by Marisa Mills
“You recognize the name?” he asked.
“You might say that. Viviane is a Rosewood, Gwen’s niece, and I’m Dorian’s charge.”
“Then you’ve heard the rumors,” he said.
“Some. I know he was in love with Guinevere,” I said.
“He was,” Oberon said, cutting into my thoughts, “I’d never seen a man so devoted.”
“What really happened between them?”
“Even I don’t know for sure. We were classmates,” Oberon said fondly. “Nick came from the Lower Realms, so he didn’t find many friends in Reverie. I was one, though. Obviously, Gwen liked him, too. They were inseparable for a long time, despite Amelia’s efforts to keep them apart.”
“They were always off together, sometimes for days at a time. It was quite the scandal. Then one day, I heard them arguing. A few days later, Gwen disappeared. We thought they’d run off at first, until they found the body in the Lower Realms. The king ruled it a suicide, but Dorian had doubts – he thought Nick killed her.”
“Soon after, Nick showed up on my doorstep, said he was leaving. Said one day the mages would rue the day. Said they didn’t deserve to be saved. Then he was gone too. Dorian spent years chasing after him, but came back empty-handed. It was like he vanished off the face of the earth. Some people say he jumped, but whether it was before or after Gwen’s death, nobody seems to know. Of course I knew Nick would never do anything to hurt Gwen.”
“Months later, a box showed up, with some of his possessions, including this map and a note telling me to keep them safe. I never saw him again.”
“So Nick and Gwen knew about this chamber,” Alexander said slowly. “And then they both disappeared.”
“Do you think this is what Dorian is after, too?” Viviane asked.
I bit my lip. This all sounded far-fetched to me. I knew Nick and Gwen were stealing magical artifacts from her family and releasing demons, but what did that have to do with this chamber, or Gwen’s pendant? It didn’t make any sense, and I didn’t think it was what Dorian was after, but I couldn’t deny the sudden disappearance of Nick and Gwen was suspicious.
Lucian hissed. I would wager your nobleman is after the stolen goods.
If Dorian was after those, he’d never find them.
Maybe Nick wrote about the chamber in his journal? Lucian said. If so, your nobleman could already know all about it.
I didn’t know. I wish I’d had time to read the journal.
We never should’ve given it to him! Lucian fumed.
“So Crazy Gwen found an equally crazy lover,” Alexander muttered.
Viviane shot him a glare.
“This chamber, do you know where it is?” I asked.
“I do,” Oberon said, “but you won’t be able to get inside. I’ve tried everything, for years. I’m pretty sure King Gregory tried as well, for the first year after Nick vanished, the whole area was locked down, and there was drilling. But then, after the formation of the Council, the whole area was sealed off.”
Oberon reached up to the wall and peeled up a corner of the map to show a note scrawled underneath.
Past broken stones and true love’s bliss,
Two worlds collide in a deadly hiss,
As mages fall and the people rise,
The secret is hidden from prying eyes
Death to those who lust for more,
Only my blood can open the door.
“What’s it mean?” I asked.
“Nick sealed the chamber, so that only his blood can open it, but then he disappeared. Maybe he wanted to use it as leverage somehow, or meant to return one day. But without him, the chamber will crumble as more and more demons will be released. He’s doomed us all.”
“Convenient,” Alexander said darkly, after a moment’s pause. “It’s all just a story, without any proof, and the proof is sealed in a chamber that can’t be opened. No offense, but this all just sounds—”
“Crazy?” Tatiana said, lifting an eyebrow.
“I mean, you think what, someone killed them to cover all this up? Isn’t it more likely they had a lover’s spat and Gwen killed herself, then Nick just ran away? The Rosewood’s aren’t exactly the most stable family.”
Viviane glared at Alexander, her lip was trembling.
“What?” Alexander said. “Come on, you know it’s true.”
