Page 110 of The Iron Hex

She saw a flash of her crying at her mother’s funeral, barely a year older than her other memory, her father holding a baby.

Then she saw herself explaining the Flow to Evangeline, the memory spell written in her notebook. The cipher understandable to her now that she remembered it was the secret Westcotte cipher.

She saw a flash of that baby becoming a brother, small and sweet, but sickly. The next flash was his funeral, and Eira being held by a younger, still-brown-haired Lord General Kerrigan—Viscount Westcotte.

A flash of her and Evangeline watching witches’ executions in a town somewhere, Eira crying as Evangeline pulled her into an alley so the Iron Retinue didn’t see them.

Eira saw the day she discovered she was a witch, her father’s face proud and sad as he explained that her mother had been a potions witch too, but that he didn’t know how to teach her anything.

She saw them walking into the Potions Patisserie for the first time, her holding Evangeline as a rabbit and speaking to her like she was a normal person.

Eira remembered traveling to Archport and meeting with her Aunt Elaine, a smile on her face as she taught Eira how to make a sleeping potion, and fear on her face as Eira showed her she could summon water to make the potion’s base.

She remembered her aunt telling her to tell no one, not her father, not her best friend.

A panicked look on Evangeline’s face as the Iron Retinue banged on the door of Eira’s house in Cilirien, saying goodbye for six months until Eira’s memories were back.

Tears streamed down Eira’s face at the overwhelming flood of memory. Willow placed a hand on her arm to steady her.

She opened her eyes to see Hugo and Evangeline watching. Willow was saying something to them, but Eira couldn’t hear it.

Her eyes fluttered closed again and she saw her father teaching her the family business and political strategy, telling her she’d need to run the show after he died. Eira remembered crying as she thought about her father dying someday, how she’d be alone.

Eira saw a soldier she recognized in a tavern, Evangeline hidden upstairs. She remembered the panic she felt, hoping desperately the man wouldn’t notice her.

She remembered Lord Wilkinson dancing with her, watching for Hugo’s reaction the whole time while understanding that her father had planned their betrothal. Wishing Hugo would steal her away instead.

Eira saw her and Evangeline growing up together, balls and travel and coronations. The two always by each other’s side, never one without the other as much as they could manage.

A flash of the two riding to Archport only to find out that the boats were being stopped, Evangeline sobbing as she worried she was going to be killed, Eira trying to stay strong but fearing the same.

She saw the first day Hugo was hired, the same dark brown hair on an unscarred and clean-shaven face with fewer grays. She remembered instantly thinking he was beautiful.

Eira remembered Hugo sitting by her bath dozens of times, demure and chaste and doing nothing while she wished he would kiss her.

Eira remembered a fight with Evangeline, telling her that she was worried about the rumors of an uprising that Evangeline had been brushing off.

She remembered the day of the uprising and her father locking her in her room, telling her that it was the only way she would be safe, that he was going to run the empire soon and she’d be alive and okay, no matter what.

Eira remembered that night as Hugo unlocked the door to talk to her...

Her eyes snapped open and she jumped up, pulling the dagger from her belt in one smooth motion, her childhood training coming back to her as she sprinted in Hugo’s direction.

He hadn’t expected it, didn’t see it coming. The force of her tackle knocked him against the wall as she pressed into him, her right arm on his chest and her left arm holding the dagger to his gut.

“How could you not tell me?” she snarled.

Hugo didn’t fight back, sadness in his eyes.

“Eira! What are you doing?!” Evangeline yelled, slowly standing from the settee.

“I never would have done it, you ran before I could explain, I—” Hugo started.

“And I’m supposed to just believe you?” Rage filled her; she couldn’t believe it. He had had all the time in the world to explain to her—all this time to tell her he wouldn’t have done it. Eira didn’t know what to believe.

“Eira! Stop!” Evangeline yelled hoarsely.

“I would have never killed her, Eira,” Hugo said.