Eden Riverwallow's Arc

Chapter 7 of 18

Eden salted the sill while Kane watched from the floor. The white line closed the gap she had broken letting him in. It would not be enough. Maleficit was already coming up the slope, and salt would only slow a thing that had owned this ground for centuries. She needed to know what he wanted from her. Without that, she had nothing to bargain with when he reached the porch. "He wants the wolf," Willow said. She drifted at the window, lace hem passing through the sill. "That's the easy answer." "It's not the real one." Eden set the salt jar down. "He was watching me before Kane ever came near this house." Kane pressed his palm harder to the bandage. "Don't call him again." "I have to." Eden picked up the salt jar and stepped back from the door. "He can't lie to me if I make him answer. You said it yourself. Truth is the only thing that works on him." "Eden." Kane's voice was flat. "He'll take the invitation as a yes." "I won't invite him in. I'll speak to him from the porch." A black cat sat on her kitchen table. Eden had not seen it come in. Its blue eyes held her, and a pale shimmer curled off its fur like smoke that did not rise. Willow looked at the cat. The cat looked back. Neither of them explained. "The house is letting things through tonight," Willow said. Eden opened the door before Kane could stand. The porch boards were cold under her feet. Past the moss line, Maleficit stood already, red eyes low in the dark, coat black against black trees. He had covered the slope faster than a man should. "You came to my door," Eden said. "Tell me what you actually want. Not the wolf. Me. Say it plain or leave." He smiled without showing teeth. "You already know." "Say it." "I want you to come home," Maleficit said. "To the keep. The stone one past the ridge. It was built for the woman who held this ground before your grandmothers. That seat is empty. I mean for you to fill it." Eden's hand tightened on the jar. "I'm not her." "You are her line." He tilted his head. "The cottage knows. It has been calling you the whole time." She heard it land in her chest as true. He could not lie to her, and he had not. That was the leverage. That was the shape of the trap. "Then you'll wait," Eden said. "I'll come to the keep on my own feet, or I won't come at all. Not tonight. Not while he bleeds on my floor." Maleficit considered her. Then he stepped back into the trees. Eden closed the door. Her hands were shaking. Behind her, Kane was already on his feet. "You just promised him you'd go," he said.