Viviane turned away, pretending to search the bookshelf behind her, but I could see the tears forming in her eyes. I was surprised Alexander’s comment affected her so strongly, but she’d been under a lot of stress lately.
“So that’s it then,” Alexander said, standing up. “Well, it was a nice day for an excursion, but we should really be getting back to the Academy. Thanks for your hospitality.”
“What if there was a child?” Viviane asked quietly, without turning from the bookshelf. “What if Nick had a baby? They’d share the same blood. Would it be enough to open the chamber?”
“It could be,” Oberon said, his eyes widening. “Though that would’ve been a huge scandal. I’d be surprised it never got out.”
“Considering how controlling Amelia was,” Alexander said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she hurled the child from Reverie.”
“Really?” I asked, horrified.
“Countess Amelia was obsessed with having a noble family that looked perfect, especially after Gwen’s death. Amelia didn’t want to take any risks with anything. She just wanted to…endure,” Viviane said, “but she was always awful. She didn’t kill Gwen’s daughter, though.”
“Daughter?” Alexander asked. “How do you know this?”
Viviane turned her back to us, her fingers moving between the books on the shelf. When she turned her head I could see tears on her cheek, but she took a deep breath and wiped them with the back of her hand.
“Because,” she said slowly. “Eleanor isn’t really my mother. Gwen is.”
Fifteen
“YOU’RE NICK’S DAUGHTER?” ALEXANDER ASKED, his eyes widening, like he’d never seen Viviane before. She reached out to him but he recoiled, knocking a book off the shelf. Her lip quivered. Tatiana was the first to react. She put her arm around Viviane and rubbed her shoulder.
I was too shocked to move.
“How—when did you find this out?” Alexander asked.
“It was after our testing,” Viviane sniffed. “Eleanor and Frederick came to the Academy, and I overheard them talking with Celeste. She suspected that Guinevere might have had a child, and that the person causing the attacks may be searching for her. Frederick denied it, but I saw the look on Eleanor’s face. I confronted them afterward, and they told me the truth.”
“A noble daughter having an illegitimate daughter with a man from the Lower Realms would’ve been terribly scandalous. Especially since Gwen was the oldest, the heir apparent. So Amelia made her get rid of her baby. Everyone said Gwen was on a holiday, but she and Amelia were really in Plumba. That was a good place to leave a baby. She came back, briefly, but it wasn’t long after that she killed herself.”
How awful, Lucian said.
“But then Eleanor discovered she couldn’t have children,” Viviane said. “She found out about Gwen’s child, and against Amelia’s wishes, she went to the Lower Realms and brought the baby back with her to raise as her own daughter.”
For a second, no one spoke. I didn’t see what the big deal was; she was still a Rosewood, one of the most blue-blooded families in Reverie. Though, Dorian had told me once that mages believed mental illness ran through bloodlines, and suicide was considered a great weakness.
“I need some air,” Viviane said suddenly, before turning on her heel and walking away.
“Viviane!” Alexander exclaimed, chasing after her towards the exit. He caught up with her near the door and grabbed her elbow. I tried not to watch as they whispered together. Then I saw her shoulders shake as she sobbed on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and patte
d the back of her head.
Viviane wiped her eyes and pushed outside, while Alexander rejoined the rest of us in the small office.
“All this time, and Viviane was the one,” he said. “And she’d known since the accident.”
“Is that why someone was after her?” I asked. “They think she has the key?”
“To what?” Alexander asked.
“To access the chamber leading to the engines.”
You mean the prison where thousands of my kind are held unjustly.
“Now isn’t the time,” I muttered.
“You’re saying,” Alexander clarified, “if this chamber exists, we should be able to open it with Viviane’s blood.”
“It could work,” Oberon said, rubbing his beard. “And if you get inside, you’ll have proof to convince the Council that Reverie is in danger. They’ll be forced to act.”
