SOPHIA

With everything happening, you’d think my mind would be spinning so fast I wouldn’t be able to sit still much less get any rest.

But as our carriage left the Capital, I curled up next to Nathan, his arm around my shoulders, and easily fell asleep.

And dreamed about my past life...

I’m young. Very little. I’m laying in the arms of an old man. My eyes are closed as I pretend to sleep. I’m scared. Scared these strangers will do something bad. Before I woke up being carried away from my home, I heard screams, saw red arcing in the air. Lands on me. Warm. Smells rusty.

"You’ll raise her as your own," said the man holding me. "We will never speak about what happened tonight. As long as you have this handle against the Willowmarches, they’ll do whatever you say. Do what you like about them, but this precious girl shouldn’t suffer. It’s the least we can do for her."

"Dad, are you sure she won’t remember how her parents died?" asked another man.

"She’s only three years old. You have plenty of time to convince her that she’s your daughter. Never, ever tell anyone different. If it gets to the Emperor, all of our lives are at stake."

"Wouldn’t it be better if she joined her parents?" said a woman’s impatient voice. "Why let this problem child live?"

"Sometimes I wonder if you have a heart, daughter-in-law."

"Being soft-hearted doesn’t put food on the table or a roof over our heads. Your son just became an Imperial scholar. The boys are studying hard so that when they come of age, they can take the exams and become government officials. What are we supposed to do with this one?"

"Raise her well. There will come a time when she’ll be useful to you. Until then, treat her as your own."

"What about the bodies?" asked the woman.

"Taken care of. You don’t need to know more than that."

"As long as they never resurface, I don’t care where the Rosebrights are buried."

I woke suddenly, a headache pulsing behind my eyes. "Nathan?"

"Are you okay? You were restless in your sleep."

"I’m fine. Do you know anyone with the last name Rosebright?"

He helped me sit up. "I haven’t heard that name in years. The Emperor’s younger sister married into that family about twenty years ago. If I remember correctly, the Rosebrights had royal connections all the way back to the first emperor. The Grand Princess married the eldest son, Theodore Rosebright, as a check against the Rosebright’s power."

"What happened to them?"

"Theo’s parents died from a plague that hit the Northern Realm’s borders. Theo had an adopted brother. But he disappeared along with Theo and his wife. No one’s heard from them in two decades."

"Not even the Grand Princess has surfaced?"

"No. The Emperor was heartbroken. He was very close to his sister. He sent numerous investigators to track down the Rosebrights, but it was like they’d been extracted from the planet."

"What’s so special about the Rosebrights?" I asked.

"Military power. Finanicial power. They have an army of 100,000 men. And they owned nearly half the shops in the Capital. There’s only the grandmother left, and she’s losing her faculties. Someone must have guardianship. It’s not possible for such an old woman with mental issues to make business decisions."

"How sad that the Rosebrights only have one person left. Are there no other relatives anywhere?" I thought about the poor lonely grandmother who’d lost everyone, and now she was also losing her mind. It was so sad.

"I don’t think so. Maybe fourth or fifth cousins scattered here and there, but the main line has been extinguished." He took my hand and placed a soft kiss on my knuckles. "Why are you asking all this, Sophia? Where did you hear the name Rosebright."

"In my dreams," I said. "Although Nathan it feels more like a memory."

"Tell me about the dream."

"I’m a little girl. Maybe three years old? I’m pretending to sleep. Some old man is holding me and talking to another man and woman. He wants them to adopt me. He’s afraid of something that happened ... something involving the deaths of my parents. He even thinks they’re in danger from the Emperor if he finds out what happened. I think they’re talking about the deaths of the Rosebrights."

"You think this is a memory?"

"It feels real. What do you think it means?"

"I don’t know yet." He reached under the seat and pulled out a food basket. "We’re still three hours away from Velvetleaf. We’ll have to stay in one of the inns there. I’m sure Amaranth Manor is uninhabitable."

"Not to mention filled with corpses."

"And quite possibly ghosts," said Hune from the other side of the carriage. "if you believe in such things."

"Weren’t you just asleep?" accused Nathan.

"Who can sleep with all the noise and movement? I swear the driver has hit every pothole in this road."

"Sophia took a nap just fine." Nathan smiled at me. "Would you like to rest more?" He plucked a small orange from the basket and began to peel it.

"Not right now." I looked out the window. It was already getting dark. It would be deep into the evening by the time we arrived in Velvetleaf. It seemed that looking at Tilda’s discovery would have to wait until morning. Mucking about in that house at night with its mold and water and terrible odors would spell disaster.

"You were talking about the Rosebrights, Miss Sophia? It reminded me that the Emperor has a gold reward for anyone who has accurate information about what happened to the Grand Princess."

Nathan had finished peeling the orange and he offered me a slice. I opened my mouth and he slid the fruit inside my mouth. After I finished chewing the sweet fruit, I said, "Thank you."

"Here have another one." He put another slice against my lips, and I ate it. "Do you want me to peel you an apple?"