Page 56 of Hidden

Her mother grew still, her expression intent. “And then?”

“I barely reached the stalls when I heard one of the horses whinny—not in greeting but with a sound of pain.” Lila closed her eyes, remembering the sweet scent of hay and dusty earth. It had been the height of summer. “I ran closer, and I saw Lord Farras with a stick. Not a crop or a riding whip, but a heavy piece of wood. He was screaming at this beautiful chestnut mare. She’d thrown him off when she refused to jump a fence.”

“He pushed his horses hard,” her mother said softly. “Quite a few were injured when he raced them across the countryside.”

Lila’s throat tightened at the memory. “He beat this animal until it was lamed. It wasn’t about the horse’s courage or its skill. This was about making it obey his will.”

“You shouldn’t have seen that. You were just a child.”

“It shouldn’t have happened. I was old enough to recognize an evil soul, and it terrified me. I huddled in the straw and cried until Rosemund and Arabelle came to take me back to the castle.”

The names felt odd on Lila’s tongue. The family rarely spoke of her lost sisters now.

“I healed that horse, you know,” Galeeta said with a half-smile. “Arabelle told me what had happened.”

“I didn’t know that,” Lila replied, a strange pressure in her chest. She couldn’t name what she felt. Gratitude? Astonishment? “Thank you.”

“Arabelle also told King Elroth. That’s why he gave you a pony to practice your riding that summer. He didn’t want your first experience of Gilden Wood to be spoiled.”

It had been a small horse rather than a true pony—a dainty white mare with a braided mane. Lila remembered the king’s kind smile, and how he’d gently shown her—in company with her older sisters—how to guide the animal over the forest trails. She hadn’t fully understood the rarity of such attention from a king until she was an adult. He’d gone far out of his way to calm the feelings of one small girl.

Her thoughts lingered in the past, remembering her sisters. They’d left to serve the May Queen as her ladies-in-waiting years before Lila struck out for the city. But not long after she started her design job, there had been word they’d disappeared without a trace. She’d joined in the long search for her sisters, along with the rest of House Fernblade. Even King Elroth had stepped in, sending aid, but the two girls had never been found.

Lila dragged her mind back to the present, glad to leave the past where it was. “That’s why I hate Farras. He’s unfit to dwell among other living creatures. I will thank Father to the end of my days for stopping any suggestion of marriage between us, and I do not understand why you’re encouraging him now.”

Her mother blinked. “There was a time when children accepted the plans of their betters without question.”

“Those days are over.” Lila took a deep breath to quiet her pounding pulse. She was hot and cold at once, her muscles rigid with tension. “I want to know why you’re involved in his affairs.”

Her mother’s shoulders sagged. Lila tried to read her expression, but Galeeta seemed to be seeing something in the distance. Her mother crossed to the chairs and sat down slowly, as if every joint hurt.

“Ademar told me that you would be stubborn,” Galeeta said. “That I would do far better to simply ask for your help.”

“He was right. And it would save time.”

“I’ve been trying to protect you. Protect us.” Her mother bent forward, putting her head in her hands. “The less you know, the safer you will be.”

Lila yearned to embrace her, but instinct told her to stand her ground. “I need to know everything, or I walk.”

Her mother looked up, her eyes bright with tears. “Then please don’t hate me for what I’ve done.”

CHAPTER 19

“Our fortunes were—are—declining.” Galeeta drew a shaky breath as she began her story. “When I was a child, in the time of King Elroth’s grandfather, House Fernblade was the first in wealth and prestige. Even the high lords bowed before us. But the wheel of the universe turns, and other houses took our place.”

“Why?” Lila asked. “What happened?”

Her mother shrugged. “There was no one event, except for our complacency. Other houses won more battles, crafted better magic. They had more gold to tempt the learned and talented to their houses. We fell to the second ranks of the Forest Fae, then the third. Once power goes, so does wealth and opportunity.”

“We never lacked for anything.” Lila pulled a chair close to Galeeta and sat, their knees almost touching.

“No, but adequate is not the same as enough. Not when one has allowed supremacy to slip between one’s fingers.” Her mother’s smile was wry. “Your father didn’t mind, as long as there were books and good company to hold his interest. I wanted our legacy back.”

Lila barely dared breathe. These were facts she knew, but her mother had never been so direct. “And Farras?”

“He was charming, and he addressed me as if those glorious days had never passed.” Her mother leaned back in her chair, her long neck bowed in thought. She was flawlessly lovely, and with an immortal’s ageless health.

Lila would never watch her decline the way humans did. And yet, the light within her was dimmed.

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