The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman

Author:Genevieve Cogman [Cogman, Genevieve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Books
Published: 2021-10-13T17:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It was somewhere between late afternoon and early evening by the time Irene and Kai were dropped off at Vale’s lodgings. Silver had escorted them back to Vale’s London and insisted on paying for their carriage. Irene attributed his unusual generosity to a nagging itch that he still owed them for getting him out of the Grand Bazaar and saving his life. Kai attributed it to devious and dubious Fae motivations. But they still took the carriage.

‘What did he say to you in private?’ Kai asked quietly as they headed up the steps to the door.

‘He was worried about Catherine.’ That was in itself a guarantee that Silver would keep his mouth shut for the moment. If there was something . . . wrong . . . with the Library, then Catherine’s ignorance was her best safeguard.

‘So are you.’

Irene shrugged. ‘I’m worried about us.’

He caught her arm as she raised her hand to ring the bell. ‘Irene – I realize there’s something you haven’t told me. Your reaction to Aunt Isra’s story made it quite clear that you know something which corroborates it. But I trust you. Don’t worry. I can wait until you’re ready to tell me.’

Gratitude warred with irritation. ‘Kai, the last time we had a conversation like this, I was the one using applied guilt on you because you wanted to keep something secret!’

‘The student has learned from the master,’ Kai said, with a deep bow.

Irene couldn’t help it. She just laughed and laughed, feeling a deep oppression lift from her spirit. Whoever she could or couldn’t trust, the man standing right in front of her was utterly reliable. If they hadn’t been standing in full view of the street, she’d have kissed him. ‘You’re one of the best things that ever happened to me,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

‘Thank Coppelia for assigning me to you,’ Kai said. More quietly, he added, ‘I have.’

His words made Irene remember that Coppelia wouldn’t be with them for very much longer, and she nodded, her cheerfulness passing. ‘Let’s go in and face the music.’

A little pang of guilt twitched inside her. It had been a joke, but . . . should she share her information with him? It was part of dragon history. She’d thought that she was doing Kai a favour by keeping him ignorant. Didn’t he deserve the right to make his own choices?

‘Oh, come now,’ Kai said, following her in. ‘Vale will understand that we didn’t have the time to find him and invite him along.’

‘Winters!’ Vale shouted from upstairs. His tone of voice was not encouraging. ‘We’re waiting.’

Irene and Kai exchanged a glance of mutual curiosity as to the identity of the we, then Irene glanced at the hatstand. She recognized the grey velvet mantle hanging there; she’d seen Bradamant wear it before. With a suppressed sigh, she made her way up the stairs. This was probably going to be . . . difficult.

Bradamant was sitting in Irene’s favourite chair, leafing through one of Vale’s scrapbooks of newspaper articles about interesting and lurid crimes.

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