‘What is there to explain? I don’t think there is an acceptable excuse for your behaviour all those months ago.’
‘You’re right,’ Noah said. ‘There cannot be an excuse.’
I swallowed hard and was thankful when a barmaid approached our table to ask if we wanted any drinks. I was about to shake my head, when Noah said: ‘A mead for me, and a cider for my friend, I think. She looks a tad parched.’
The barmaid jotted the order down and whisked away.
‘I don’t need your charity,’ I snapped at once.
‘I do apologise. I thought it might look odd if we sat here without drinks.’
I was, however, grateful. I was extremely dehydrated and drank the entire cider in a few gulps before it even hit the table. The sweet liquid was heavenly.
Noah leaned against the table and stared at me. ‘You do look so much like her, you know?’
‘I wish I didn’t.’
‘You know … I heard there’s a Mage in Germany that can alter appearances. Maybe you can talk to them about it-’
‘You did something to me,’ I interrupted, scowling. ‘That night … in your chamber. You used your Power against me.’
‘I know, and I have been very sorry ever since.’
‘You stared into my eyes and told me not to fight back,’ I said, remembering the horrific incident. ‘As soon as you said those words … my body went limp. I couldn’t move.’
‘I know,’ Noah hung his head and clutched his mead tightly.
‘I couldn’t regain the use of my Power for weeks afterwards. Weeks!’ I hissed. ‘Why?’
Noah took a deep breath. ‘My Power of hypnosis becomes very deeply ingrained inside the mind. When I told you not to fight back, it repressed your Power – your one form of defence.’
‘So why didn’t it come back once I was able to move again?’
‘You are a far lower Power level than I,’ he said, his expression apologetic. ‘You’re lucky you got it back at all.’
I pursed my lips. ‘You said you were surprised I still had the use of my Power. Why?’
Noah shifted uncomfortably. ‘I have witnessed - that is to say - I think in some cases it may be permanent. The instruction becomes so embedded within the mind through hypnosis, the host cannot fight it.’
And then it dawned on me. ‘You’ve done it to someone else before, haven’t you?’
Noah sat back in his chair and surveyed me. ‘Unintentionally, yes.’
‘Madeline,’ I said, leaning across the table. ‘You did it to your fiancée.’
A vein throbbed in Noah’s temple. ‘You’re talking about things you don’t understand.’
‘I understand better than you think. You said Madeline grew frail and sick before passing away. But I think you used your Power on her, and she went mad.’
Noah slammed his fist on the table, knocking over the mead. A few people in the Inn glanced over their shoulders nervously.
Composing himself, Noah stooped to pick up the pint and placed it back on the table. ‘No doubt your Healer friend has filled you in on all the dirt. I see that he too vanished at the same time you did, according to the manor staff. What else did he tell you?’
I didn’t respond. No one needed to be under the impression that Jack was an accomplice. ‘I figured it out myself,’ I said. ‘I know I almost went mad without my Power. Do you want to know what I think happened?’
‘Enlighten me,’ he drawled.
‘Madeline went mad after she lost the use of her own Power. I don’t think you meant to take it from her … I think it was an accident. For some reason, I believe that you loved her. Your healer, Jack Greenwood Senior, couldn’t make her well again, because she wasn’t sick. He can’t cure mental illness, or bring Power back.'
‘How did you get it back?’ Noah asked, fingering a scratch on the tabletop.
‘I needed it to save someone,’ I said honestly. ‘But Madeline lost hope. I think … in the end … she killed herself.’
Noah was staring at me, his jaw clenched tight and his fists curled; but I couldn’t stop there.
‘You felt so guilty,’ I said quickly. ‘But you put the blame on someone else – Jack Greenwood Senior. He fled, knowing that you would have him hanged because he hadn't been able to save Madeline. And that is why you travel, why you leave Frost Arch for months at a time. You’re looking for Jack Greenwood Senior because he is the only one who knows the whole story.’
‘And you,’ said Noah.
‘What?’
‘You and Jack Greenwood Senior are the only ones who know the truth. Strange, isn’t it? One might even think you’d met Greenwood Senior.’
‘Don’t be stupid. He’s dead,’ I lied.
‘And how do you know that?’
My hesitation said more than words ever could.
Noah smirked, his eyes travelling down my neck, until his gaze fell upon my locket. Instantly, his expression turned sour.
‘Where did you get that?’ he demanded, pointing a thick finger at my necklace.
I covered the locket with the palm of my hand. ‘Jack gave it to me,’ I said. ‘What’s it to you?’