The Villain Keeper by Laurie McKay Read Free Book Online

Tito’s anger covered a deeper hurt.
    The king’s first wife, his brothers’ mother, died three years before Caden’s birth. One of her portraits hung in the Grand Hall of the castle—a place of great honor. Her hair and eyes looked golden like the sun, her head was crowned in a fine silver circlet. On each anniversary of her death thecastle was draped in somber dark silks. His brothers and father became sullen and quiet.
    Four years ago on that dark-draped day, Caden had found his seventh-born brother, Jasan, twelve years his senior and gifted in speed, alone in the Grand Hall. His eyes were red and his cheeks wet. His tall, lithe frame, strong and ever sure, shook like he was fragile.
    Caden looked at the portrait. “It’s sad,” he said.
    Jasan’s pain morphed into anger. He grabbed Caden by his shoulders. “You don’t get to look at her like that.”
    Caden winced.
    Jasan glanced down to where his fingers dug into Caden’s shoulders. Immediately, he gentled. “Go away,” he said with a sigh. “You wouldn’t understand.”
    Jasan was right. There was no portrait of Caden’s mother in the Great Hall, no portrait of her anywhere. The only sign she’d ever existed was Caden.
    Caden might not have understood Jasan’s pain, but he was good at knowing what to say to ease it. Despite his brother’s words, Caden glanced up at the portrait and then back to his brother. “You look like her,” he said.
    Back in the present, here in the Ashevillian not-prison, Tito had a similar mix of fury and despair. What Caden didn’t know was why. “You know,” Tito said, “you’re only going to be here a few days, so mind your own business.” With that, he turned on his heel and stomped down the stairs.
    Caden lingered on the second floor. Jane Chan had runaway the same time he and Brynne had been brought here. Now Caden was imprisoned in her old foster home. He reached out and tried the door to her room. It was locked, but the metal knob felt warm like it had been exposed to some nearby magic. He needed to question Tito further about the missing girl. Again, his instincts told him there might be a connection between her and Caden being stranded.

C aden woke to the tink-tink of rain on the roof. He was warm and well rested in Rosa’s not-prison. There was no Brynne across the way, insulting Caden about the shelter he built and its ability to keep out the drops.
    His stomach turned in a twist of guilt. His willful ally and his horse were stuck outside in the cold rain. Truly, he needed to speak to Brynne and make her aware of what he’d learned. He pushed his pink and orange quilt away and sat up.
    Across the taped line, Tito was dressed in gray, shabby clothes and sitting on his bed. His hair was tied back with a band. “You awake?” Tito said.
    â€œI get up at dawn,” Caden said.
    â€œWhy aren’t I surprised?” Tito said.
    Caden, however, was surprised Tito was awake so early.“Why are you awake?”
    Tito put on some worn-looking shoes. Sneakers, he’d called them. “Rosa makes me run in the morning, thinks it helps me release anger or some crap like that.”
    â€œI don’t know what that means,” Caden said.
    Tito snorted and tied his shoe. “Of course you don’t.”
    Caden looked at the shadowed mountain out the window. Brynne was somewhere out there. Certainly, she’d be drenched and difficult already. The sooner he found her, the better. “You run out there?” he said and pointed outside.
    â€œUp to the edge of the property and back down. Fun, fun, fun,” he said, but he didn’t sound like he found it fun.
    Caden decided. “I’ll run the mountain with you.”
    Tito looked up incredulously from his shoe. “She hasn’t made you. You don’t have to.”
    â€œDoes that matter?”
    â€œI guess not,”