Beware the Night by Jessika Fleck

Author:Jessika Fleck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

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DORIAN AND I split up in the woods behind my cottage. He heads back to his uncle, and I enter through our back door to find Poppy’s awake, sitting in his chair before the fire.

I bound toward him. What I expect of my grandfather is to be wrapped in a long, lingering hug. Then for him to check me over, be sure I’m all right. Then, of course, complete relief will smooth the lines on his face when he sees I’m safe.

Instead, “My Veda! What the devil are you doing here?”

“I…” I skid to a stop, halting about two feet away. “Wait, what?”

“You have to go back.” He starts to push me toward the door. “Now!”

“Poppy!” I turn on my heels and stand tall, cement my boots to the floor. “I’m not going anywhere until I get answers. You owe me answers.” Catching us both by surprise, my voice cracks and my eyes begin to burn. “Please,” I barely manage, suddenly so exhausted I melt into the chair across from his. “Please,” I repeat under my breath.

His tired, gray eyes bore into mine. Although he clearly wants me out of this house, safe and sound underground, he knows he owes me seventeen years’ worth of explanations.

Finally, he exhales, relenting. “Yes … Of course.” He smooths my hair from my face. “You’re right.” But before he sits back down, he runs around making sure every last curtain is drawn and every door and window is latched.

Then he sits across from me, elbows resting on his knees, eyes intent on mine. “Ask me anything, my Veda.”

“Was my mother killed by the Imperi instead of the Night?”

He nods his head, gaze heavy, somber. “Yes.”

“Did she fight in the first war?”

Nod. “In the very beginning. She was so brave.”

I don’t know my mother, I never met her. Yet, somehow, especially after the past twenty-four hours, I feel I know her. A strong knot forms in my throat. “And my father?”

Poppy’s eyes flick to mine. “The Sindaco.” He all but whispers the words like they’re painful on his lips.

“His name is Vincent, isn’t it?”

“Aye…” He stares, unblinking.

“I heard you say it once. Curse it, actually. I never asked you about him because I didn’t want to upset you. I also assumed he was dead.”

He shakes his head. “I would have had to lie anyway … But yes, Vincent Raevald, the Sindaco, is your father.”

Hearing him say the words puts all doubt to rest. It also sends an aching to the back of my throat, one that stretches up into my eyes. I breathe deep and then shakily exhale. “So I’m…?”

“You’re the rightful heir to all of Bellona.” He smiles in a sad yet proud way, the corners of his mouth twitching from either exhaustion or emotion. “Veda, you must know, Raevald will never stand for it. He’d deny it to his dying day that you, an orphaned Basso, are heir to his legacy, especially when, in his mind, your father’s a traitor. A disgrace to his name and his position.

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