Alexander still didn’t look as though he believed Oberon. I wasn’t sure whether I did either, but whatever this was, I had to figure it out. Was Reverie really falling? Was King Gregory covering it up? Oberon said that nothing would survive, above or below. My breath hitched as I realized what that meant. If Reverie fell, it would crush everything below it. The Lower Realms were completely unprotected. Tens of thousands of people. Why weren’t they being evacuated?
Because the king doesn’t want to cause a stir, Lucian answered. And with Nick and Gwen gone nobody else even knows about it.
“Do you have a map showing exactly where this chamber is?” I asked.
Oberon’s face brightened. “I’m sure I have it somewhere!”
“Great,” I said. Tatiana started reshelving the books as her father climbed the circular staircase to the second floor.
“You really want to do this?” Alexander whispered. “Right now?”
“Do we have a choice?” I asked.
“It’s probably nothing anyway. Just a conspiracy theory.”
“If that were true, why the earthquakes? Why the demon attacks? Something is going on, and this the first actual clue we’ve found.”
I could tell he agreed, he was just trying to protect me.
Alexander sighed. “I’ll tell Viv, then.”
“No,” I said quickly. “Let me.”
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
“I…” I trailed off, unsure how to explain why I wanted to talk to Viviane alone. “I feel like it has to be me. I’m involved in this, too.”
Alexander shook his head, clearly not understanding.
“Good luck,” he said.
I gave him a quick smile and headed back towards the entrance.
“How did it go?” Tatiana asked near the entrance.
“We’re going to find a demon machine,” I said.
Tatiana’s face brightened. “Really? You believe him, then.”
Not quite.
“I think it’s in the realm of possibility,” I replied. “Seen Viviane?”
“Across the street,” she said, nodding through the window.
I nodded in thanks and walked through the door to the chime of bells. Finding Viviane wasn’t hard; she sat on the edge of the fence, her legs crossed, watching a pair of squirrels run up a tree. It didn’t look like the most comfortable place to sit, but she didn’t seem to mind.
Viviane looked over her shoulder at me. “Come to gloat, Summer?” she asked.
I walked to her and paused, considering whether or not to climb up beside her. I decided against it. “No,” I replied. She held up a thin device and took a long drag. Sparks crackled from the end. Then she let out a thick plume of pink smoke. She laughed at my reaction.
“It’s potion, but heated quickly so you can inhale the vapor. Alexander hates it, but it’s more convenient than the bottles. Want to try?”
“No thanks,” I said. “I just wanted to check on you.”
She ignored me for a long moment, and I’d almost decided to go back inside when she spoke absently, staring at the branches.
“When I was younger, my parents—Eleanor and Frederick—always took holidays in the summer, and they used to leave me at the Rosewood estate. Amelia insisted on having me spend time with her. Probably just keeping up appearances, so nobody would suspect I wasn’t really Eleanor’s daughter.”
Viviane swallowed and took a steadying breath.
“But when I was there, Amelia was so awful to me. She would never send servants to attend to me, so Fran would make sure I was dressed and had food to eat,” Viviane said, “and I spent most of my time in Dorian’s office. Sometimes, he’d play hide-and-seek with me in there or let me draw on the legislation he was supposed to be reading. Of course, Amelia hated that. She used to say that I had bad blood and wasn’t worth the attention, and I never realized what that implied. Amelia and Dorian used to have the worst fights over me. I never knew what they were about. I feel like a fool for not realizing it earlier.”
Despite all the times Viviane had mocked me for being from the Lower Realms, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. I reached between her fingers for the smoldering device, and she let me take it. I put my lips against the mouthpiece and drew a short breath, letting the smoke fill my lungs before breathing out the warm, colorful smoke. I coughed a little as it burned my throat.
“Did Dorian know?” I asked, handing it back to her.
