Only Cold Depths by Jennifer Estep

Author:Jennifer Estep [Jennifer Estep]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jennifer Estep
Published: 2024-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

VESPER

Kyrion, Asterin, and I left the antiques emporium, got into a transport, and returned to the Collier estate.

Asterin’s tablet chimed with a message. “The Zimmers are staying in some suites on the ground floor of the guest wing. They’re waiting for you in the main library. I’ll take you there.”

The three of us crossed the courtyard and entered the guest wing. Asterin led us through several corridors before stopping in front of a set of closed doors.

She laid a gentle hand on my arm. “I’ll give you some privacy and make sure no one disturbs you.”

I nodded, and she disappeared around the corner. I should have reached for the knob, twisted it open, and entered the library, but instead, I stood there, frozen in place, my body numb.

Kyrion looked at me, his face soft with sympathy. The same emotion pulsed through the sticky cobweb in my mind, bringing a much-needed spark of warmth back to my body. “Are you okay?”

A harsh, bitter laugh spewed from my lips. “No, of course not. I can’t believe they just showed up here. How did Zane even track us to Sygnustern?” Worry shot through me. “Do you think he told Holloway where we are?”

Kyrion shook his head. “No. Zane is a lot of things, but he would never put Wendell and Beatrice in danger. I’m guessing he didn’t tell Holloway where he was going or what he was really doing.”

“Why would he do that?”

Kyrion hesitated. “If there is one thing that sets House Zimmer apart from the other Houses, it’s their devotion to family. The other Regals might crow about the importance of family on the gossipcasts, but the Zimmers truly believe it. Family first, House second, and then to the bloody stars with everyone else. The importance of family has been drilled into Zane’s head since he was a child, and he would do anything to protect his father and grandmother. That’s why I told him you were his sister before the midnight ball. I thought the knowledge might sway him to help us.”

Surprise flickered through me. “You still think Zane let you cut him with your stormsword so we could escape?”

Kyrion nodded. “Yes. I think he did other things as well, although I can’t prove it.”

We’d had this conversation more than once, and we’d reviewed everything that had happened during the ball. Every time Kyrion claimed that Zane had helped us, a tiny spark of hope flared up in my heart like a star trying to be born.

I’d had the same spark of hope when I was being held in the Techwave lab and Nerezza had said that her daughter was dead. For one brief, shining moment, I’d thought maybe that was why my mother had never tried to see, find, or check on me in the last thirty years. But in the very next breath, Nerezza had said my supposed death was a wasted opportunity since she couldn’t use her dead daughter—me—against her enemies. And just like that, my hope

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