Bound to Blackwood (46 page)

Lena didn't have a clue what to say. Her life at the Order had been better than most girls in her position could ever have hoped for. Things hadn't exactly been peachy recently, but her brethren usually treated her very well…

Thorn cleared his throat. He answered Lucine's question, yet he stared at Lena as he said the words. Her heart skipped a beat and the most intense heat rushed through her body. "She is loved more than she will ever know."

Those fantastic golden eyes flashed with hints of platinum as he stared at her. He let his guards drop and a wave of unadulterated emotions washed over her. Guilt. Shame. Confusion. Above all else, love.

She heard Lucine gasp as the woman felt Thorn's emotions too and the sound wrenched Lena's attention away from the King. A wide, joyous smile spread across Lucine's face as she said, "Then everything is as it should be."

Lena's throat felt impossibly tight as she forced out her reply. "Please," was all she could say to her mother's friend.

Chapter 31

Lucine fidgeted in her seat, her hands never still as she adjusted her skirt, then her hair, then her skirt again. Her nervousness was infectious. Lena saw Thorn shift on the opposite sofa.

Lucine gave a nervous laugh as she wrung her hands. "It is difficult to know where to begin," she said.

"I find starting at the beginning is usually best," Thorn said.

Lucine nodded. "All of this started so long ago. Times were different then; there were more great Houses, but none of us knew who to trust. Everyone was so concerned with their own honour, their own station, their own circle of connections. No one would trust anyone outside of their bannermen and blood-bonds. And even then, one could never really be sure. Great names
Fell
nearly every week," her voice trailed off to little more than a whisper as she recounted a history that must still be very real and alive in the memory of her generation.

Lena was too young to remember, but Kaden had made sure she knew her history. The nineteenth century was a dark time for the race. A sadness wrapped around her heart as she risked a glance at Thorn.

That time had been particularly bad for House Blackwood. Thorn had lost his beloved mother and father and then his elder brother in quick succession. Lena looked at her feet. Thorn hadn't been the only one to lose his parents; nearly everyone lost someone they knew and loved.

"When the Fallen took Eden, we all thought it the beginning of the end," Lucine continued in a quiet voice

It was true. The number of Vampires who chose to fall in the years around the murder of the Queen and the disappearance of such a high-profile youngling grew exponentially. The thought made Lena's blood boil.

"I mean, if a youngling wasn't safe in her own House, and the House of a Shieldbearer at that, then surely nowhere was safe…" Lucine said.

"But the Nanny, Saffron escaped," Lena reminded the other woman.

Lucine shook her head as more sorrow and regret touched the air. "Such bravery consigned to secrecy."

"But why?" Lena shrieked, frustrated at the lack of answers.

Lucine sighed. "It was never meant to be a secret this long. From what I understand, House Greenshire was under near constant watch by the Fallen.
Maluth
Clayden even suspected someone from within his own circle of trading information."
 

Thorn growled. "Vance of House London."

Lucine's eyes widened. "The very same."

"Clayden was right to suspect him," Thorn said.

Lucine nodded. "I am not surprised."

"Please, tell us what happened to Eden," Lena demanded, tired of being so close, yet so far from the truth.

"I am sorry," Lucine replied, "but it is important you know the whole story."

"Then please get on with it," Lena snapped.

"Lena!" Thorn chided, the timbre of his voice escalating.

A small arrow of guilt dented her conscience, but Eden was the most important thing here. The delicate sensibilities of a Squire meant little, even if the Squire had been her mother's best friend. Damn Thorn for making her feel guilt for doing her job.

"Please continue," she said to Lucine.

"As the nights went by, the number of people
Maluth
Clayden felt he could trust dwindled. Getting a message to House Greenshire proved impossible. In fact, two Squires lost their lives
trying to do just that. We couldn't just pick up the telephone and send one of those written messages to a portable."
 

"Text to a mobile," Lena said.

Lucine waved her hand. "Yes, one of those. The only secure communication was face to face, and that proved too dangerous. The Order were out of reach and House Clayden bannermen were few and far between. So, after seeking help where he could and coming back empty handed,
Maluth
Clayden had but one option left."
 

Lena was literally on the edge of her seat. She leant so far forward, she now sat knee to knee with the other woman. Her heart fluttered in her chest, as the answers she sought were finally within touching distance. Despite all the drama in her life, finding Eden remained her top priority.

Ever since she saw that portrait of Eden and her mother Cassandra, she felt a connection with the youngling. She
had
to find her. There was no other option. No opt out clause, no plan B. "For the love of all that is Fae, Lucine, please tell us what happened," Lena implored.
 

