak of it, but my silence betrayed me.

"Shit," he said, and ran his fingers through his dusty brown hair. "Well, then I know there'll be no talking you out of it, but please, El—be careful. If any of those bastards tries to…if they—" His voice cut off, and he grabbed me by both shoulders. "Just run for it, okay? Come back here and find me. We'll get out of here."

I gave him a sad smile. "Where is there to go?"

Nowhere. There was no escape from the Bloodvale. Nothing but an impenetrable forest filled with mists and monsters, and he knew it. Talk of running was just bravado.

His jaw hardened. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I will." I slipped from his grasp and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then stepped away. "But I really have to go."

The heat of his gaze followed me up the steps to the kitchen.

As I lingered at the window and watched him head back up the dusty road, the reality of what I'd signed up for began to sink in. I'd fled home along the same path the night before, terrified out of my mind and never wanting to see a bloodsucker again. Now I was planning to march straight into their lair.

I glanced up at the castle's spires, which rose above the valley like white fangs. Would the dark rider be there? The shape of him filled my mind—impossibly cold and beautiful, mounted on that nightmare beast. My hands turned to ice, and a shiver of anticipation slid down my spine. Of course he'd be there. While some lords lived on estates, a man like him belonged in the castle.

When I went back inside, the butcher and seamstress were gone, and my stepmother was sitting at her desk as she had been the day before. This time, she didn't bother to hide her papers away. Her eyes flicked up at me. "Is everything arranged?"

I nodded.

She pulled the thin silver bracelets off her wrists and handed them to me. "You'll need to wear these."

I turned them over between my fingers, inspecting the gorgeous things. They were hammered silver with facets that glinted this way and that in the light. She'd worn them for as long as I could remember.

She'd never given me anything so fine—or much of anything at all.

"They're beautiful."

"They're a tool, not a gift. I expect them back, and if you lose them, Fates help you, girl." She headed toward the door. "I'll show you how they work."

My neck heated as I followed her out of the kitchen and into the yard. She craned her head around as we walked, as if looking for something, then glanced at me. "Don't be daft. Put them on."

I slipped one around each wrist.

"There he is." My stepmother pointed to a black bird on the roof. "Our messengers are never far. Knock the bracelets together with your wrists a few times, and he'll come down to you."

She demonstrated with her bare wrists, and I imitated, clinking the bracelets against each other in what I hoped was an inviting jingle.

The bird cocked his head but didn't ruffle a feather.

I tried again, this time a little louder and longer, yet he simply gave me a suspicious side eye.

"They're slow to trust. Let me show you," my stepmother said as she reached for the bracelets.

I evaded her grasp. There were few animals I couldn't win over. I held out my hand and jingled the bracelet on my wrist as I walked forward. "Come on down, little friend. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."

There was a flurry of black feathers as he leapt off the roof and alighted on my arm, digging in rather sharply with his pointy little claws. He pecked at the bracelet. I stroked the tuft of feathers on the top of his head, and he squatted down, beak open. "You're such a beautiful birdy."

He was not. The old crow looked like he'd seen a few too many windstorms and lived off whiskey. But birds were vain creatures, and it was best not to insult them. It was the same for cats.

When I looked up, my stepmother's jaw was halfway open. "What?" I asked as I continued to groom the bird.

"They're not usually so—" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Watch the castle for him and his fellow ravens. If you clink the bracelets together, they'll come to you."

I opened my mouth to point out that he was in no way a raven, but then I bit my tongue. Now was not the time for an ornithology lesson. "Got it."

"Check for a message tied to their leg, and for Fates' sake, don't let anyone see you take it off or even call them, or the game will be up."

"Can I write back?"

"Only if you're desperate. If you can find some way to come home and deliver the message yourself, that would be far safer. That's what Belle would do."

It felt like a cloud had passed over the sun. It still shook me that she'd secretly been a part of all this. And now she was a prisoner or hurt or forced to be one of the immortals' thralls.

The mangey bird pecked my wrist, so I started stroking his head again. "Don't worry," I told him, glancing down. "We're going to get Belle back."

My stepmother shook her head. "Your job is not to get Belle back. Your job is to pass information and do as you're told. I won't have you taking things into your own hands and putting her or me or anyone else in danger, are we clear?"

I nodded.

Crystal. I was a soldier in the resistance now. I'd obey every command to the letter—as long as it led to getting my sister back.

"Then you'd better wash up and do something about that awful hair of yours. Application day is tonight, and you look like you've been sleeping in the barnyard."

Of course I did. She'd locked me out, after all.

Despite the anger prickling up my back, I kept my face a mask. "I will."

She turned to go, but then she stopped and looked back. "I expect the best from you, Ella, but by the Fates, if things go badly in the castle, you'd better remember that you're the one who chose this path, not me."