The smell of wood smoke clung low to the ground, and here and there patches of thicker smoke drifted in wispy patches from the direction of Maerillus’s home. As Davin rounded the side of the building and came to the back entrance, he saw a lot of movement as servants and staff hurried among several smoking buildings. Outside, Maerillus’s sister Lexa directed the efforts to staunch the last of the flames around them. When she saw him, she nodded her head quickly, and her voice held all of the severity and sharp command that her mother possessed. “I suppose you’re here to find my brother,” she said crisply, and then looked him squarely in the eyes. “You can’t have him, Hapwell.”
Davin pulled his horse to a halt a few feet away from her. “I need him, Lex. There’s trouble back toward the beekeeper’s barns.”
Davin was sure he heard her mutter a curse beneath her breath. “There’s trouble everywhere tonight.”
“Someone set the Maries’ home on fire,” Davin told her as he dismounted. “This is bad.”
Lexa’s voice softened. “Please tell me they’re okay. That family has been through enough.”
Davin nodded. “They made it out in time. Madeline’s run off and the guy who killed her cousin is after her.”
Lexa shook her head. “Whatever you three are involved in, don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re in it deep.”
Davin looked down for a moment to avoid her hawk-like glare. Alexandretta was tall and elegant, almost statuesque. Her face held the same formidable beauty of Andromeda, though her dark hair flared with auburn highlights. Where her mother’s chest was large and excellently proportioned, and hips softly rounded with a maturity that hinted at an ample fertility, Lexa’s frame was more slight and her chest smaller but proportioned with the kind of symmetry that lent her figure a mysterious and aqualine elegance. Andromeda was the picture of matronly power, a woman of a certain age who wore that age beautifully. Maerillus’s sister was the image of rapieresque grace. She had a quick mind and a sword for a tongue when roused to anger.
Tonight, however, she was just tired.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Davin said quickly, realizing how tired he felt, too. Looking around, he frowned and asked, “Where’s the rest of your family?”
Lexa’s face became set in worry. “My brothers should have retuned from town by now, and mom and dad were attacked. That’s where Maerillus is now. He’s seeing to their security.”
“They okay?”
Lexa nodded. “I think so. They were drugged. Maerillus caught two men in their room. Dad was roughed up, but Maer killed one man . . .” She stopped as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips and gave a hard laugh. “Casey got the other.”
Davin felt his eyebrows arch in surprise. “You mean the old—“
“—That’s exactly who I mean.”
“Impressive.”
“They got to my house and Niam’s as well, Lex,” Davin said darkly.
Lexa let out a long exhalation. “Fire’s are all but out here . . . is everyone okay? How is Niam?”
“I got my family out in time, but if I hadn’t gotten to Niam he wouldn’t have made it out,” Davin said. He watched as Lexa’s face went blank again and she visibly suppressed a shudder. Everyone knew Niam had a crush on Lexa, but it was a subject she forcibly avoided and Maerillus pretended did not exist. Niam knew good and well that he and Alexandretta Sartor came from two different worlds, and thankfully the childhood infatuation he had harbored since he was small finally faded sometime in the past.
Davin held back a response when her voice dropped and she said, “You watch out for him. You watch out for my brother, too.”
Davin nodded his head, and Lexa recovered herself. As he turned to go, she called after him. “Look out for yourself as well, Hapwell. Find Bug and get everyone back safely or I’ll make you pay.”
Davin grunted. Sometimes he never knew when to take her seriously or when she was joking. He did note that she used Niam’s preferred nickname for little Madeline. On any other day that might be interesting to mull over, but not today. Davin made his way into the Sartor manor to find Maerillus. He knew that once he did, their night was only just beginning.