Lucine's nervousness returned. She fidgeted again, wouldn't maintain eye contact with either of them. Still looking at the floor, Lucine continued. "After deciding that none of the great Houses could be trusted
Maluth
Clayden settled on a new idea. With so many Fallen watching the Houses, he decided the child would be safest where nobody would suspect. Hidden in plain sight, he said."
 

"What do you mean?" Thorn asked.

Lucine swallowed. "He said it would be the last place the Fallen would look, that they would expect Eden to be taken in by one of the Houses."

"You've lost me," Lena said.

Lucine's silver eyes finally lifted to meet Lena's gaze. "
Maluth
Clayden placed the youngling with Squires, posing as her parents."
 

"Who?" Lena shouted.

Lucine glanced across at Thorn, then back at Lena. "Your parents, Lena. She was placed with Rayne and Greene."

Lena felt her jaw drop as her mouth hung open. She ran through her formative years at lightning speed, images of their time at House Meadows flashing through her mind. "I…I don't remember her," Lena stuttered.

A warm, masculine hand wrapped itself around hers. "Lena," Thorn whispered.

Lena looked at Thorn, sympathy shining through his fantastic, golden eyes. She snapped her attention back to Lucine; the woman's eyes mirrored Thorn's. The sympathy and compassion threatened to choke her. Lena felt tears welling. "Oh Holy Mother of Fae. She's dead isn't she? That's why I don't remember her isn't it? She died."

Lucine shook her head. "No."

Gut wrenching sadness had Lena in its grip. "How do you know that?" she shrieked. Thorn's hold on her hand tightened as Lucine stared at her. "How do you know?" she demanded again.

Lucine continued to stare. "Because I'm looking at her," she replied.

"Holy Mother of Fae, Lena!" Thorn dashed to Lena's side as she slumped in her seat. She still had a hold of his hand, her grip like a vice, but her eyes were unseeing, staring into nothingness. He cupped her face with his free hand. "Lena? Lena, can you hear me?"

Lucine sobbed and bright, red tears ran down her face. "I am so sorry, My Lord, this is all my fault."

Thorn ignored her fretting. Lena was all that mattered. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, gave gentle squeezes of her hand. "Come back to me, Lena. For the love of Fae, please answer me."

Nothing.

"Shall I call for a doctor, My Lord?" Lucine asked.

"No." There was no way in hell a doctor provided by House Meadows was going to treat the woman he loved. The woman he loved…
Jesus, Thorn, you are such an idiot.
He bent down and whispered in her ear desperate that she would hear him.
 

Lena's mind tornadoed through her childhood. She refused to accept Lucine's words. And yet…Memories of her childhood, of her parents distorted, as if this was the truth she had never allowed herself to see.

As her mind tracked back, she saw the hushed conversations in dark corners, and the times the discussion stopped awkwardly when she entered the room. The House where her parents had argued with people she did not know, what she thought had been House Meadows, had in fact been somewhere else entirely. And then there was Vance of House London.
 

That
scene replayed again. It wasn't a nightmare at all. It really was a memory, though she realised she hadn't seen all of it when the vision slammed into her a few weeks ago. As Vance approached her, his maniacal smile terrifying her, another man stepped into the corridor and shielded her from Vance's evil stare. It was her father. Or at least the man she'd always thought of as her father.
 

She thought about her parents' death again. All her life she thought the attack on her family had been random. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unlucky.

But if Vance knew who she really was… Now she wasn't so sure.

Her memories waned, the colours now less vivid, faces merged into each other, voices indistinguishable.

Except one.

Not much more than a murmur at first, the voice got louder, more clear. Lena followed it as it coaxed her from the darkness in her mind.

"Come back to me, Guardian mine. Come back; I am lost without you," it said.

She knew that voice, knew it was home. She blinked as the here and now became clear once more. A pair of golden eyes looked down at her. A warm hand cradled her cheek. "Thorn."

"It is time you and I went home," he said. Still dazed, all Lena could do was nod. Home sounded good.

Thorn swept Lena up off the sofa and into his arms. His heart skipped a beat as she wound her arms around his neck and nuzzled close to him.

"I am truly sorry, My Lord. It was never meant to be like this," Lucine whispered.

Thorn swung around to look at the other woman. "Then why keep it secret all this time?" he demanded.

Lucine lowered her silver eyes. "It is why I could only speak to Lena, or you, My Lord. We were sworn to secrecy!
Maluth
Clayden planned to get the message out as soon as it was safe. But…"
 

"But he died," Thorn finished for her.

Lucine gave a solemn nod.

"There must have been another way."

"We made an honour-oath. No one was to know the truth. We swore on the name of the King that the only people to whom we would reveal the truth were the King or Eden herself."

Thorn scowled at her. "You could have come forward."