Page 38 of Glass and Bone
“Wyclif.” I murmur as he sniffs my outstretched hand.
“This one is mine.” Tobias says next to me as I let Wyclif lick my palm. “Don’t ask me where the name came from. I was 15 and it was the first thing I thought.” I chuckle as I pull my sticky palm away, rubbing my hand on my leggings.
“Who does Dawner belong to?” I ask as I look back over at the beautiful white horse still munching away.
“Theo, he named it after his favorite time of day.” I smile and look back over at Tobias. “Your horse is over here.” He puts his hand on my lower back and steers me away to a horse that one of the stablemen is saddling.
Silky black fur and mane sparkling in the sunlight. Bright hazel eyes that follow me as I approach. This horse is absolutely beautiful. He has a tall muscular body, taller than I could even imagine. It would take some very high steps to get onto his back. His head turns to face me as I walk forward, putting out my hand for him to smell. His breath tickles my palm before pressing his snout into it. I giggle as I step closer and run my hand across his soft cheek.
“He’s beautiful.” I whisper as I get close enough to press my forehead to his neck.
“Sheis.” Tobias says from behind. “She used to belong to my father.” I pull away and turn towards him. He’s giving me his father’s horse?
“Why are you giving me your father’s horse?” I ask, my voice skeptical.
“Because she wasn’tactuallymeant for my father. She was a gift for you, one my parents and your mother searched for. This coloring is rare, but it was important to your mother for you to have one that matched you. Her fur sparkles in the sun, just like yours.”
“My mother?” My voice is soft, contemplative.
“Yes, but by the time they sourced a foal, you and your mother left and never came back, so my father took her.” He pauses and lets his fingers run through her silky mane.
“Does she already have a name?” I ask as I resume my stroking. Her fur is so silky it slips in and out of my fingers like water.
“Sybil.” I still as I turn and look at him. “My father named her Sybil.” I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I look back at the horse that was supposed to be mine. The horse named after my mother and the starry night hair she gave to me.
“There is a lot I’m finding I don’t know about my mother, about my childhood. Do you think she ever had any plans to let me stay in Chatis?” I ask as I stare into Tobias’s blue eyes. They are soft, gentle. I can tell he is treading lightly, choosing how to phrase what he’s telling me for fear of it being too much. “What is it?”
“I don’t know much about anything, I was a child when all of this happened, but I heard some things. I heard my mother and yours speaking one day. You were maybe five or six, asleep with Theo on the bed. Our mothers were sitting by the fire, and I was pretending to be asleep on a settee next to them.” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “I don’t think Viktor is your father, Ela.” My breath catches.What?“I think my mother knew who it was, but they didn’t say. I heard them talking about how he treated you. How he abused you. She was crying, telling my mother that she didn’t want to go back. My mother told her to stay, but they knew that if they harbored you and your mother, your father would be able to start a war. You were both his property.”
“I-I don’t understand.” My breathing quickens and I stutter.
“I don’t know any more than that. We were all so young, I didn’t know what I was hearing.” My hand slides off Sybil’s neck, my arms dangling loosely by my sides. My father may not actually be my father? My mother was trying to get us out?
“Why don’t I remember my childhood?” My voice seems weak, small. My pulse skips and I dig my nails into my palms, hoping it’ll ease some of the panic rising up into my throat.
“I don’t know. When news of your mother’s death reached us, we were told you were killed too. It was weeks before my father received a letter in regard to your wellbeing. We thought it was a miracle.”
“A miracle?” I whisper. “Your mother. You said she called me her little miracle?” He chews on his bottom lip as he stands there thinking.
“I don’t think that has anything to do with it. Maybe it was because she always wanted a daughter?” He shrugs, but I file that information away.Miracle. Why would she say I was her miracle?
“Do you think that your father is my father?” I ask the question that has been floating through my mind since I found out Evreux loved my mother, begging to be asked. It can’t be, though. Who would force their children to wed each other?
“Oh Gods, I doubt that. You think they would let us get married?” He smiles a little, but then lets it dissipate when he sees my frown.
“I want to speak to your father.” I turn back to Sybil and press my forehead to hers. “I will be back for you, I promise.” I whisper to her before I turn away.
“Ela, please. Do you really want to bring up the past?” He sounds irritated as he tries to catch up to me.
“Tobias, you know everything there is to know about your childhood and your life, but I know nothing. Everything I have been told has been a lie. I need answers and your father may be able to give them to me.”
Chapter Sixteen
It doesn’t take us long to track down Evreux in the council chamber. He’s holding his head while he peers down at some sort of letter with squinting eyes. His hair is disheveled, and his crown lay haphazardly on the table next to an empty wine glass. He looks up when I stomp in uninvited, surprise flashing through his eyes.
“My sweet Elaenor, to what do I owe this pleasure?” He purrs, but his smirk falls when he sees Tobias walk in behind me. “What doyouwant?” His voice quickly drops his sultry purr as he lets his irritation show.
“Who is my father?” I blurt out. He flinches and lets his hands rest on the arms of his chair.
