Page 27 of In the Dark

“I…I don’t understand.” Thorvald’s gaze shifted between his daughters.

“There was a hitch in our plans. Her magic is tainted. She can’t heal anyone.”

“Oh. Oh.” It was clear he struggled to understand. Fought hard to widen his lips in a sorrowful parody of a smile. “Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re home, and that’s what counts. We can handle everything else.”

Karsia couldn’t meet her father’s gaze. Not when there was such hope in his voice. “Where’s Aisanna? Why isn’t she here healing Mom?”

Astix pressed her free hand to her heart. “She’ll be here soon.”

“Tell me more. I need to know.” Karsia settled in, although she refrained from touching anyone else.

“I’ll tell you what the police told me.” Astix’s voice was low, resigned. “The truck was going too fast. The driver rounded the corner without checking the light and there she was. She hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

Karsia tried to concentrate on the here and now, instead of what would happen next. That was too much to consider. For now she could only gather the pieces and see what she could do. “There’s more you aren’t telling me.”

“Well…I’ve done a little digging. The garbage truck wasn’t owned by the city, it was leased. And it’s licensed under an umbrella corporation. It took a little work, but I found out the top of the food chain leads to the Claddium.”

The Claddium? Karsia’s fists balled in her lap. “This is bullshit.”

“I’m sure you made a mistake.” Thorvald was adamant.

“I didn’t,” Astix insisted. “Orestes is behind this. Believe me.”

Sick at heart, Karsia shook her head. “What reason would your boyfriend’s father have for trying to kill our mother?”

But she knew the answer as soon as she asked. Power, her subconscious whispered. We have it. They want it.

It was true. She’d known it for a long time now. The rightness clicked into place and she saw beyond her pain, beyond the steady beep and hiss of the machines. She saw the larger picture and the pieces she and her sisters represented to the man everyone thought had it all.

“I don’t know why. I wish I did,” Astix answered after a time.

The dainty ormolu clock ticked loudly from a nearby vanity holding a wealth of expensive cosmetics, legs curving down to the floor in graceful lines. Varvara’s signature fragrance and the ubiquitous bouquet of white roses completed the tableau. A delicate chair, with the seat covered in a feminine pattern of blue and gold, was tucked neatly beneath the furniture top.

The room had not changed in many ways, yet had become resignedly different in others. Varvara Renata Cavaldi always enjoyed the finer things in life, from the gold brocade bedspread to the thick cream-colored carpet spreading wall to wall. Antiques collected over decades decorated the space in a blend of old and new, distressed and gilded.

The walls were painted white, usually accented here and there with vibrant blossoms born from magic. Now those flowers faded in their vases, with desiccated heads drooping over crystal rims. Karsia almost swooned, the moment felt so surreal. This was not her family, not her mother stuck in a coma.

Aisanna burst through the door, with her boyfriend in tow. Her entirely human boyfriend. She stifled a sob when she saw Karsia. “You’re back.”

Aisanna never cried, as a rule. Tears flooded her voice and she led the way into the room, moving past the set of wingback chairs and opening her arms for the long-awaited embrace.

It didn’t surprise her when Karsia stepped back and refused. “For now. Extenuating circumstances.” She kept an arm’s length between them.

Aisanna swallowed, fought to smile, and nodded. “I’m glad to see you, even though I can tell this is hard.” She gestured toward Elon Fayer, his tall, wiry body blocking the doorway, standing guard. “I can take it from here, honey. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I’m going to go downstairs and make some tea. Does anyone want—” Elon pointed back to the hallway, knew his presence was unnecessary and awkward, and cut himself off before he could finish. His mop of scrappy near-black hair disappeared down the hall and Karsia conjured a gust of wind to shut the door behind him.

“There. Now that you’re done putting everyone in jeopardy by introducing a human who could expose us, we can be alone.”

Aisanna refused to let her sister’s ire draw her into an argument. She leaned close to the bed. “I was here when they brought her home,” she told Karsia softly. “It doesn’t get any easier to see her like this. I hope she pulls through. I’ve done everything I could but it’s not enough.” She looked at her hands in disgust. “Nothing I do will work.”

Karsia cracked her knuckles. “It’s not supposed to be easy,” she said.

Aisanna had always been the one with a practical head on her shoulders. More so than any of the others. She lived far from the edge and took few risks.

Karsia recognized the sharpness in Aisanna, something that hadn’t been there when she left. An animal wariness of a person on the run. She recognized it in herself on the rare occasion.

“Is there any way you can…” Aisanna pointed and wiggled her fingers, a desperate plea for Karsia’s magic to sweep in and save the day.

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