“I don’t know. Not at first maybe. I think he found out later, or suspected. When I was little, I didn’t know why Amelia hated me, but now, it makes sense,” Viviane said. “It wasn’t just that I was born with blood from the Lower Realms; it’s that I was Gwen’s daughter, too. From the bloodline too weak to handle magic. I was happy when Amelia died, so I wouldn’t have to see her at court functions and pretend to love her anymore. I don’t care if it makes me sound like a monster.”
Viviane’s eyes watered, and she brushed away her tears. I tried to find something to say, but no words seemed to be enough. I blinked, and noticed my vision was subtly enhanced. Everything appeared sharper and more colorful.
“There’s so much I must’ve missed because I was young,” Viviane said. “All those whispered conversations. I always felt like everyone was keeping secrets from me, like I couldn’t be trusted. Like I didn’t belong.”
“I’m sorry Amelia treated you that way.”
“Really, I should be honored,” Viviane replied bitterly. “Amelia only neglected me. She treated her own children much worse. There’s a reason they all left as soon as they could.”
“Dorian didn’t.”
“But he did,” Viviane said. “He took a sword from the family vault and ran away. Eventually, he came back, years later, and took over the estate. But I doubt he did it because he wanted to. Eleanor always suspected Amelia had something on him—probably something to do with Fran.”
“What is Fran, anyway?”
“An assassin. I’ve heard she was very good at pretending to be a lady, so she could enter balls and poison powerful people,” Viviane replied. “I don’t know the full story there, but she’s been working for Dorian as long as I can remember. As Dorian tells it, she put a knife in his wrist, and he offered her a job.”
He does seem like the sort of man who’d have a personal assassin, Lucian offered.
It was hard to imagine having such a heavy family history. I bit my lip and glanced at Viviane. She looked so vulnerable sitting there. I took a deep breath and shook my head. She already knew I wasn’t a lady from Argent. At this point, would it hurt to tell her a little more about me? Just to show how much I understood?
That’s a terrible idea.
Lucian thought all my ideas were terrible.
That’s because your terrible ideas involve trusting people you shouldn’t.
“I never knew my parents. Before coming to Reverie, I lived with my uncle,” I said slowly. “He hates me. I don’t know why, though. I think he just hates everyone.”
“Is that why you have scars on y
our arms?”
I drew in a sharp breath. “You noticed those?”
“Of course, I noticed,” Viviane said. “Your bed is right beside mine. I’ve seen you get dressed in the mornings.”
I nodded. “He used to cut me for planning to run away from him. The last time I tried, he shot my brother with a crossbow.”
And someday, when Dorian didn’t need me anymore, he might send me back to my uncle. If the last time I’d seen Gabriel was any indication, things would be much worse than when I’d left.
“What I don’t understand,” Viviane asked, “is that I’ve seen you use magic. You’re seriously a badass. How could one Lower Realms crook ever hurt you?”
“I couldn’t always use it,” I said. “Nor control it. Not until I came up here.”
“As my uncle says, if you can’t kill it with magic, a blade usually works just as well.”
I shrugged. Viviane knew I wasn’t a lady from Argent, but she still didn’t know the source of my magic or that I’d faked my entrance exam. While I could tell Viviane some things, Lucian wasn’t one of them.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” she said. “But answer this: Dorian brought you up here to do something, and it has something to do with protecting the Rosewood estate, right?”
I nodded.
“And whatever we’re going to find in this chamber, it’s important. Like, we could be heroes. We could save Reverie, or at least stop the demon attacks.”
“Yes,” I breathed. “I think so.”
Viviane’s face tightened. She drew in one more long puff of smoke and exhaled slowly.
“Then,” she said, “I guess we better to go open it.”
***
We waited until Alexander and Tatiana exited the shop. Tatiana raised a roll of parchment above her head, while Viviane climbed down the fence.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To a very unsavory part of town,” Alexander said.
Tatiana unrolled the map and held it up for us to see. I didn’t have the best knowledge of Reverie’s geography, but I managed to find the Academy fairly quickly. Oberon had marked a star, indicating the alleged demon chamber.