Treason: Book Two of the Grimoire Saga (a Young Adult Fantasy series) (40 page)

“Do you always think like that? With cold calculation?”

Gavin caught her eye. She wanted to look away, to show her disgust or grimace, but his cold gaze snared her. She
couldn’t
look away. She shuddered.

He stared again at the floor, and Kara resisted the impulse to sigh with relief.

“I chose instead to confide in someone I could trust,” he continued. “I couldn’t tell Richard. All he cared about was protecting the Vagabond, even when leveraging you could avenge Mother.”

“You have to be kidding—”

“And none of Mother’s generals had ever dealt with such delicate matters. I didn’t feel I could trust them.” Gavin carried on as if she hadn’t spoken, pushing through her words without pausing to let her in.

Apparently, he hadn’t come for conversation. This was a confession.

It seemed like he needed to get this off his chest. His life must have been a lonely one if he hadn’t confessed any of this sooner. He must not have had anyone to talk to.

Kara sat back and listened. She could grant him that much. Besides, it would likely be helpful. In Ourea, information was more valuable than money.

Gavin ran a hand through his hair. “In the end, I turned to Aislynn and told her everything the night after Braeden’s trial. I needed someone to trust, and Mother always seemed to believe in her. Of the Bloods, Aislynn had the most experience with diplomatic negotiation. She always spoke of peace and unity. I knew we had similar goals, she and I, and she had a compassion that would point me in the right direction.”

He took a deep breath. “Or so I thought. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I told her I knew your village’s location. It was
glee
. Unadulterated joy, like she’d just figured out the winning move in a game. I had no idea she’d already been planning to lure you as bait to catch the muses, but it was as if the village was the final piece to her puzzle.

“She called a meeting right then and told the rest of the Bloods everything, without even telling me what she was about to do.

“I was horrified. A guard of mine overheard her invite you to Ayavel during the Gala—and I suddenly understood why she’d offered. She’d wanted to lure you there under the premise of safety. She revealed her plan to use you as bait, since by then Braeden had left to find the Heirs. You were unconscious and exposed after his trial, though we didn’t know then that you’d disappeared from the room Braeden had taken you to. We all know he cares for you, that much has been evident for a while now. He would have interfered to protect you from what Aislynn was planning, so he needed to be out of the picture.

“They also acknowledged that we would lose your trust after using you, so a bargaining began before I could stop it. Aislynn was given the power of the muse she stole, and Ithone, Frine, and I would duel for the right to control you after the process was complete. The losing pair would be left splitting up the spoils from your village, and all kingdoms would be evenly rewarded for their contributions.

“I lost the upper hand, even though I knew better than to interfere with the drenowith. The other Bloods were nearly salivating at the prospect of controlling such power. I never realized how excellent a speaker Aislynn is, either. She spun the story, making it seem as though it was all my idea. That kept the suspicion off of me and made me seem like the good little boy, reporting back to his superiors. I lost all say in the matter.

“The truth came out, then, about how Frine and Ithone watched you in your time with them. You know the saying—keep your friends close, your enemies closer. They feared the legend of the first Vagabond. They had no idea of your power, so they gave you free rein. They wanted to observe you to see how much you truly knew. The first Vagabond was a legend, and here he was—reincarnated, they believed—in the form of a young human girl. It baffled them. It baffled all of us, though I know you aren’t a reincarnated soul. The Vagabond never really died, did he?”

Gavin turned to Kara for confirmation, but she didn’t answer. He might be confessing, but he wouldn’t get anything from her.

He shrugged and continued. “I was just wondering. It doesn’t matter. Frine watched you while you were in Losse, fascinated as you tore through his gardens on the first day. A spy of his saw what you found—that little blue square—but he didn’t know what to make of it.

“Aurora apparently told Ithone that your pack was heavier when you left the garden and hung lower on your shoulder. He was furious that she hadn’t discovered what you took, but he didn’t dare challenge you for it when he was still uncertain of your abilities. He let it go.”

