THE SCANDEROON TELLS US ABOUT THE ROSEBRIGHTS

Once the heir activates the artifact, he need only make his wish and then---

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INTERRUPTION BY HUNE (BUT IN NATHAN’S POV)

"What exactly is the artifact?" asked Hune.

"Way to kill the vibe, Mr. Hune." Scanderoon sighed. "It’s a lamp, okay?"

"Like a gas lamp?" I asked.

"Or candle lamp?" Hune chimed in.

"A magic lamp. To be specific, a silver oil lamp that was found in a thieves’ cave in the outer realms."

"Magic," I said unbelievingly. "The oil lamp is magical."

"What kind of thieves use a cave? Isn’t it easy to get trapped in there? There’s no way out. Anyone could come in," said Hune. "From a logistics standpoint it’s a bad location."

"Well, they stored their treasure in there," said Scanderoon. "And lived there when they weren’t running around stealing stuff." He cocked his head and tapped on his chin. "Come to think of it, the man who sold me the lamp actually entered the cave and stole it from the thieves."

"You buy stolen goods?" I asked.

"Probably. I don’t usually ask where stuff is from. Most everything comes from the outer realms anyway."

"Wait," said Hune. "Back up. Did you just say the man who sold you the lamp?"

"Ah, yes. Er ... I did procure the lamp, though I was unaware of its magical properties at the time."

"How did the Rosebrights get it?" I asked.

"I sold it to them."

"But they’ve had the artifact for generations," pointed out Hune. "You don’t look a day over thirty."

"Thank you. But I’m much older than that." He tapped the cane on the carriage floor. "We’re getting off-track. Do you want to hear the story, or not?"

"Yes," I said.

"Very much," added Hune.

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THE SCANDEROON TELLS US ABOUT THE ROSEBRIGHTS

Okay. To reiterate: It’s the night that the heir Theodore Rosebright will make his wish. His wife, Bellifer, that’s the Emperor’s only sister, by the way, his young adopted brother Gable, his parents, and his three-year-old child are in the basement of Thornbowry, the sprawling mansion of the Rosebrights. The artifact sits on its pedestal, waiting for the heir to activate it.

As Theodore reaches for the oil lamp, they’re overrun by people dressed in black uniforms and ski masks. They want the lamp.

But they will never get it.

They try, though. They kill everyone in that basement except the toddler who lays next to her dead mother crying pitifully.

It’s the Willowmarch grandfather who saves the girl. He’s the one who takes her to the Pagemoores and asks for them to raise her.

If you’re wondering why he’s there, it’s because the Willowmarches are the ones who came for the artifact and destroyed the Rosebrights.

The old man wasn’t being ultruistic. Not really. You see, the oil lamp had disappeared. All those murders and for what? Grandfather Willowmarch wants the child kept close to the Willowmarches. She’s the heir. He’s the one who will later push for Jace and Sophia to get engaged.

She’s the Rosebright daughter. Other than her grandmother who suffers from dementia, she’s the only Rosebright left.

The Willowmarches took all the bodies from the basement. Then they burned Thornbowry to the ground.

No one knew what the Willowmarches had done. No one but the Pagemoores who had their own reasons to dislike the Rosebrights. But they still raised the Rosebright daughter and made her believe her only purpose in life was to be the wife of Jace Willowmarch.

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NATHAN

"Sophia’s the heir," I said. "The Willowmarches were probably hoping she would find the artifact, right?"

"Assuredly," said Scanderoon. "But what we don’t know is if Theodore Rosebright made his wish."

"Maybe he wished the lamp away," said Hune. "To prevent anyone else from using its magic."

"That’s a good theory. Another one is that he wished for the lamp to be hidden until Sophia was a certain age. I think that’s the one the Willowmarches were counting on." Scanderoon rolled the cane around.

"I take it this story is not known beyond us, the Willowmarches, and the Pagemoores?"

"Correct. I collect secrets. They’re my favorite things."

"So the bodies in the basement..." I leaned back and crossed my arms. "They’re probably the Rosebrights, right?"

"Well, they would be skeletons by now, wouldn’t they? Tilda said she saw bodies, so we might be looking at something else entirely."

"Why would the Willowmarches bury the Rosebrights in their basement?" I asked.

"And why make a dungeon out it," muttered Hune.

"Protection. They’re guarding the evidence of their crimes."

"But they left Sophia alone in that house. Why wouldn’t they be afraid she’d find the remains?" I asked.

"Arrogance, for one," said Scanderoon. "Time also has a way of softening the edges of people. No doubt they were complacent. After all, it’s been fifteen years and they’ve never been caught."

"Why didn’t you turn them in?" asked Hune.

Scanderoon shook his head. "Oh, no. No, no. I don’t get involved with the plot. I operate outside of it, around the edges. I don’t want to become a main character. I like my NPC status."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. "Plot? Character? NPC?"

"I’m just talking nonsense. Don’t overthink it."

For a moment, it was silent in the carriage. All we heard was the clopping of the horse’s hooves and the squeaks of the carriage wheels.

"What if Theodore wished for the lamp to be disguised as something else?" asked Hune. "Something he knew Miss Sophia would always have or maybe find when she was older."

"Interesting," said Scanderoon. "It’s possible the oil lamp is in a different form. Hidden from everyone. Though the heir, that is to say, Sophia, will be able to discern it no matter what it’s disguised as."

I knew Sophia would want to look for the artifact, the thing that had gotten her parents killed and stolen her choices. She deserved whatever she wanted to wish for, but I didn’t have too much hope we would ever find the oil lamp. After all, the Willowmarches had been searching for fifteen years and had never found it.

Knowing that the Willowmarches had wiped out Sophia’s family because they were greedy made me want to beat the living hell out of all of them. Especially Jace’s parents.

"Woah," said the driver as the carriage pulled to a stop. "We’re here, Your Grace."