Page 32 of For the Love of the Quest

Thomasin had never been more afraid. But there was also relief. Edith knew about the ransom, and she was still here, staring at Thomasin with such scrutiny, it felt as though she were trying to see into the depths of her soul.

“Edith, I’m so sorry,” Thomasin said. That seemed the most important point to start out with.

Edith drew her bottom lip between her teeth. Jay brushed past Thomasin and out of the stable. He stopped to put a hand on Edith’s shoulder, then bent his head low to whisper something to her. Edith’s eyes never left Thomasin. Jay cast Thomasin an almost apologetic glance before he left. Finally, Edith spoke. “Tell me the truth. Please.”

“I sent a ransom letter to your father. You thought you hired me; really I just kidnapped you,” Thomasin said with a bitter laugh. “He was meant to meet us at Slaughterbridge, where I was going to sell you back to him for a wagon full of gold.” Thomasin thought about stopping there, but she wanted Edith to hear the full, brutal truth. She wanted Edith to understand just what sort of monster Thomasin was. She didn’t want to hide anymore. “If your fatherdidn’t show up with the money, I was going to cut your ear off and send it to him.”

Edith flinched but was not cowed. “So why do I still have both ears?”

Thomasin dared a step closer to Edith. Her hands itched to reach out to her, but she fisted them at her sides. “I couldn’t do it. You jumped in front of that arrow for me, and you didn’t even have a good reason to do it. You just cared. And I couldn’t stomach the thought of betraying you anymore.”

Edith’s face, usually so readable, was inscrutable now. “And my father? Did he show?”

“I don’t know. I tricked you into waiting belowground while I told Worthing and Jay the new plan, and then we ran away from Slaughterbridge before your father could show.”

“Probably unnecessary. I doubt he was even planning on coming.” Edith swallowed roughly, and not for the first time, Thomasin wanted to punch Edith’s father right in the face. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth then?” Edith asked. “You didn’t want to betray me, and yet you still lied to me. Why?”

With a grimace, Thomasin admitted, “I was scared.” Three small words that Thomasin had never once uttered in her life. To Edith, she said them simply. “I didn’t want to lose you. I was selfish.” Against absolutely all the odds in the world, the corner of Edith’s lip twitched into the smallest smile. Thomasin continued, “I was having—am having—more fun with you than I ever have. I didn’t want it to end, and I certainly didn’t want you to hate me. You’re the first person who has everseenme.” She would bare her soul to Edith if it meant that Edith would keep smiling. If it would help smooth away the betrayal.

“Do you still want to ransom me?” Edith asked in a small voice.

“Never.”

Edith nodded to herself, that smile widening just a hair, but then her face fell. “But you don’t believe in Arthur’s treasure?”

Thomasin laughed in disbelief. “That’s what you’re worried about? I just told you that I basically kidnapped you, and you’re worried I don’t believe in the treasure hunt?”

Edith shrugged, eyes flicking down to where the toe of her boot dug into the gravel. “When you said you would help me find all the clues, I thought that meant you believed in it.”

“I don’t believe in magic or noble quests.” Thomasin inclined her head, catching Edith’s gaze. “But I want to help you all the same. I’ll go anywhere for you. I owe you that much.”

“So it wasn’t all fake? We’re …” Edith trailed off for a moment, her cheeks reddening. After a long moment, she scrunched her nose and said, “We’re friends?”

“Yes.” Thomasin answered without hesitation, hoping that the truth of it was written plainly on her face.

A second could have passed, or maybe a century. Then Edith squared her shoulders and said, “I forgive you for kidnapping me.”

Thomasin’s posture deflated, and what was possibly a life’s worth of adrenaline collapsed inside her. When she spoke, her voice came out winded. “How? How can you forgive me so easily?”

“You didn’t know me when you sent that ransom letter.” Edith shrugged. “At Arthur’s Stone, you did the right thing when it mattered. And I understand why you didn’t tell me. I would have been scared too.”

Thomasin was in awe of her. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It’s easy to forgive someone when you know they didn’t want to hurt you.” Edith smiled softly at her.

Thomasin disagreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly. Forgiveness was never easy, for anyone. Edith was just something elseentirely, and it was laughable how much Thomasin did not deserve her kindness.

“You don’t give yourself nearly enough credit,” Thomasin said. “You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

Edith gave a short laugh, and there was a sudden sadness in the twist of her mouth. “I don’t know about that. I said I forgive you for the kidnapping. But you’ve really lied to me this whole time about believing in the quest?”

There was no argument Thomasin could make. Edith deserved nothing but truth. “I believe in you, and Iwantto go on the quest with you. But I won’t lie and say that I think there’ll be a magic sword at the end of the road.”

A deep sigh fell from Edith’s lips. “I can live with that for now.” Her mouth scrunched up to the side, the way it always did when she was being supremely stubborn. “But I will prove you wrong.”

Thomasin’s face broke into a wide grin, and she slung an arm over Edith’s shoulder, pulling Edith into her side. “I expect nothing less.”

They walked out of the stables and back to Edith’s room together. When Edith reached for the doorknob, Thomasin caught her wrist. “If there’s anything I can do to make all this up to you, earn your forgiveness, you’ll tell me.” She made sure it was an order, not a request.