As she felt this renewed connection to her father through his display of grief, a bittersweet truth hit home. He hadn’t shown this level of distress when she’d been outcast, yet she remembered his bleak disappointment all too well. The triggered memory served to further distance her from Vott, her own bitter memories reinforcing the wall of distance between them.
Sensing Vott’s coming outburst, Becka cut in. “I’m afraid we must insist. My twin’s funeral isn’t an Enforcer matter.”
“I agree, the funeral is not. However, the investigation around Tesse’s untimely death very much falls within Enforcer jurisdiction.”
Vott took a step forward, and despite his willowy stature he loomed over Quinn. “Your guild has already been here and left. The inquiry has been handled by your superiors.”
“I do not seek an argument with you, Duke Vott. Based on the findings surrounding Tesse’s death, I was assigned by Chief Elowen to escort Becka home and then shadow her throughout her stay.” Quinn’s eyes met hers, watching for her reaction.
The burn in her gut turned to an icy, heavy pit. “Shadow me?” Becka replied, the tension in her head intensifying. “But wait, why?”
“The Enforcers are simply considering all of the possibilities. You are Tesse’s twin. We do not yet comprehend the full circumstances around her death. The rest of the guild might also be in danger. But you are in a uniquely vulnerable position and potentially also a target.”
Chapter 6
The absurdity of his statement bubbled up out of her in a peal of nervous laughter. Quinn and Vott both frowned at her.
Becka held up her hands and tried to contain her anxiety. “Sorry guys, the irony of me playing any sort of role within the fae universe comes as a bit of a shock on top of the news of my sister’s death this morning.”
The men shared a look and seemed to come to an unspoken decision. No doubt Becka’s all too humanized reactions and lack of proper fae comportment had given them pause.
“It’s just for a couple of days, Becka,” Quinn replied, but his words failed to reassure her. “And I would remind you the Enforcers act in concert with human police forces. You may no longer be guilded, but your protection lies within the purview of our joint investigation.”
Becka fumed, feeling powerless. Sure, she’d chosen to return, but the cascade of associated consequences was spiraling well out of her control. The prospect of being stuck with Quinn until...when? Just for this trip, or until the Enforcers finished their investigation?
“I have an internship to start. I can’t miss the beginning of the semester next week,” she replied.
Quinn’s confident smile nonetheless reassured her. “I’ll get you back home in time.”
Becka nodded. He was right, it would be close, but workable. “You haven’t even told me how Tesse died,” she said to Vott, “and now I’ve got an Enforcer as a shadow until it’s solved?”
Quinn began to respond, but Vott waved him off. “Yes, you deserve to know.” He hesitated for a moment, grief contorting his features before he regained his composure. “She was walking on her own out in the rose gardens late at night and was mauled to death.”
Becka covered her mouth with her hand, feeling the wind knocked out of her. “Mauled?” she whispered, the horror of the imagery conjuring up visions of a bloody, gory struggle. She didn’t want to know more, lest the details were any worse than her already graphic imaginings.
“We have told everyone besides immediate family that a wild animal attacked her, which is such a rare occurrence within our territory that people have found it difficult to believe. After all, our Illusionists have kept predators well in hand as long as we’ve lived on these lands. Yet, a palatable reason had to be offered, outlandish as it may be. The truth is far more sinister. Tesse, or the House of Mirrors, has an enemy with an unknown face.”
“But why Tesse? And where were her guards?”
“We had believed the area was secure,” Vott replied. “She had asked her guards to leave her alone while she roamed the gardens, most likely to escape the noise and bustle of her engagement party. Alain, her betrothed, spoke with her moments before the attack. When her guards and Alain heard her cries they rushed to her aid, but arrived too late.”
“But what you’ve described couldn’t have been more than a few minutes in time. Were there no healers available?” Becka asked.
“There were. Of the pair of guards who reached her first, Kory, House Birch, is a proficient and talented healer. However, he was powerless to bring Tesse back from the darkness.”
Dumbfounded, she started to pace, the act all the more visceral and difficult due to the sand beneath her shoes. “This makes no sense. How can a healer be unable to heal?”
Vott shrugged. “We have had our share of accidents, poisonings, quarrels, and injuries from duels at the House of Mirrors, even an occasional death, but never an attack such as this. Our magics have yielded little aid or insight. I am afraid we were ill-equipped.”
Anger and loss churned together into an aching pit in her gut. Becka cast her eyes around the room, focusing in on the stillness of the chimes. “You had no forewarning of the attack?” He nodded. “But you get messages when meals are running late. And I remember not being able to eat blueberries for a month when I was little so I wouldn’t get hurt. Of course, I sneaked one anyway and knocked myself out running into a door with my prize. But still, you knew. Why nothing this time?”
Vott’s expression was grim. “I do not know, but no portents came to me.”
“Why are your chimes silent now?” Becka asked. “Aren’t they always chiming, or talking to you, however they do?”
Vott raised a brow. “Yes, they usually are.” He walked over and ran his fingers across them, evoking a short-lived melodious trill, which grated on her aching
