Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“Shall I come with you?” he asked.
But he was deeply engrossed in an intellectual debate with his mentor, Fallon, and other fellows. Clover had zoned out ages ago. This wasn’t her scene. She missed the Wastes even though it was her night off from dealing. The anonymity was much more enjoyable.
“That’s all right,” Clover said with a smile.
She disappeared back the way she’d deposited Kerrigan. She hadn’t come back yet. Maybe she and Dozan had finally decided to have it out. She nearly collided with March as she turned the corner. Her eyes widened. Oh shit. That could not be good.
“Watch where you’re going,” March spat and then roughly shoved his way past her.
“Lovely,” she grumbled.
She hurried out to the gardens but found no evidence of Kerrigan or Dozan. They could handle themselves, but March finding them alone together was never going to be a good idea. She sighed and continued through the maze of gardens.
When she came upon a gazebo, she took a seat within and pulled out her father’s necklace. She traced the familiar lines of the metal circle. It was the only thing she had from her parents. They had died so long ago that she struggled to remember what either of them looked like or the sound of their voices or the feel of their touch upon her brow. All she remembered from her childhood was a spattering of happy memories and pain. So much pain.
She fingered a loch cigarette in her pocket. Then, she shrugged and struck a match, fitting the smoke between her lips. She breathed in deeply. Hadrian wouldn’t approve of her doing this so publicly, but oh, it felt so good.
A throat cleared.
She hastily wafted the smoke away. “Who’s there?”
“Don’t let me stop you, Clover,” Thea said, stepping into the light. “There will be worse things that others consume while here tonight. And you have your reasons.”
Clover relaxed at the words and inhaled again. “It’s hard on days like this.”
“I believe you. May I sit?”
Clover nodded, and Thea took the seat next to her. She had been Clover’s mentor for the last year as she worked with the RFA to try to get rights for people like them—a half-Fae with just enough magic to be dangerous and a human with not a drop of magic.
“That’s an interesting necklace,” Thea said.
“Thanks. My … my dad left it for me.”
“Can I see it?”
Clover bit her lip and then took the necklace off and passed it to her. She immediately felt empty inside. She never took it off. Seeing it in someone else’s hands made her want to yank it back.
“What a fascinating piece.” She turned over the metal disc and ran a finger down it. “Your father was very talented.”
Clover shot her a wary look. “I didn’t say that my dad made it.”
Thea smiled. “I knew your father.”
“What?” Clover jerked backward in alarm, coming quickly to her feet. They had known each other for a year and Thea had never mentioned it. All those moments they had been together and she’d never said a thing.
“Don’t be frightened,” Thea said, holding the necklace back out to Clover. She yanked it back and hastily pulled it over her head. “I mean no offense. I have wanted to tell you for some time. I worked in the Laments church with your mother the year before they died.”
“No,” Clover said. “No, everyone was killed in that church.”
“Yes, I know. I lost many of my friends and colleagues that day. I was on a mission to eastern Alandria at the time.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“I was worried that you wouldn’t want to speak with me.”
Clover grasped the necklace tightly in her hand. “You’re right. I don’t.”
She turned to head out of the gazebo, but Thea stopped her. “You don’t know what that does, do you?”
Clover stopped in her tracks. It was a trick. It had to be. No one knew her father or her mother. They’d been murdered, and she had been sent to the Laments church in the Square. When that burned inside, she hid in the catacombs in debilitating pain for two days. She’d found Dozan Rook after that and started a new life.
“Clover, do you know what your father was working on?”
“He was a clockmaker,” she growled.
“Indeed. But that is not a clock, and it’s his work.”
Part of her knew she should turn around and let Thea tell her everything there was to know about her parents. They had been gone so long. But another part reminded her that her mother had told her to run and never look back and never trust anyone.
“Why should I believe you? Believe anything you’re saying?” she demanded.
Thea sighed. “That’s fair. I understand why you would be reticent to trust anyone. That was why I wanted to get to know you before approaching you about this. But Clover, it’s time to let the past go and move forward.”