A Usurper's Cause (Book #4)

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The next morning, Udolf entered the palace with a weird smile on his face. Eldon waited for him by the stairs and asked him if something had happened.

"I needed to send out a letter," Udolf answered, his voice softer than usual. "I took it straight to the courier so no one here would know who I'm sending it to."

"Is it to God—"

"Shh!" Udolf raised his forefinger and scowled. "For now, keep quiet, Eldon, and keep behaving."

Although Eldon wanted to do the complete opposite—just to anger Udolf—he made sure to stay out of sight. It wasn't difficult, really. Nobody acknowledged him, anyway. And the one person who would probably care—Elouise—began to leave for hours with Haven and sometimes Henry.

They'd return in the evening, whispering to each other. Eldon always made sure he wasn't spotted as he watched them disappear into rooms together. They would spend another hour or two before retiring to their bedchambers. Haven was always carrying that journal with her, too.

"She's working hard," Ashton mentioned to him one night as Eldon waited for them to emerge.

Eldon glared at him. "Whataya know?"

"She uses criminals as her test subjects. Many of them have died from her experiments. She has gotten close with a few, but she feels she is missing a key ingredient or spell."

"Wow, didn't expect you to tell me anythin'."

"You asked me."

Eldon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but..." He pursed his lips and considered what Ashton had informed him of. "It ain't really comfortin' knowin' whatever she gives me can kill me."

Ashton smiled. "Have faith in her. She is giving herself a hard time because of this, but nobody cares to remind her that she is doing the best she can."

"What's takin' her so long?"

"In order for her to find a cure, she first needs to replicate the potion that made you forget. Rather than make her subjects forget, it has been killing them."

Eldon tilted his head. "That could take forever."

"It certainly can take some time. Just tonight, they were all discussing their latest subject who had some memory loss with Haven's newest attempt. The young man lost three years of his life, but he is rapidly becoming ill. Haven fears it won't be long before he succumbs to his fever." Then Ashton stepped closer to Eldon. "Does this help you believe that this was not Elouise's doing? After all, had she been one to make you lose your memories, she wouldn't be working tirelessly with Haven to help you recover them. She would've known what went into that original potion. Except she doesn't. Do you know who does?"

Eldon looked away, but Godwin's name still echoed in his mind. He swallowed hard. Ashton made a fair point with that, but he refused to believe that so easily. Maybe it hadn't been Elouise, and maybe it hadn't been Godwin either.

"Keep your guard up if you wish," Ashton said, like he'd been able to read Eldon's thoughts.

Eldon faced forward and, of course, Ashton was already gone.

---

Because Elouise spent most of her time with Haven, Eldon never caught her sitting outside anymore. His walks almost felt empty without her there. Not that he cared. It was just different.

So, around a week later, as he casually headed down the hill, he halted in his tracks and gaped at the sight of her. She picked a few flowers—not many were left—and looked up at him.