I shrug, feeling awkward. When I think of scholars, I think of old, stuffy men with soft bellies and thinning hair. Judging from his wife, this Bib fellow must be an entirely different sort.
“Sorry,” I murmur. “Please go on.”
She takes a deep breath, bolstering herself. “I believe he was having an affair. He’s been working late, going away for weeks on business. My assistant saw him herself in a back alley with some harlot.”
As she says the words, she chokes back more tears. “You must understand, I love him. The idea—it destroyed me. And I was angry… After only two years of marriage—How could he? You understand, don’t you?” She’s almost shaking with anger, just at the thought. “Two years!”
She killed him. I know it. Oh, and now we’re conspirators… No problem. Not an issue.
I glance at all the dead insects in their cases and grow quite nervous. If she pulls back a curtain, displaying her husband…
“We had an argument.” She shakes her head, freely crying now. “It was awful. We were both yelling…it got out of hand.”
Here it comes.
“I begged him not to leave on another expedition, demanded he stay so we could resolve this. But he told me I was being foolish, could not believe I didn’t trust him.” She pauses to control herself.
We could leave now—right now. We don’t know anything, not really. As of this moment, it’s all our own conclusions.
Adeline’s eyes are huge, and she looks like she’s going to pass out—she does that sometimes. Someone will have to carry her as we make a break for it.
“He left our home, and I…I…” Serena inhales sharply. “I came here, to his quarters in the guild, and—”
I cringe, knowing I don’t want to hear her next words.
She steels herself for the last bit and then blurts out, “I stole his wildwood larkwing and sold it to an eccentric collector in Fermall.” And with that, Serena collapses into a chair, hiding her sobs behind her hands.
Wait. What?
“What, Madame, is a wildwood larkwing?” Sebastian asks, looking as relieved and confused as I feel.
I’m positive we all had her pegged for a murderess.
Serena looks up. Even though she has tears running down her face, and her eyes are watery, she looks gorgeous. It’s quite unfair.
“A butterfly,” she whispers. “An incredibly rare butterfly—their numbers have suddenly started dwindling. It was the prize of Bib’s collection, his pride and joy.” Her expression turns hard, almost ugly with its anger. “When he left, off to find more of the horrid creatures, I wanted to hurt him as badly as he hurt me. I know it was childish and petty, but at the time, I wasn’t thinking straight. Once he finds out what I’ve done—we’ll never resolve things.”
Sebastian, ever level-headed, nods and clasps his hands behind his back. “And you would like us to retrieve another one.”
The dressmaker dries her tears on the tiny towel Sam offers, and stands up, collected once again. “No, that would be impossible. As I said, they’re near extinction. Bib was taking care of it, protecting it from the dangers of the world while trying to find it a mate. He’s been on a wild goose chase for months now, looking for a pair. He just recently procured this one. They only live for a few months…so…”
I glance around the room, inspecting the collection of crispy insects. “So, this butterfly…it’s not dead?”
“Oh no, it’s very much alive. Or at least it was when I sold it.” Her lip trembles, but she controls herself. “I need you to buy it back, bring it to me before Bib realizes what I’ve done.”
It sounds easy enough, and it explains what Sam was doing at Dante’s shoppe, asking about butterflies of all things. But why is there suddenly so much interest in them? Insects have never been a hot commodity, at least not as long as I’ve been scouting.
Sebastian looks at me, silently asking if I want to take the job. I shrug. Why not? It’s not like we have anything better to do.
Nodding once we’re agreed, Sebastian turns back toward Serena. “We’ll track down your butterfly for you, though we cannot promise what state it will be in when we find it.”
Serena bites her bottom lip, probably stopping herself before she can argue, and then she agrees. “I’ll pay you six thousand denats if you bring the larkwing back alive, three if it’s dead. No matter what, I must have it back.”