Kara’s gut twisted. And here, she’d thought she’d been clever in finding the map pieces. There was still so much she didn’t know.

“Aislynn just gave me the Ayavelian piece,” Kara finally said.

“She said she didn’t know what it was, back then. Richard did, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Hillsidian bit of the map just appeared for you, didn’t it? Without explanation?”

Kara bit her cheek to suppress a gasp. “That was Richard?”

Gavin nodded. “There’s an old rumor that started around the time the Vagabond went into hiding. It claimed that, should the first Vagabond ever die, there was a blue map that would lead his true successor back to the village. I always thought it was ridiculous and just gave fools false hope, but Richard believed it. He believed you were that true successor. He confessed later to leaving you the map piece, which had long been in the Hillsidian vaults. Richard has always believed in you, even more than he believes in me.”

Gavin looked at the ground again. He hunched his shoulders in defeat, but Kara didn’t set a comforting hand on his shoulder. She couldn’t bond with him, not with Gavin. She just couldn’t trust him. This could be yet another of his ploys, though it admittedly wasn’t likely. He slouched too much. His head hung with a weight that didn’t come without authenticity.

No.
She couldn’t trust him. Not after everything he’d done. She could pity him, though.

“Did you tell anyone the village’s actual location?” she asked, forcing herself to be still even though she wanted to shake him and slap him all at once for knowing.

“Not yet, but it’s just a matter of time before I can’t tactfully avoid answering them.”

Kara buried her head in her hands and pulled her knees to her chest. She didn’t know what else to do.

He sighed, sounding far older than he looked. “I brought the Bloods together, and I have since lost all control.”

Kara shook her head and laughed.

“Why are you laughing?” Gavin asked, watching her with a suspicious glint out of the corner of his eye.

“All I wanted was to unite you all. And I did. I just didn’t expect to become the thing you united against.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He set his head in his hands. Despite everything he had done to prove the contrary, she believed his new remorse.

Kara didn’t respond, though. Sure, she believed him, but she wouldn’t forgive him yet.

He rested one hand on his cheek and stared at the floor. “This has all gotten out of hand.”

“No kidding,” Kara said.

“We sent Braeden to the Stele,” Gavin confessed.

She cursed. Gavin flinched, and she cursed again—louder this time. Braeden’s goodbye, the sense of loss, that painfully terrifying kiss—it suddenly all made sense.

“You’re all insane! Why would you do that?” she snapped.

“You disappeared from the room where Braeden left you after his trial. We figured you would be weak immediately after that possession and that it would be easier to use you as bait, but we couldn’t find you anywhere. I was desperately trying to get to you first, to get you away from them. I knew if they went through with this plan, that I’d lose my last chance of getting your help in this war.

“But Aislynn knew what I was doing. She wouldn’t leave me alone. And when we found you, I tried to tell you—”

Kara rubbed her face. Of course, hindsight was twenty-twenty. “She told me you all thought less of her because she stood up for Braeden. She made you out to be the villain. She’s clever.”

“Aislynn was just happy to have found you, though admittedly disappointed you were awake. I think she ordered me out because she figured out what I was trying to do. She wanted to lull you into a sense of security while she figured out what to do next.

“But then you left. Gone, just like that. The Bloods didn’t know what to do. I was relieved. I thought maybe you’d figured everything out and went back to the village. But no. No, you’d gone to help
Braeden.
” Gavin said the name with disdain.

They both sighed before Gavin continued.

“Aislynn insisted we have a backup plan, just in case you returned. At her recommendation, of course, we agreed to give Braeden false information should he return from rescuing the Heirs. And imagine our surprise—my frustration!—when you returned with him.

“We reconvened as soon as you and Braeden left the throne room, just us Bloods. Aislynn claimed Braeden couldn’t be trusted, especially not after returning from the Stele. So I told him to lead Carden’s forces to a camp, where I claimed we’d be waiting to surprise them. We will ambush them much sooner, in a ravine that serves as the only entrance to the camp. The location will leave them virtually defenseless. I don’t expect Braeden or Carden to survive.”

