Page 56 of Hollowed

Ishould have been withAlexander.Ishould have gone with him toCyrus, to see what the man knew.Hishouse was close enough to theCiallmharHouse, perhaps we could have intervened.Orat least we could have seen what had killedAdelaideand tried to stop it.

Heshook his head, sighing again. “Notnow, please.Wecan discuss it later.”

Mycheeks burned, the admonishment stinging as he walked away and talked withPriscillain hushed tones.Theykept looking up at me, butIcould not hear them.Iwas tired of being excluded from conversations that clearly surrounded me, butIdid not know how to interject myself or advocate for being included.Soinstead,Idid whatIhad done my entire life, and sat down in the chair with a book.

Forcingmyself to focus on the words in front of me was a futile task, thoughItried desperately to continue reading, blocking out the whispers.Itdid not work, andPriscilla’sharsher tone made me question what exactly it was they were saying about me.

Squeezingmy eyes shut from burning tears, my hands balled into fists andItook a deep breath through my nose.Ihad gone my entire life without validation and acknowledgement;Idid not need it from two strangers, thoughIdesperately craved it.

“Katrina.”Priscilla’ssoft voice made me open my eyes, sniffing back my tears.Shemoved closer to me, leaving a stiffAlexanderstanding at the shelves, an irritated look on his face.Shebent down in front of me, taking my hands in hers. “Alexanderis going to put the glamor back on you and take you back to the inn.Youcan come back and we will continue our research once we see what impact this is going to have on the town.”

“Willyou be safe here alone?”Iasked.Hertouch bringing my wits back about me. “Youshould come with us,Priscilla.Orat least go stay withHenry.”

Shesmiled and reached up to pat my cheek. “Iwill be fine.Iwill go toHenryand ensure we are both safe.Wewill meet again tomorrow, after this has all settled down.”

“Donot tell himIam alive, please,”Iwhispered, though the plea tugged at every fiber of my being. “Ido not want him in any danger for knowing.”

“Ofcourse.”Shestood, pulling me up with her.Hereyes searched my face, and she tutted softly, reaching up to wipe beneath my eyes. “Thereyou go.”

Alexanderheld out a hand to me. “Areyou ready?”

Ieyed his hand for a moment, debating whetherIshould take it or not.Decidingthat if he truly did not want to offer it, he would not have,Iplaced my hand in his.

Allat once, the wash of magic crashed over me, tingling against my skin.Asit subsided,Alexanderdropped our hands, tugging his glove back on and adjusting his coat.IfIwasn’t watching my hands, couldn’t see for myself that my hands were not aflame,I’dhave guessedI’dburned him with how quickly he dropped the touch.Hecleared his throat. “Priscilla, thank you for allowingKatrinato stay here today.”

Shescoffed, waving her hand. “Youdo not need to thank me for that,Alexander.Gether back to the inn, and both of you stay safe.”

Witha nod, he motioned toward the door, and we left the safety of the bookstore.Thestench of death and despair greeted and overwhelmed me, pressing down like heavy hands trying to hold me in place.Thefog that rolled into town still lingered, curling up the trunks of the trees.Isqueezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to ignore it.Openingmy eyes again,Ikept them firmly above the level of the fog.Ididn’t know if it was normal fog, brought in by the damp afternoon, or if it was like the fog in the forest that signaled the sluagh were getting closer.Iwasn’t inclined to find out which.

Ihalted, my eyes stuck on the sight of the treesAdelaidehad been hanging from.Someonehad cut down the rope holding her body, and the crowd surrounding the square kept me from being able to see anything else, butIknew what was there.

Idid not see my mother or father, but given the bustling of people trying to get closer to investigate,Iwas not surprised.Theywere either not here at all, or right in the middle of it.

Ahand on my back pressed gently, guiding me away from the square and toward an alley behind the bookstore. “Thisway.”

Ifelt likeIwas floating, watching my body from above as we made our way to the inn and up to our room.Onlywhen the door clicked shut behindAlexanderdidItruly register that we had made it back inside.Shakingmy head to clear my mind,Idug my fingernails into my palm, the sharp sting of pain bringing me back to reality.

Takinga deep breath,Icentered myself, ready to face whatever was happening.Despitemy day of overwhelming news,Ineeded to focus and hear whatAlexanderhad to say.

“Areyou all right,Katrina?”Alexanderasked, sitting on the edge of the bed.Hepatted the space beside him.

Itook his invitation, settling onto the mattress with a sigh. “Idon’t know whatIam.”

“Iknow that must have been a shock to see,” he said slowly. “Iapologize that you had to witness that.”

“It’snot that,”Isaid, sighing again.Iwaved a hand, trying to clear the haze from my mind and find the right words. “Well, it is not entirely that.Priscillashared some other news that was… enlightening.Idon’t thinkIhave truly processed what happened toAdelaideyet, to be quite honest.”

“Iam certain you will have ample time to process it later,” he said, bending to unlace his boots.Hetoed them off with a thump, straightening up and turning his body on the bed to face me. “WhatdidPriscillatell you?”

Ichewed my lip. “Mymother has always been choosing theRoghnaitheherself.Theentire time.Theyare people who speak out against her or theCiallmhar.”

Hisexpression was inscrutable. “Andthis surprises you?”

Iglowered at him, the insinuation clear in his tone thatIwas naïve for being surprised by this news. “Yes.Iwas raised to believe theRoghnaithewas chosen by spirits and simply communicated to theCiallmhar.AndthoughIknow my mother was not a good person,Ihad no reason to believe she was the one targeting people for death.”

Hisface softened. “Iapologize,Katrina.Idid not mean to imply that you should have known that.Iam sorry that you had to discover this truth as well.”

Asigh escaped my lips, as heavy as the fog descending intoSleepyHollow. “I—”

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