Page 28 of Shadows of Perl

“Madam?” The driver’s muffled voice streamed through the windows. A crease cut between his brows. “But she was just—”

Nore held her breath.

“She went back inside a while ago,” her brother explained. “Said she’d forgotten something. She walked right past us.”

Nore bit the inside of her cheek.

The driver gaped.

“You must have missed it,” Ell said.

“You look like a confused puppy, John. Fix your face,” Darragh snapped. “And open my door.”

“I apologize,” Ellery chuckled, offering Darragh a hand. “We were caught up in conversation.”

Darragh eyed her brother’s hand, then looked right through the car window before getting inside. Nore sat up tall and tried to imagine how Red would handle this. She could be Red on the inside, if not on the outside. In truth, Red was her: the person Nore was when she wasn’t worried about her last name, or what her mother and the Order might think.

She swallowed as Darragh joined her inside and closed the door. The Headmistress reared back in her seat and folded her arms when she saw Nore. Not the least bit surprised.

“I’ll be brief.” Nore’s throat thickened. Be Red. “You’re drowning in rumors about your House. Some of which, I suspect, are true.”

Darragh’s stare was iron, but in her lap, she held her handbag in a tight grip.

“In no time, the Council will be calling for the dissolution of your House, if they haven’t already.” A bluff. But if the rumors were true, that was the Council’s only logical next move. And judging by Darragh’s nervousness, Nore was at least close to the truth. “You’re going to have to pay up for your alleged crimes.”

“Make your point,” Darragh shoved out through her clenched jaw.

“You need my help.” She measured her tone just so. Red was confident. She was confident. “Headmistress terms are for life. Death is knocking at your door.”

Darragh flinched.

“But House of Marionne can thrive with my help. You can escape all the consequences the Order would try to bring down on your head, and rule as the Four-Hundred-Year King once did, if you wanted.”

Darragh’s gaze narrowed. The first gesture she didn’t try to hide.

“You can be immortal.” Speaking it out loud made Nore’s chest seize. Most believed immortality wasn’t possible. But her House was notorious for discovering the impossible.

And possessing the legendary Immortality Scroll was their most revered public “secret.” Their inaugural Headmistress had discovered it and changed her surname to make sure everyone knew it. House of Ambrose. House of the Immortal. “I will trade you the deepest secret of our House in exchange for you freeing me from this poison before it has a chance to grow.”

Darragh was as still as stone.

“Ma’am!” A knock at the window made her jump. “Are we ready?” The driver pressed his eyes to the window and gaped at Nore. Darragh didn’t move, her stare fixed on Nore.

“How do I know you have access to the Scroll?” she asked.

“I don’t. My mother does. It’s in the family vault. I will return to Dlaminaugh and steal it.”

Darragh’s gaze moved to the window. She tightened her folded arms. “I had your name erased from the Book of Names. Do you have any idea how difficult that was? Then you back out on our agreement.”

“I know there’s no reason for you to trust me again,” Nore said.

“Absolutely none.”

“But you have no other choice.”

Darragh’s jaw clenched. She knew Nore was right.

“Up front, I only ask for you to agree. Once I’ve delivered the Scroll, then you can help me with my toushana. That is fair. You have nothing to lose.” Nore clenched her fists as if she could hold the outcome of her request in her hands.

---