Kara’s heart skipped a beat, and it was all she could do not to punch Gavin in the face and run for the door. Since it was locked, that would be useless. Punching him would feel pretty good, though.

“You all are disgusting,” she said instead.

“Let me finish.”

Kara leaned against the wall, but wouldn’t look at him. How there could be
more
was beyond her. She motioned for him to continue.

“What I didn’t realize was that Aislynn was just tricking me into getting Braeden away from you. She knows he loves you. I think all the Bloods do at this point, though we still aren’t sure of how you feel about him. Frine thinks you’re using him.”

“I would never—!” She stopped, but too late.

Gavin watched her through the corner of his eye, and she sighed. She had walked into a trap. So much for him not manipulating her.

He leaned back. “I know what you must be thinking, and even though you have every right to believe I’m tricking you, I’m not. You just genuinely care for him. You can admit that now. There’s no use in hiding it any longer.”

“You’re mistaken,” she said softly. She had to at least
try
to cover her tracks.

Gavin shrugged and continued without pressing the subject. “Everything Aislynn told me about the ambush was a lie to make you vulnerable. Braeden trusted her to protect you from the rest of us, but in the end, Aislynn is the one to be feared.”

He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes before he continued. “In the morning, Kara, they will spike you again so that the poisons prevent you from resisting. They will do it daily until Aislynn is well, unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless you escape or align yourself with one of the kingdoms.”

“I don’t suppose you’d just let me walk out?”

“I will, but I want you to consider to my proposition first. Will you do that?”

Kara caught his eye. “You would really let me leave? Just like that?”

“Yes, as long as you consider what I have to say before you go.”

“I’m listening.”

“If you leave, Kara, you will be hunted down like an escaped animal. When they find you—because they will—you will be chained and caged. Whoever catches you will have the most say in who controls you once Aislynn is once more well, which means there will be a full-on hunt once the Bloods realize you’re missing. It will become sport.”

“And you’ll join them?”

He looked at the wall, but eventually nodded. “Kara, it will mean declaring war on you. Any other vagabonds you’ve turned will be killed.
Twin
will be killed. But if you stay in this tower to wait it out, I have no doubt that Losse or Kirelm will ultimately win the duel to control you. Ithone and Frine are stronger than me. I don’t stand a chance against them.

“The only way for you to avoid that fate is to align yourself with one of the kingdoms and become a Blood’s wife”—he paused—“
my
wife.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“You would be royalty, and they would be forced to treat you with respect. They would have no right or ability to control you.”

“And you would?”

“No. Instead, I’ll make a bargain with you. Your village will be safe, your vagabonds safe, if you help me avenge Mother.”

Kara pushed herself to her feet and ran her hand through her hair.

“This has to be the worst marriage proposal ever,” she finally said.

“Braeden’s not coming back, Kara, not from the Stele. We sent him there knowing that. I knew that, but I did it anyway because it’s just a matter of time before he accepts what he is. As good as he tries to be, he was born to destroy. It’s in his blood!”

“And you
don’t
destroy?”

“This is different.”

“It isn’t different at all! Braeden is one of the only people I trust, Gavin. Especially after this.”

Gavin grimaced. “He will break your heart. He can’t fight what he is, and no one’s going to save you from this. You have three choices: slavery, running, or me. Is this really a contest?”

Kara walked to the fireplace, stretching her stiff arms as she did. The poison still swam through her blood, but thankfully didn’t hurt anymore. She waved her hand over the cold logs, and a lavender fire danced to life beneath her fingers. The rush of magic and heat further cleared her head.

The mattress squeaked as Gavin shifted his weight on the bed. “All I want is justice for my mother, Kara. You can help me find it.”

Revenge—Kara could appreciate that. Deirdre still had her dad’s soul locked away within her, keeping him from resting in peace. But Kara had exposed him. It was her fault he’d been in harm’s way at all. Hating Deirdre—killing her—wasn’t going to make that guilt go away.

It wasn’t any different for Gavin. Not really.