Page 14 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Why don’t we take a walk through the greenhouses, Baylis? You always loved gardening,” I suggested, remembering her penchant for helping the farmers develop more hearty crops.

“Oh, that would be lovely,” she said, pulling her fur-lined hood up over her ash-blonde hair, pale cheeks red from the cold.

I kissed Tharan on the cheek.

“I’ll see you later.”

He nodded and headed back inside. His wolves followed behind him, happily wagging their tails.

Baylis and I crossed the courtyard to where the greenhouses sat. Large glass structures filled with all manner of magical plants. Despite the chilly temperatures outside, a steady summer heat remained inside, thanks to the Alder magic. A sweet floral scent filled the air. The herbologists tended to the flora, barely noticing our presence. Plants of all shapes reached into the heavens. Vibrant colors splashed across massive leaves while sharp thorns clenched like jaws on others. Birds cawed from the rafters, and bees buzzed, spreading pollen throughout the atrium.

Baylis’s eyes went wide.

“I thought you’d like it,” I said, pleased I still knew my sister.

“I love it.” She bent down to smell a bloodred rose. “Remember the garden I had at the River House?”

“I do.”

“I loved that garden… and my dogs…” She swallowed a sob. “Oh, Trinity, Aelia. They’re gone. It’s all gone.”

I helped her to a bench.

“Shhh, it’s okay.”

She buried her face in her hands.

“No, it’s not. I’m missing so many memories. Caiden and you are my only tether to who I used to be.” She lifted her head to face me, and a tear trickled down her cheek. “I don’t know who I am or what I did while I was with Gideon.”

My heart ached for my sister.

“I know everything you’re going through right now. I was there once, too. But I promise it will get better. I will help you. Icanhelp you…” It occurred to me Baylis had no idea of my powers or her own. So much needed to be explained. Caiden’s indifference to me, my scars, her powers, our mother, but where to begin?

I breathed deeply, racking my brain for a way to tell her all the things I needed to say without overwhelming her more than she already was.

“How much do you remember from before you were with Gideon?”

Her gray eyes squinted, trying to pull the memories from her mind. “I remember you leaving—Father’s death. The siege on Elyria, Caiden putting me on a horse and sending me into the wilds…”

“Do you remember how you came to be in Gideon’s… company?”

Her expression darkened. She stared off into the distance, looking but not seeing.

“I was riding fast through the fog-filled lands to the south. Blood riders caught me.” She winced. “I was their captive, but they had strict instructions not to harm me.”

“And they took you to Gideon?”

“Yes, he was waiting for me in front of the castle in Ryft’s Edge.”

My throat thickened at the thought. Once, Gideon had waited for me in front of the castle with his endearing crooked smile plastered across his handsome face. I remember the way he took my hand, so confident and reassuring. The same hand that would be plastered across my mouth later as he whispered disgusting things into my ear. I shuddered at the thought, half embarrassed of how young and naive I had been, and half terrified of what torments he inflicted on Baylis. “And then what happened?”

Baylis stared into the distance, avoiding eye contact with me. Her legs crossed over one another. She picked a leaf from a nearby rosebush, gently pulling it through her fingers. Its jagged edge pierced her skin, drawing blood.

“Ouch.” She sucked on her thumb for a moment. “They treated me to dinner, and then the next thing I remember, I was here… five years later.”

“So, you really have no memory of your time with them at all?”

“No. It’s as if I closed my eyes, and the next time I opened them, five years had passed.”

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