Phoenix Flame - Sara Holland Page 0,63

to him.

The thought of his mom, Ilya, floats through my mind. I remember how welcoming she was to us when we went into Fiordenkill . Gorgeous, warm, competent, perfect. Bitterness spikes in me. I don’t like it, but I can’t suppress it. I know he’s not the one I should be angry at. It’s just fear making me ready to lash out. Making it worse is the fact that I don’t even know why I’m afraid. Wherever Mom is, she’s not behind bars, waiting to die. I should be happy.

“Listen, I think her disappearance might be a message,” he says, slowly and carefully. “Meant for Marcus, or for you. Think about it. Your mother was off the chessboard. She has no magic and no power. Who would risk exposing themselves to humans to help her escape?”

Brekken’s tone gentles a little. He steps toward me. “You and Marcus have the most at stake, and you told me she was a lost cause years ago.”

Tears prickle at my eyes. “What are you saying?”

“That maybe someone took her and wants the Innkeepers of Havenfall to know it.”

“Someone, like who?”

Brekken pauses, then squares his shoulders. “Like the Silver Prince, for one.”

I knew what he was going to say, and yet—my chest tightens at the thought of the Silver Prince, with his cold eyes and vast, calculating mind, getting his hands on my mom. I rock back, and Brekken reaches out and touches my arm lightly, guiding us both down to sit on the edge of the bed.

But— “That’s not possible,” I say brusquely. “The Silver Prince wouldn’t be able to survive in Haven, nor Mom in Oasis.”

“There are ways,” Brekken snaps. “If your brother hasn’t managed to supply him with the armor or more phoenix flame, he could have human lackeys doing his bidding. Or some combination thereof.”

I have my mouth open to make a retort, but as Brekken falls silent, I realize I don’t have one. I remember in the antique shop where I found Sura, Whit—the human trader who would go on to try to drown me in Mirror Lake—was taking orders from a Byrnisian man I didn’t recognize. Even if he’s not on Earth himself, the Silver Prince clearly has some way to communicate with his men here. If I were him, I would task the humans with breaking Mom out of Sterling Correctional, and then bring her to the town of Haven. Not to the inn itself, but into the sphere of safety for Realmspeople it provides, so that Byrnisians could take her from there.

Maybe that’s why I felt so driven to look for her in town, I realize with a slow, dawning horror. Maybe Brekken is right—the Silver Prince has Mom—and my subconscious was just the first part of me to realize it.

“Clearly I only know as much as you do,” Brekken goes on. “I’m just saying it’s a possibility. And if someone does have her in Haven, I don’t think you should be running around town alone, on a whim.”

I take a deep breath. “What am I supposed to do, then? Just sit here and do nothing?”

“It’s not nothing.” Brekken’s voice drops; he leans ever so slightly closer to me. “Marcus still isn’t well, Maddie, you know that. You have a duty to the inn.”

The words feel like a precious necklace and a heavy chain, all at once. “Do you really believe that?” I ask. “Or are you just trying to protect me?”

“Why not both?” His hand slips across the space between us and wraps around mine. “You have a duty to keep yourself safe. For Havenfall. Are you really not at all concerned that the ruler of an entire world wants you dead?”

“Of course I’m worried about it.” I glare at him. “But I can’t just hide out in some bunker somewhere and wait for the Silver Prince to forget about me.”

Brekken raises his hands in surrender. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Of course you have to go. But can I come with you into town?” He gets up, paces, and grins ruefully at me. “You know how I hate feeling useless. Just … I’m scared for you.”

“Sure, come with.”

The thought of spending time with him doesn’t make me as happy as it normally would. I look away from him so he won’t see the truth in my eyes.

I’m scared for me too.

The next morning, I shoot Marcus a text, letting him know I’m going out for some air and Brekken will be with me. Then we head