We agree to the price, and then Sebastian works out all the details. Serena reluctantly hands over her husband’s notes, which will be necessary to correctly identify the butterfly when we find it. She points out similar species in the cases, and I squint, trying to spot the differences between them. These ones are fairly small compared to a few of the hand-sized monster moths. They’re olive green and have brown spots. Serena says the wildwood larkwing will look just like them, except it’s larger than these butterflies and has eye-like markings on the lower wings.
“The man I sold it to—he’s a collector in Fermall,” Serena says. “You’ll find him there.”
I look away from the butterflies in the case, startled. “Fermall?”
“I don’t know much about him, only that he specializes in…oddities. Rare things. He’s had his eye on the wildwood larkwing since Bib captured it. He’s eccentric, but the scholars’ guild has regular dealings with him. Somehow, he stumbles on things no one else can find.”
Groaning, I rub my temples. “Things like lesser dragon eggs?”
Serena looks confused, but Sebastian grimaces. “You don’t think—”
He’s quickly cut off by Avery. “Even if it’s not the same man, I need to pay the shopkeeper a visit anyway. He owes us several thousand denats.”
Long story short, both Sebastian and Avery managed to pay the shopkeeper for Flink, which makes the dragon a very expensive glitter-breathing nuisance. Thankfully, Flink’s element is rare—it neutralizes magic.
“You mustn’t tell him I sent you,” Serena says, ignoring Sebastian and Avery. “I already sent Sam, and the man tried to charge me three times what he paid for it. Just pretend you’re collectors—he deals with them often.”
I glance at Avery, giving him a look. If the shopkeeper is one in the same, he’s the man Avery buys his illegal daggers from.
Avery’s lips tilt up in a ghost of a smile.
“Bib will return soon,” Serena says. “I must have the butterfly returned to me before he gets back, and you must not breathe a word of this to anyone. He will never forgive me for this if he were to find out.”
“And if you find out he was cheating on you?” I can’t help but ask.
Adeline and Sebastian both shoot me chastising looks, but I brush them off.
Serena sets a hand on her stomach and takes a deep breath. “I’ll deal with it at the time.”
I nod, satisfied.
“We’ll do our best,” Sebastian promises.
He’s ready to shoo us out the door, but I have one more question for the seamstress. “Why us?”
“Baron Malcomny of Baywhite was here not a month ago for an herbology seminar, bragging about the scouting team who retrieved a Moss Forest orchid cutting for him. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you, Lucia, were one of the scouts he was referring to. If you can track down orchids in the wildlands and procure the rarest ruby in the world, while slaying a few sirens on the side, surely you can retrieve one little butterfly.”
When she puts it like that…
We start toward the door, but Sam stops us. “You’ll have to take the tunnel. No one can know you were here.”
I glance back at Serena as we slip through the door, which is hidden by a large tapestry map of Kalae. She stands in front of the cases, staring at the pinned butterflies. Her hair falls in front of her face like a sheet of silk. She looks fragile—a woman broken.
If a man could grow bored of a woman who looks like that, what does that mean for the rest of us?
“Tired?” Avery’s hand drifts to my lower back. It doesn’t
seem like a purposeful move, more like a magnetic need to stay close.
Sam closes the door behind us. It’s an ominous sound in the dark, seldom used tunnel.
“I’m fine,” I assure him, though I’m not sure if that’s entirely true.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
On a Wild Butterfly Chase
The city of Fermall isn’t pleasant like Teirn. It’s located in Colrain, a province that’s to the east of Tanrith, and farther north. It takes about a week to get there, and we travel along the coast. The farther north we go, the cooler it gets. We arrive on an overcast day, one where the clouds lie low to the ground, hugging the water’s edge and masking the dingy, weathered buildings. Our carriage plods along, and the sounds of our horses’ steady gait is a rhythmic melody that makes you tired even if you’re well-rested. In the distance, a bell clangs from atop a buoy as it rocks in the shallow water just off the shore. The metallic toll adds a rather forlorn note to the already melancholy day.
Ahead of us, the city appears to be leached of color. The dirt roads are gray; the weathered wood buildings are gray; the ropes and fishing nets that decorate the shoppes and houses are gray.
