Page 56 of Dishonor Among Thieves
“No one forced Valkiva to take that knife.” Neo snaked a hand beneath my hair and cupped my neck. “She reacted out of love for you. Out of fear and anger at what Gini was doing. Probably what she’d done for many, many years. Caused pain to someone the girl loves. You cannot blame yourself for the child’s choice.”
I sniffed hard, unwilling to cry for Gini. But for Kiva? She deserved better than my cowardice, my hesitation. I would make sure she had love and care and support to put this behind her. I would give it all to her myself. There was no one else to do it now, and she would need me all the more.
I struggled to shift my weight again but simply couldn’t. I groaned and rested a hand lightly on my ribs. “By the gods,” I muttered. “I’m no use to anyone like this. Is Odile here? Did she stay back with Elgit?”
He nodded. “She’s back at the manor, but I’m sure she will be anxious to attend to you when we get home.”
Home.Just the thought that he would bring me back there, that he still considered his manor my home, brought a fresh wave of tears to my eyes. But I would not shed them. I knew I could never return with him. If it were ridiculous before… Now? Simply impossible.
“Neo,” I said, shaking my head as much as my pain would allow. “I cannot return with you. These foundlings have no one else. I left them once thinking Gini would treat them as she always had—well enough, at least. But now? There is no one but me, and I will not leave them to uncertain fates.”
Neo looked amused, perhaps even happy. “Gia and Rain are packing up Flynn’s cart as we speak.”
“Packing? I do not understand.”
“Gia looked through Gini’s records while you slept. Did you know she was selling these children?” he asked.
I sucked in a horrified breath. “Adopting,” I corrected. “She found each child a willing, loving home, Neo.”
He shook his head. “She kept extensive records. She placed the foundlings, but none would call those transactions adoptions.”
“Where is she?” I demanded, struggling to sit up in the bed. “I’m going to tear the hair from her lifeless body!”
Neo kissed my forehead and urged me to lie still. “Let’s not be in such a rush to desecrate a corpse. She is likely receiving the justice she deserves in Ástleysi, now.”
I squeezed my eyes closed at the mention of dark Realm. While all good must be balanced by evil, imaging that place, where demons and devils ruled, terrified me. Even for someone who had done the things that Gini had. Those things I knew of, as well as those of which I’d been painfully unaware. Selling foundlings?
I could not believe it.
My heart shattered as I thought about how my mother would feel if she knew where she’d left me. What kind of place this truly was. “My entire life here has been a lie,” I said, my voice broken. “My memories. My emotions. Even the people I cared about—all the children I thought were loved and wanted, who went on to live happy lives. One of the only things that kept me going every day was waking up knowing that for most of the children, their time with us was temporary. I wanted them to feel loved and happy so they could meet new families and leave for exciting new lives.” I swallowed back the sour taste of bile. “It’s all been a lie. And I was part of it. My work here made her evil schemes possible.”
I groaned as he tucked himself closer to me, leaning forward on one elbow so he could study my face. “None of what you lived was a lie,” he insisted, his voice thick with emotion. “Have you considered that the gods chose you, Brexia? A common person among the most vulnerable foundlings in the Realm. Perhaps your destiny has always been thus. Only one who was trusted by Gini could get close enough to stop her.”
While his words made sense, they did nothing to ease the chafing around my heart.
“There’s still a chance for the foundlings downstairs. For a happy future and truly free lives.” His optimism surprised me. Each of the children would be doomed to flee this Realm or live hidden. What hope of freedom could there truly be for any of us?
Questions and uncertainties pounded like an unrelenting rain through my soul. “They deserve that chance. I don’t know how I’ll afford their care, but I will manage it. I’ll make sure they don’t go a day without everything they need. Everything,” I insisted.
Neo looked dubious. “There is a dead mage in the kitchen and, from what Kiva told me, a dead merchant buried someplace on this property. Staying here is not a good idea, Brex. There will be an inquiry into Gini’s death. Perhaps not right away, but the shire-reeve will eventually come calling for taxes. That merchant may have family…”
“That merchant may have been a spy of the queen,” I sighed. “Gini seemed convinced of it.”
“All the more reason to depart this place and never return.” Even though his voice was resolute, I did not see a way through this.
“What choice do we have?” I asked. “Where will I take the children?”
He raised a thick brow at me. “I have a manor and a sister-in-law who can help heal these foundlings, both in body and mind. I have a family and some means.” He traced a finger along my lower lip. “And I have you. At least for as long as the contract remains valid.”
“You would do that?” I asked. “Bring the lot of us to Omrora?”
He caressed my cheek and the ridge along my jaw, as if studying my features for the very first time. “I have a goblin, a teenage boy, and a thieving wife. I think what the manor lacks is a handful of foundlings.”
The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm glow on Neo’s face. Careful of my tender injuries, I reached a hand to touch his cheek. He closed his eyes as I stroked the stubble on his chin, his cheeks, and the tiny fractures long healed on his parted lips. “Brex,” he whispered. “Come home. All of you. Come home with me.”
I tried to lean in to kiss him but fell back in pain. “I might need a bit of help with that,” I said, trying to laugh through the aches of my very real injuries.
He looked like he was in pain watching me. “I can do more than help a bit,” he said.
