Gavin followed Wrenlow into the room and saw Gaspar, who sat near the hearth, talking quietly to Desarra. She was a lovely woman, with her dark hair braided and tied by a loop of blue ribbon. She had on a bright yellow dress that accentuated her figure. A young girl was across from her, watching the conversation. She had similar dark hair and pale blue eyes that widened when Gavin entered the room.
“What’s this about?” he asked.
“Ever since Gaspar got here, he’d been telling Desarra about what happened to the two of you. She’s concerned,” Wrenlow said.
Gavin looked at the girl and withdrew his El’aras dagger. It was glowing. He smiled to himself.
The girl had magic. At least, he believed it was her and not Desarra. For all he knew, it could be either one. He walked over to them, stood behind Gaspar, and watched the girl. It wasn’t always easy to know when magic users were drawing on their power.
“Are we sure it’s safe here?” Gavin asked.
The others turned toward him. Gaspar frowned, his expression angry.
“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” Jessica asked.
Gavin turned his attention to Gaspar, holding his gaze. “I don’t know. It should be safe, shouldn’t it, Gaspar?”
“Watch it, boy.”
“I just want us to be certain that we’re all on the same page here. Are we sure?”
“I’m sure,” Gaspar said.
“Gavin?” Wrenlow asked.
“It’s nothing,” Gavin replied.
Desarra looked over to Gavin and then to Gaspar, who nodded once.
“Wrenlow, why don’t you and Jessica go with Olivia,” Gaspar said.
The girl stood up, and Desarra smiled at her. “Where would you have me go?” Olivia asked.
“See if you can gather some food,” Desarra said. “I’m sure they’re hungry, especially considering what they’ve gone through today.”
Olivia looked at Gavin. For a moment, the El’aras blade surged more brightly. Now he knew with certainty.
“I would love to see the kitchen. You know, I’m something of a cook,” Jessica said with a wide smile. She grabbed Olivia’s arm and led her away.
Wrenlow glanced over at Gavin, who nodded in the direction that Jessica and Olivia went. It would be better for Wrenlow to go with them. He shrugged and followed them out of the room, leaving Gavin with Desarra and Gaspar.
“Now, do you care to tell me what’s been going on?” Gavin asked.
“You don’t need to know anything,” Gaspar said.
“Look at him,” Desarra said. “He already knows. You aren’t going to keep anything from him at this point.”
Gavin shrugged. “She’s not wrong. Olivia is an enchanter, isn’t she?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gaspar said.
“It does because it at least answers a few questions I have.”
“What do you think that answers?” Gaspar asked, his voice rising. There was tension within him, almost as if ready to explode.
“It explains a little bit more about why you left the constables.” Gavin made a circle around the chairs, and he took a seat across from them. “Let me tell you what I suspect.” He unsheathed the El’aras dagger. “I suspect that the two of you were happily married. Something happened. I’ve been trying to figure out what that might’ve been, especially considering how the two of you still seem to care about each other. Maybe regardless of what you might claim, Olivia is your daughter,” Gavin said, nodding to Gaspar. That answer didn’t feel quite right given what he’d seen. “You discovered she had potential, and it drove you out of the constables.”
“Careful, boy,” Gaspar said.
“How close am I?”
“You aren’t close at all.”
“Then tell me.”
“You don’t need to know,” Gaspar said.
Gavin took a deep breath and smiled. He sheathed the El’aras dagger and shrugged. “It was worth taking a shot. The other possibility is that she’s older than she appears. From what I’m guessing of the enchanters, they’re all considerably older than what I believed at first. If that’s the case, then it’s possible Olivia is your sister,” Gavin said, nodding to Desarra. “Gaspar learned of it and wasn’t able to protect her.”
Gaspar glared at him.
“Fine. Make me keep guessing. I can go on like this.”
“Don’t,” Desarra said, raising her hand.
“I don’t really want to. Honestly, when it comes to these sorts of things, I’d rather just be told.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
Gavin nodded. “I gathered that. He doesn’t like to talk about much.”
“In this case, he really doesn’t like to talk about it,” Desarra said.
Gavin leaned back in his chair and watched Gaspar. “Let’s get to a real question then. How safe are we here?”
“Safe enough,” Gaspar said.
“Are you sure? Because I want to make sure we don’t have to worry about the constables finding us here.”
Gaspar’s brow furrowed. “I’m sure.”
There was something more taking place here than Gavin understood, but perhaps none of that mattered. At this point, the only thing he needed to know was what they were going to do about the jade egg. “At least tell me what’s going on here.”
“You’re the one who took the job. Why do I need to help you understand it?” Gaspar asked.
“We can’t stay here indefinitely. The constables are after us. This is only going to get Desarra and Olivia into the same mess we’re in.”
“You don’t have to worry about us,” Desarra said.
“Why?”
“You just don’t.”
Olivia used magic fairly openly, enough to make the El’aras dagger glow, and Gavin had a sense that Desarra was completely aware of what she did. “All right. You’d both better start talking.”
“Watch it,” Gaspar said.
“What’s there for me to watch? I’ve been running around the city, dealing with constables attacking, and trying to find this jade egg so the other enchanters can free their families’ power. All while trying to figure out what role Alex had to play. Now she’s missing, and—”
“Is that what they told you?” Desarra asked, leaning forward.
“What do you mean?”
“Is that what the others told you?”
Gavin sighed. “Which others are we talking about? At this point, I’m dealing with quite a few different groups, and I don’t even know which ones you’re