With the constant smell of fish in the air and the questionable nature of many of its inhabitants, Fermall’s not a particularly welcoming city.
But it just so happens to be the one I first met Avery in, the one where I obtained the egg that would hatch to be Flink, and the port in which I embarked from on my very first sea journey. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m harboring warm, fuzzy feelings toward Fermall, but there is a bit of nostalgia here.
We make our way toward The Dappled Mare Inn, the only place in town that’s nice enough to consider staying in. Dirty patches of snow dot the streets. What were once fluffy mounds have hardened into chunks of solid ice. Occasionally, a wheel catches the ice, and it jars us as we bump over it. Every time, Flink lifts his head from his spot between us all on the floor, looking disgruntled.
Finally, the carriage stops in front of the inn. As soon as the door opens, Flink barges past Sebastian, almost knocking him over. I, too, push Sebastian aside as I leap from the carriage, hoping to catch my wayward pet before he causes turmoil in the streets.
Sebastian shakes his head, giving me that look as I clip the leather lead to Flink’s harness.
I kneel in front of the dragon and look him right in his amber eyes. “That was bad. Bad, Flink.”
He stares back, not a smidgen of remorse in his expression. Golden, sparkling flames wisp from his nostrils.
My mother says I was tiresome in my younger years, but nothing could be worse than an adolescent dragon.
We make our way up the worn steps of the inn, and I hold Flink’s lead tightly. He stays right by my side, behaving for the moment, but I know all it will take is a stray cat or munchkin dragon to send him into a tizzy.
“Four rooms for the night,” Sebastian says to the young woman behind the front desk.
She glances up from her book, and her eyes widen when they settle on Avery and Sebastian. Understandably, she blinks, overwhelmed by the sight of them standing side by side. A slow smile builds on her lips, betraying the fact that not a lot of nobles linger long enough in Fermall to need a room. She leans forward, her gaze going between the cousins. “We only have three available.”
Then she smiles at my business partner, perhaps deciding he’s the one she’s taken a fancy to, and begins to twirl a loose strand of hair in her fingers.
“That’s a shame,” Avery says, and then he steps close to me and lowers his voice. “What do you think? Should we bunk together, Lucia?”
I shoot the captain a look and step a safe distance away before I point to Adeline and tell the woman, “We’ll share a room.”
Adeline nods in agreement.
As we sign our names to the ledger and the woman pulls our keys from the pegboard behind her, she flirts with Sebastian—tossing her hair, batting her eyelashes, putting a little extra sway in her hips when she returns with the keys. Sebastian, oblivious like the daft man I know and love, asks her about Fermall and makes small talk for the sake of manners. Encouraged, the woman turns up the flirting until I almost feel sorry for her.
By the time we’re finished, Adeline’s cheeks are red, and her eyes flash. She doesn’t say a word—not one word—but she flounces out of the sitting area the moment she has our key, off to find our shared room.
Sebastian watches her leave, bewildered. I shake my head and turn toward the driver from Avery’s coach. The man stands near the entrance of the inn, eying the place as if it were about to crash down on his head. It’s not that bad, not really.
The carpets are threadbare, but they’re clean. The windows are filthy with smudges and weather stains, but at least they’re glass. Several upholstered benches and settees are placed in the entry room, surrounding a fire that crackles in the ancient stone hearth, and though they are patched and faded, they make the room look rather friendly.
“Are you sure you want me to bring in your bags, Captain?” the man asks.
Avery’s eyes brighten with amusement. “I think we’ll manage for the night.”
The man raises his eyebrows as if to say, “Suit yourself.”
Avery turns to me and tosses his key in his hand. “There’s still time to change your mind…” He glances at Sebastian, and then a horrible smirk crosses his face. “Lady Greybrow.”
Sebastian’s eyes snap to us immediately. “Excuse me?”
Avery locks his gaze on mine. I give him a subtle shake of my head, but he ignores it. “Didn’t Lucia tell you, Sebastian? We were married while we were at sea.”
