Page 60 of Once a Villain
Tom shook his head. “Look—”
Jamie reeled back, his face falling. “If that’s not enough, I—I can prove what we were to each other.” His words tumbled over each other, quick and desperate. “Ask me anything about yourself.Anything.I can convince you if you let me! I—”
“Stop,” Tom growled, and Jamie did, eyes wide and lips parted. “I wrote those words,” Tom said flatly, and Joan wondered what the words had been. What could have convinced him so quickly and thoroughly? But Tom didn’t seem inclined to share; the wedding ring was still safe, held tight in his fist. “We should talk about them,” Tom said a little more softly. As Jamie drew a breath, he added, “I’m not saying I’ll help you, but you and I should talk—and we can do that at the Oliver house.”
Jamie’s shoulders lowered, and he swallowed visibly.
Tom whistled a few notes, short and sharp, and the boat began to turn. Joan felt her own jaw unclench; she hadn’t realized how tense she’d been herself until Tom had agreed to take them back.
It was nearing sunset as the Oliver mansion came into view. Willows drooped at the river’s edge, leaves grazing the water. Beyond them, lush green grass stretched to the horizon being swallowed by rolling hills. The mansion itself stood at the top of the highest hill, drawing the eye like a lighthouse. From this angle, it truly was a castle. Oliver territory was a kingdom of its own.
Tom drew to a stop at the estate’s dock: a small wooden platform, half-hidden by trees.
“Just in time,” Aaron said. “Joan and Nick are about to break curfew.”
Joan bit the inside of her cheek. She’d almost forgotten about the stupid curfew. She put her hand on the blunt edges of the pendant. Her fingers ached with the desire to rip off the chain.
“I’m sorry,” Aaron murmured to her. “My family won’t tolerate you taking it off.”
Joan blinked at him, surprised that he’d guessed what she was thinking.
Nick grunted, and Joan realized that Nick had been watching her too. Nick turned to Aaron now. “You’re the head of the family,” he said tightly. “They’ll tolerate anything you tell them to.”
Aaron shook his head. “It’s quite clear to me that my family doesn’t know of my counterpart’s work. That he had to put on a facade, even at home.” That sounded so lonely to Joan—as lonely as Tom seemed to be here. “You don’t need to worry,” he added to Joan and Nick. “My family won’t touch what’s mine. Neitherof you have anything to fear from them.”
Nick’s expression in response was icy:Maybe your family should fear me.
Aaron registered it, chin lifting defiantly at him.
“Let’s just get inside,” Joan said. The world was already falling apart;theycouldn’t fall apart too. Not until they defeated Eleanor, at least.
Tom opened the boat’s door, and Joan heard Aaron sigh in relief, as if he’d still thought Tom might keep them captive, even up until this last moment.
“I’ll help with the ropes,” Jamie said, jumping out.
He made quick work of lashing the boat to the mooring, and Joan watched Tom’s gaze shift from the neat, practiced knots to Jamie’s face.
When Jamie was done, they all stepped out of the boat. Tom put a hand on Jamie’s arm before he could turn to the house. “You need to know something,” he said gruffly. “Before we go back out into the world.” He glanced around, as if assuring himself that they were alone here. Then he lowered his voice so that Joan could barely hear him over the rush of the river. “You implied earlier that you had a memory power.”
Jamie seemed puzzled, but Joan felt a swirl of unease. “Yes,” Jamie said. “My family has perfect memory.”
“Have you told anyone else that?”
“We’ve only been here a day. I’ve barely spoken to anyone.”
Tom blinked; he hadn’t realized how recently they’d replaced their counterparts. “Well, don’t. Don’t tellanyone.”
Joan drew a breath of cold air. The tide was high enough thatwater lapped at their feet through the gaps in the wooden dock. “Why not?”
“Because people with perfect memories are hunted down here and executed by the Court.”
“What?” Horror ran through Joan. It hit her that she hadn’t seen a single phoenix sigil since they’d arrived—not where Liu territory should have been, not at the market, not among the people watching the executions.
Now she realized what she should have known when they’d crossed into Liu territory and found Argent sigils instead. The Lius would have been a threat to Eleanor—they remembered previous timelines; they’d have known what Eleanor had done.
So Eleanor had erased them from this timeline, like the King had erased the Graves last time.
Jamie put a shaky hand over his mouth, looking sick. He sipped quick breaths of cold river air until the moment passed.
