Nightsworn | The Whispering Wall #2

Twenty Three: A Book

"I think I made things worse."

Grace blew in on an icy gust of wind through the kitchen door. Nova looked up from the book she was reading, saw the look on the girl's face, and placed a marker in her page with a quiet sigh. It was going to be a long evening.

She stared at the potboy loitering in the corner until he noticed her, took the hint and scurried off, leaving them alone in the room.

She didn't ask what Grace meant, only watched her as she pulled off her outer clothing, which included a too-large wool jerkin she hadn't left with earlier in the day. Grace hesitated over the jerkin as she hung it across a washing line to warm up, then visibly shook herself out and did the same with her shawl. She padded over to the table and sat down beside Nova, staring at the opposite wall without seeing it before groaning and dropping her head onto her forearms.

"I was too harsh," she said, muffled. "I feel horrible."

Nova closed the book in front of her. It was going to be a very long evening.

"You're going to have to enlighten me," she said, somewhat cautiously. Grace never came back from a visit to her brother this miserable. She moaned about the Gift a little bit, usually, but always had a brightness and energy afterwards that Nova never saw at any other time and which she definitely didn't envy.

This time, however, the otherworld girl was grey-faced and tear-streaked, and Nova didn't like it.

"I didn't think it through. I just wanted him to know how I felt," Grace said. "But sometimes it's kinder not to say something, I guess."

Nova blinked. Something had evidently happened that she'd missed. "You've lost me."

Grace sniffed and propped her chin on her hand, eyes scanning Nova's face. "You didn't know, then?" When Nova stayed blank, she added, "When you said I'd be able to get hold of Yddris, he was having a meeting with Harkenn about Thorne and a trip."

Nova pressed her lips together. Not only was the evening going to be long, but she would be spending it in trouble. She knew what Grace was going to say before she even took another breath.

"My brother tells me you knew about this."

Nova kept her face neutral. "It wasn't my place to tell you."

"Bollocks it wasn't! Sometimes I wonder if this whole thing doesn't mean as much to you as it does to me. You know," she gestured, "us."

If by not as much, you mean everything, then that would be correct. Nova frowned.

"I'm sorry," Grace said after a minute. "That was uncalled for. I'm full of it tonight."

Nova sucked in her lower lip. "Do you really believe it doesn't mean as much to me?"

It wasn't a thing she thought about often, because Harkenn could tell when something had changed with her and he was already suspicious of Grace. It also made the hours at his side and the nights in the cage below his chambers unbearably slow. The nights in the cage had drastically reduced since Brillan left, but she didn't want to get into bad habits if he returned or if Harkenn finally hired another butler.

She felt a shiver of dislike for herself. Years of imprisonment hadn't done her any favours. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, she wondered if she would ever be able to give Grace what she wanted.

"No," Grace said after a pause. Too long a pause. "I'm sorry."

"I am more likely to give us away," Nova said. "You're a maid, you're not in his sight most of the time. If he worked it out, he'd fire you at best." She felt a little guilty saying it, as she knew Jordan had struck a deal with Harkenn that meant corporal punishment was off the table, but Grace was stubborn. "It doesn't mean anything more than that."