Without another word, the captain grins and turns down the hall. I gape after him, imagining all the fun ways I could maim him.
Seething, I turn back to Sebastian and demand, “What?”
My friend looks ashen, almost as if someone struck him in the gut. “Tell me he’s not serious.”
“Well…” I think with my hands, holding them up and moving them in a chaotic fashion as I try to figure out what to say.
“Lucia…”
“The ceremony wasn’t binding,” I finally spit out. “It’s really not a big—”
“Ceremony?”
“What does it matter?”
He shakes his head, at a loss for words. “I’d like to think if you were to get married, you would invite me. Or, I don’t know—your family.”
I give him a frustrated smile. “You are my family. And what do you mean ‘if?’”
Wrinkling his nose as if the notion is truly distasteful, he corrects, “When.”
Rolling my eyes, I shove past him and set out on my own to find Adeline.
***
A light drizzle has started, chasing people out of the streets. Later in the evening, the rain might become snow. The air has that sort of smell. A few stubborn villagers sit on covered porches—mostly old, sea-wrinkled men crafting their fishing nets—but most of the sane people are inside.
It’s cold, and the damp clouds permeate the air, creating a thick fog of shifting moisture. It’s beautiful in its own quiet, muted way. Different from the chaotic rainstorms that I love, more somber somehow.
I could enjoy it if Flink weren’t squealing like a stuck pig in the middle of the street.
“What is wrong with your dragon?” Sebastian demands.
Adeline shivers under her cloak, her auburn curls peeking from her white-fur-lined hood. We told her to stay in the inn, but she said it was dirty and dark, and she knew she’d be murdered the moment we left her alone. Avery stands next to her, with his hands shoved into the pockets of the long jacket he wears under his own cloak. He’s watching me struggle with the dragon, trying not to smile. I know he wants me to ask him for help, but I do still have a scrap of pride left, and I can control this beast.
“He’s just…young.” I give the lead another yank, but Flink digs his talons into the dirt street, braying like a donkey.
“He’s s
poiled,” Sebastian says, feeling the need to point it out yet again.
“He’s a baby,” I snarl back.
The problem is that this “baby” outweighs me by a good seventy-five pounds. And sometime in the last month, he’s come to realize it.
Sebastian sighs in an exaggerated manner, rolling his eyes heavenward, making me wonder what kind of fool I was to fall in love with him before. Because he’s driving me insane now.
“You want me to help?” Avery says, still smiling.
I meet his eyes. “No.”
Adeline groans in an overwhelmingly feminine, wilting sort of way.
“He’s just cold,” I say, justifying the dragon’s behavior. “And he doesn’t like to be wet.”
“Just leave him here.” Sebastian shifts, ready to move. “Once he realizes you’re going without him, he’ll panic and follow you.”
“That’s mad. He’ll wander away and get himself lost.”
Sebastian stares me down, his eyes brightening like he just had an idea—one I won’t like. “It will work. See?”
My business partner begins to walk away, dragging Avery and Adeline with him.
“Where are you going?” I demand.
“To the shoppe,” Sebastian yells, grinning over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”
I look at them and then back at Flink. I know what Sebastian’s doing, and I do understand the irony of it.
“Fine!” I growl as I toss Flink’s lead on the ground. “You want to stay here in the rain? Have it your way.”
Flink stops his cries, cocks his reptilian head in confusion, and watches me walk away. As if stuck in the street, he lets out a mewling yelp.
“Well, come on,” I holler back at him as I hurry to catch up with my group.
And what does that wretched dragon do? He watches us until we turn the corner, lets out an awful shriek, and then comes barreling after me.
“I told you it would work,” Sebastian says, not bothering to contain his smug smirk.
“I hate you,” I tell him sincerely, even if I don’t really mean it.
He grins—he’s horrible to be around when he’s right—and offers his arm to Adeline. “Shall we?”
Wildwood Larkwing (Silver and Orchids Book 3) Page 11
