Page 47 of Hollowed

“Whatis brewing, exactly?”Iasked, narrowing my eyes at her.OnethingIdespised most about the members of theCiallmharwas their collective propensity to speak in riddles. “Speakplainly, please.”

Shesmiled. “Somethingthat has been coming for a long time.”

Andwith that, she patted my hand once more and turned, disappearing into the crowd.Ineeded to get inside the manor.Now.WhateverAdelaidewas alluding to was clearly frightening her enough to warn complete strangers to leave the town she’d dedicated her life to.

Chewingon my lip,Istudied the party, thinking through the best way to get inside.Askingfor something to drink or eat wouldn’t work, given the platters of food and pitchers spread across the tables.Fora moment,Iconsidered ifAlexander’sglamor would hold ifIwas in the house, but since he’d not told me the distance it would work in,Ihad to take that risk.Ifit faded,Ihad to trust thatIcould get back outside without being seen.

Takinga deep breath,Ileaned into my anxiety and every emotionIhad ever pushed down, recalling how they felt coursing through my body.Ifocused on the speed of my breathing and wrung my hands together, darting my eyes back and forth asIpretended to be looking for an escape.Smallsteps, shifting to move to the house, and then back, turning toward the forest, and then back to the party.

Draggingmy hands through my hair,Ifocused on the physical sensations, trying to keep my pretend emotions from turning into real ones.Iwas safe here, withAlexander, despite the proximity to my mother.

Ahand on my shoulder pulled a genuine yelp from my lips asIwhirled.

“Oh,Iam so sorry, miss,”Niamh, one of the maids, said, pressing her hand to her chest. “Youlooked like you were in distress.CanIhelp you with something?”

Thiswas my chance. “Uh, um,IthinkIjust need a moment.Isthere somewhereIcan just take a moment to myself?”Idarted my eyes back to the forest. “Iwas going to step aside, but…”Ibit my lip and wrenched my hands together, lowering my voice and my eyes. “I’mafraid of the dark and don’t want to go away from the house.”

Niamhhummed sympathetically, reaching out to pat my arm. “Oh, of course, miss.Here, come with me.Youcan take a moment in the bathing room to gather your thoughts.”

Iwidened my eyes, forcing myself to grasp her hands. “Oh, thank you so much.I—Idon’t know what happened,Ijust got…Igot…”

Shesmiled at me, tugging me into the house through the servant’s entrance. “It’sall right, miss.Ithappens to the best of us.Sometimeswe just need a moment to collect ourselves.It’snothing to fear.”

Ireturned the smile, following her through the familiar halls to the bathing room on the ground floor next door to my mother’s study. “Thankyou, truly.”

“Letme get you some water while you take a moment.”Shesqueezed my arm once more before turning and heading off.

Openingthe bathing room door,Ilingered in the doorway untilNiamhdisappeared around the corner and quickly changed my path, slipping into the study and closing the door behind me.Pausingat her desk,Ilooked over the layout of the papers, ensuringIcould put everything back the way it was before picking up the first stack of papers.

Letters.

Irecognized my mother’s neat handwriting asIscanned through the pages.Shehadn’t listed a name in the salutation, but the more of the letterIread, the colderIgot.

IfearKatrinahas evaded her fate, though she remains shrouded from my scrying.Mymagic is searching for her, andIam certain it will find her soon.Restassured, she will be dealt with beforeSamhain, as promised.Shedoes not know her true potential, nor the realities of her status asRoghnaithe, thoughIsuspect…

Theletter stopped there.

Iread over the partially finished words, committing it to memory before setting everything back down and rushing back out to the bathing room just asNiamh’sshoes clicked down the hall.

Leaningagainst the other side of the door,Islowed my breathing and pinched at my cheeks to bring color back to them.Withone more deep breath,Ipulled the door open, coming face to face withNiamh.

“Oh, good,” she said, pressing the water into my hands. “Youlook much better now.”

“Thankyou,”Isaid, honesty shining through my words asItried to suppress the shaking of my hands and the pounding of my heart.Shehad helped me more than she knew.Butnow we both needed to get out of the manor before my mother returned.Ineeded to get back toAlexanderand tell him whatI’dfound.

“Niamh!”

Mythoughts had summoned her.Niamh’sface went pale.Isympathized.

“Yes, my lady?” she responded.

“Whatare you doing in here?Weneed more food outside, now!”

IsqueezedNiamh’shand. “Go,”Iwhispered. “Ican get back outside without her seeing.Thankyou.”

Shesmiled and mouthed,thank you,as she turned and bustled off to intercept my mother.Iwatched until she disappeared before making my way back outside.

Ahand wrapped around my arm as soon asIreturned to the party, pulling me into the shadows.Ibit my tongue asIfacedAlexander.

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