Page 59 of Lady's Steed
They had pickled beets, lamb jerky, and preserved pears as a meal. A quiet repast that didn’t distract them from repeatedly eyeing the hatch. The lantern they had brought emitted enough light to see, not that they had much to look at. Shelves filled with jars and sacks, even a few boxes, lined the walls. While the space was cramped, they managed to spread out the blankets and pillows to create a nest, not that anyone seemed tired.
Gustav chose to sit by the bottom step, sword across his lap. As if his blade could fight the fog.
Josslyn lay on her side, facing Avera. “I am scared to close my eyes,” she admitted.
“Me too.” What if they didn’t wake? What if the mist managed to find them and made them disappear?
“I wonder why you didn’t hear the singing,” Josslyn mused aloud.
“My music teacher used to claim I was tone deaf.”
The statement curved Josslyn’s lips. “My dance instructor lamented I had two left feet. I spent the few balls I attended by the food table pretending to eat so no one would see how ungraceful I was.”
“I hated balls.” Avera grimaced. “The last one I went to was Mother’s wedding to Benoit. I escaped as soon as I could.”
“You didn’t like him.”
“More like I couldn’t see what Mother saw in him. She turned into this giggly person I didn’t know when they were together. Fawning over him and more. It made me uncomfortable.”
“She acted very out of character with Benoit,” Gustav replied from his perch. “I remember your mother with her first husband. They cared for each other, but never acted so untoward in public.”
“What about my father?” Avera dared to ask.
A pause before Gustav slowly said, “She was enamored, but not giddy. Only with that fiend did her personality change.”
“Do you suppose Benoit used magic on her?” Avera whispered. “Like he did with those things in the field?”
“You mean like a love spell?” Josslyn snickered.
“Yes, actually. And don’t laugh. A few weeks ago, you would have scoffed at statues coming to life. We both would have.”
Josslyn bit her lower lip. “You’re right, I shouldn’t mock. I guess it’s possible.”
“It would certainly explain why she suddenly hated him,” Gustav added. “Maybe the spell wore off and she realized what she’d married.”
“I can only imagine how horrified she’d have been, if true.” Avera rolled to her back and plucked her locket from under her shirt. She opened it to eye the two pictures inside. “I wonder if she loved my father.”
“They weren’t together for long,” Gustav replied. “But she certainly liked him. Not in a gushing kind of way, but you could tell by how she watched him and just seemed to brighten when he entered a room. She took his leaving hard but claimed he’d be back.”
“Only he never returned.”
“No, but I don’t know if that was by choice. Verlora went dark a few years after your birth, but I imagine the problems began before that.”
“May I see the pictures?” Josslyn asked.
“Sure.” Avera went to lift it from her neck only to find it tangled with the strange amulet she’d taken from her mother’s things. As it emerged from under her shirt, she noticed it glowing. “Oh, that’s odd.”
“What is it?” Josslyn sat up and eyed the pendant with curiosity.
“I don’t know. I found it in my mother’s things.”
“It’s like a dim night light,” Josslyn laughed.
“But how is it glowing?” Avera questioned. “I didn’t light it.”
“Magic,” growled Gustav.
“Really?” Avera couldn’t help but be intrigued and studied it intently.