The years in the capital had honed Freya Valerius into a study in serene composure. The bright, sotis reckless girl of sixteen had blossod into a young woman of refined grace, her movents imbued with the quiet confidence of her harp lessons and the poised elegance of her dancing masters. The sun had brought a faint, healthy luminescence to her pale skin, and her crimson eyes, once wide with either innocent hope or startled fear, now held a cool, observant depth.
Her chambers, in the final days before her departure, were a quiet testant to the life she had built. Gowns of silk and velvet hung ready for packing, and books of poetry and history were stacked neatly on her desk. Beside them sat a small, polished rosewood box. Freya ran her fingers over its smooth lid, a fond smile touching her lips. Inside lay every letter Alia had sent in reply to her own weekly missives, a tangible record of their strange, evolving correspondence.
The first few replies had been sharp, challenging, filled with a biting wit that Freya had learned to interpret not as anger, but as a form of engagent. Over ti, the tone had softened, the barbs becoming less frequent, replaced by dry observations about the estate, inquiries about Freya’s studies, and even, on rare occasions, a shared, esoteric piece of lore from one of her ancient books.
Freya treasured them. They were her connection, her proof that telling the truth, however terrifying, had been the right choice. She felt Alia had finally co to accept her, the mature Freya, as a correspondent worthy of her ti, if not her full affection. She couldn’t wait to go ho, to see her parents, to see the laughter in her mother’s eyes that had beco so much more frequent in those last years.
A soft knock interrupted her reverie. “Freya, my dear? May I co in?”
“Of course, dear Countess,” Freya said, rising as the stately Dowager Countess Albright entered.
The Countess, a woman whose posture was as impeccable as her lineage, surveyed the room with a fond, lancholic air. “Ah, to see you packing. It feels as though you only just arrived. The capital will be lesser for your departure, my dear. I shall miss your company at tea.”
“I shall miss you as well, Countess,” Freya said warmly. “And my friends. Anne and Jane… they have made my life here so happy. You all have.”
“Indeed.” The Countess’s eyes twinkled. “And it is not only your friends who have found your company so agreeable. Young Lord Harrington has been most attentive. I daresay a letter will find its way to your father’s desk before the season is out.”
Freya felt a faint blush touch her cheeks, but she smiled graciously. “Lord Harrington is a kind man and a wonderful friend. I have been fortunate in my companions here.”
“That you have,” the Countess agreed, her expression turning more serious. “Which makes it all the more a pity you must return to… that place. To carry the Valerius na is a heavy burden, Freya. I have always sensed it in you, a shadow beneath the sun.”
Freya’s curiosity, a long-dormant question she had never dared to ask, suddenly surfaced. “Countess,” she began, her voice casual, “you are so well-connected, you know every great family. And, as you are a distant cousin to my mother, I was hoping you might tell … have you ever, in your past, encountered my other relative? Lady Alia Valerius?”
The change in the Dowager Countess was instantaneous and shocking. The worldly composure vanished, her face draining of all color, leaving it a stark, waxy white. Her hand, which had been resting on the back of a chair, gripped the wood until her knuckles were pale. “Alia?” she repeated, her voice a strained, brittle whisper. “I… I have heard the na. Long ago. A powerful family, the Valerius. Very old.”
“But do you know her?” Freya pressed gently, seeing the stark terror in the older woman’s eyes and knowing, with a sudden, chilling certainty, that the answer was yes.
The Countess looked away, her gaze frantic, unfocused. “No. No, I do not know her. Not personally.” The lie was thin as spun glass. She took a shuddering breath, forcing herself to et Freya’s gaze again. “Freya… that na… it belongs to another ti. A ti of shadows and old power, best left undisturbed. I… I cannot speak of it.” She ca forward, her usual poise forgotten, and pulled Freya into a fierce, trembling hug. “Child,” she whispered, her voice urgent against Freya’s hair, “be careful. Be so very careful when you return. That is all I will say.”
That evening, during a farewell dinner hosted at the Countess’s estate, the mood was bittersweet. Laughter mingled with promises to write.
“Oh, Freya, you simply must invite us to visit this grand, gloomy estate of yours!” Anne declared, her hazel eyes sparkling. “It sounds dreadfully romantic!”
“Anne, don’t be morbid,” Jane chided gently, though she smiled at Freya. “But I have heard the forests in that part of the country are… different. Ancient. Not like the managed parks of the capital. I should love to see them.”
“Of course,” Freya said, the promise easy on her lips, though a part of her wondered how the vibrant energy of her friends would fare within the watchful silence of her ho. “When I am settled, I shall invite you all.”
The day of her departure arrived under a sky the color of polished pewter. The Valerius carriage, black and imposing, stood waiting in the drive, its horses stamping impatiently, their breath misting in the cool air. Freya’s trunks were already loaded.
After tearful goodbyes to Anne and Jane, Freya turned to the Dowager Countess Albright. The older woman’s face was composed once more, but the fear still lingered deep within her eyes. She pressed a long, rectangular wooden box into Freya’s hands. It was simple, unadorned, the wood dark and smooth with age.
“A parting gift, my dear,” the Countess said, her voice low and steady. “From one woman who understands the nature of old shadows to another who must learn to navigate them.”
Freya held the box, surprised. “Thank you, Countess. You are too kind.”
The Countess’s grip on her hands tightened for a mont. “Listen to , Freya,” she said, her voice dropping to an intense, almost desperate whisper. “The world is not always as it seems. Sotis, the most beautiful faces hide the most dangerous hearts. Use this, if you ever feel you must. And if you do… make sure you put it in where it beats.”
Freya stared at her, utterly bewildered by the strange, cryptic instruction. “Where it… beats?”
“Just rember,” the Countess said, releasing her. She stepped back, her composure a perfect, impenetrable shield once more. “Farewell, Freya Valerius. May you find your own light in the darkness.”
The carriage ride was smooth, the rhythmic sway a familiar comfort. But Freya’s mind was a turmoil of conflicting emotions. The joy of going ho warred with the unsettling mory of the Countess’s terror and her final, bizarre words. Make sure you put it in where it beats. What could she possibly have ant?
Curiosity overriding all else, Freya placed the wooden box on her lap. It felt cool to the touch. With hesitant fingers, she lifted the lid.
The interior was lined with worn, dark velvet. And nestled within it, lay a dagger.
It was slender and silver, the blade honed to a wickedly sharp edge that seed to drink the grey light filtering through the carriage window. It was an elegant, lethal thing. A serpent with tiny, glittering ruby eyes was intricately carved into the hilt, its body coiling down to form the crossguard. A chill, entirely separate from the cool air of the carriage, traced its way down Freya’s spine.
She stared at the weapon, her mind racing. Why? Why would my guardian, a respectable Dowager Countess, give a dagger as a parting gift? What possible use could I have for such a thing? Use this if you ever feel you must. The words echoed in her mind, now imbued with a chilling, sinister weight. The joy of her hocoming felt suddenly, terribly, fragile.
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