his eyes flashing over mine like burning stars.
Hot tears fell down my cheeks. “There must be something I could offer him, something that wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
He shook his head. “That’s what everyone who summons him thinks. They all think they’ll be the one to outsmart him. They’ll be the one who can create a truly perfect deal. It’s never happened. Viscardi always has an edge.”
He sat down on the top step, leaving room for me to join him.
“I heard a lot about his bargains while growing up. Pontus likes inviting Viscardi into the Brine. No one amuses him like the Tricksters. They were all terrible. Viscardi always manages to sneak in some twist, create some mischief. He told Pontus about a pair of sisters who each had her heart set on the same man. When the man fell for the younger sister, the older one, heartbroken, summoned Viscardi.”
I sank down beside him. “I can’t imagine wanting something badly enough to summon a Trickster.”
“When certain kinds of people get desperate enough, they’re willing to do anything.”
Thunder, booming and wild, echoed around his words. The storm was growing even stronger, and I too wanted to howl. I tried not to think about what was going on at Highmoor in our absence. I would only drive myself mad. Turning to Cassius, I fixed my eyes on him. “What happened with the sisters?”
“Viscardi appeared and listened to the older sister’s request. He said he’d give her her heart’s desire, happily, but he required one small thing. Just a memento, really. He wanted something of the younger sister’s. Something she deemed precious.”
It sounded so simple, such an inconsequential bargain. If I’d been in the younger sister’s place, what would Viscardi take from me? One of Mama’s necklaces? My favorite hair ribbon? What did I truly deem precious?
Verity flashed into my mind, safe and warm in sleep. Camille beside me at the piano, our fingers bumping into each other as we stumbled through a new song, laughing with every wrong note. The triplets, the Graces…
A cold snake of horror slithered deep inside me, coiling in the pit of my stomach. “She didn’t agree, did she?”
Cassius nodded slowly, knowing I’d already guessed the outcome. “The older sister was betrothed to the man and did marry him, as the bargain promised. It was a beautiful wedding, and the villagers said she made a lovely bride. But at the altar, as the man finished saying his vows to unite them, Viscardi arrived, demanding payment. ‘Payment?’ the bride exclaimed, mortified at the interruption. ‘My sister is over there.’ She pointed. ‘She’s even wearing her prized hair combs. Take them from her and leave me be.’ ”
I grabbed his arm to stop the story. It was too terrible to imagine, and I sensed that the actual ending would somehow be even worse. Snow pelted the windows, tapping at the glass. I glanced up, suddenly worried I’d see the dragon man out on the gallery, peering in, begging to come inside.
I rubbed my arms, trying to stop the shudders that raced through me. “I can’t believe someone I know would deal with him.”
“Perhaps it’s an act of revenge. A bargain for justice. Is there anyone you know who’s had a disagreement with your father? Someone at court? Or maybe one of the staff?”
“Papa never mentioned any problems. Everyone has always been treated well, with kindness.” The answer came easily enough.
Only it wasn’t entirely true. I remembered the look of terror in the cobbler Gerver’s eyes as he was cursed and berated in his own shop, Papa’s rages over the slightest mishap in the shipyards, the fury with which he’d hurled the brandy bottle at a butler during Churning.
Churning…
“Are you all right?” he asked. “You’ve gone pale.”
“Uncle Sterland.” My mouth twisted around the treacherous words.
He drew a sharp breath, recognition dawning. “He was supposed to marry your aunt Evangeline…. You said she died…how?”
I nodded miserably. “She and Papa were twins. Evangeline was the firstborn—she would have become the Duchess, inheriting everything.”
“What happened?” Cassius prodded gently.
“Sterland’s father had been a respected admiral in the King’s Navy and was one of my grandfather’s closest allies. When the admiral died at sea, Sterland and his mother were invited to stay at Highmoor.”
Outside, the wind howled, low and guttural, like a woman sobbing.
“As children, the three of them were inseparable. As they got older, Evangeline and Sterland became sweethearts. When the boys left to train at the naval academy, my aunt cried for months. She