Page 105 of A Deception of Courts

“It may have been many years since, but I remember when your father was sitting before me at your mother’s request.” Eroan’s words distracted me as his thumb smoothed across each of my brows. I felt the hairs bristle and settle. If I’d seen my reflection, I would likely have watched as they changed from black to auburn. “It was never my place to question your mother at the time. She was my queen, I would’ve run to the ends of the earth for her. But for the years after, I pondered why she had wished for me to glamour a human Hunter. Of course, now I understand.”

“He told me.” I winced, not at the pain this time, but from the way the mention of my father and mother dredged up a mental discomfort. “He changed his appearance to hide from his past…”

“Having a glamour worked upon you is not a forgettable experience, as I am sure you understand.”

I lifted my chin, guided by Eroan’s vice-like grip. He studied me down the length of his nose, shifting my face from side to side before continuing again.

“Can you tell me more about them?” I asked, feeling pathetic to do so. “It might help distract me from–” I swallowed my words as a gasp burst out of me. Eroan forced his fingers into my temple, working my skin like soft bread dough. I felt as though my skull would split. “This fucking torture.”

Eroan winced, but did as I asked without question. “I remember his face; the one Julianne commanded me to conceal. Your father was a handsome man. It was not impossible to imagine what had captured your mother’s fascination. There is so much about you that looks like him, from your full lips and slender brows, just as your father’s had been. I see your mother, too, more so if I am honest, which hurts me to conceal. She was a beauty others would go to war for. The kindest face, the sweetest soul.”

I blinked and saw the emotion crack across Eroan’s long, focused face. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, mirroring his finger that fell from my own. “I… love hearing about her. Please, tell me more.”

“Your cheekbones,” Eroan continued, resting a gentle finger upon them. “They are sharp as the mountainous range north of our homeland. I remember when your mother was young, her cheekbones inspired poems from besotted men and women. In fact, if I dare spill her secrets, I remember one girl who particularly enjoyed cursing the apples of Julianne’s cheeks red with kisses. She was a lady-in-waiting from Elmdew, and your mother was still a princess. Ever the scandal at the time.”

My chest warmed as a smile bloomed over Eroan’s face.

“By the sounds of it, you knew Robin’s mother well?” Duncan asked from his perch beside me.

“Of course. Knowing her was one of the greatest honours of my life.”

“What else?” I pleaded, grimacing at the unseen fire that devoured my skin.

“An Icethorn-born always had the darkest of eyes. Black as night. It was said that the Icethorns’ eyes made even the rawest of obsidian jealous,” Eroan replied. “Close yours for me now. I’m nearly finished.”

I did as he asked, glad that the end was near. Eroan’s hands covered my eyes and pressed down. It was no surprise as I cried out, the pressure was unbearable

Before I drowned in the strain, Duncan closed his lips to my ear and whispered. “Breathe, my darling. You’ve done so well.”

By the time Eroan retreated, I was exhausted. I fell forward, leaning on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

“Do you wish to see?” Eroan asked. He wiped his hands down his silken shirt, leaving damp stains upon the material. Once his palms were dry, he produced a small, clasped mirror from his pocket. It was no bigger than his hand and was golden, speckled with azure jewels.

I took it from him. My fingers shook slightly as though the weight was too much to bear. No matter how I convinced myself otherwise, I wasn’t prepared to meet my reflection – not my reflection, but the face of Kayne staring back at me.

If I wasn’t completely marvelled by Eroan’s gift, I would’ve been sick at the sight.

“I shall begin working on the Tracker’s body next,” Eroan announced, sharing a glance at Duncan. “I know the face I will create well, so this glamour will not take me as long. Dare I admit I wish he could feel the discomfort I’m about to give him?”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Duncan replied. “Kayne certainly felt a world of pain for what he has done.”

Eroan exhaled heavily, his pink-stained lips quivering. He steeled his expression, flexed his fingers together and moved for the dead body without another word.

I didn’t wish to look at Duncan for fear of what I would see as he took my unfamiliar face in. Now my wonder had faded to a simmer, I longed to lift my nails to my skin and scratch every detail off. Remove every detail that didn’t belong to me.

“Don’t look at me,” I said, words fumbling out of my mouth.

“I’m going to look,” Duncan whispered. “Do you know, it does not matter what you look like to me. I know the truth behind the lie. I know you.”

Duncan encouraged me to lift the mirror again. His two fingers held the weight of it, lifting the glass surface into view. “I don’t want to see it any more than I have to.”

“Then look at me,” Duncan urged. “Robin, look at me and nothing else.”

My head didn’t turn.

Duncan knew he wouldn’t encourage me with words. Instead, he got on his knees before me and took both of my hands into his own. I studied his face as he fought to hide his reaction.

Instinctively, he grimaced, and that made me feel repulsed. Even he couldn’t hide his reaction, no matter how his words tried to suggest otherwise. And I couldn’t blame Duncan for his reaction. He currently faced the man he’d once believed to be his brother. A man who had betrayed us. A man Duncan had killed. The bruise marks around the real Kayne’s neck revealed how he had perished. Yet Duncan had still not spoken a word about it.

---