We had been in the boxcar for what felt like an eon when the wheels finally squealed and the car shook with the sudden decrease in speed. The cart jarred side to side, protesting the strain on its metal limbs.

I sat up, knocking around in the dark. I could feel Jax next to me, a cloak haphazardly draped over us. My hair scratched at my face, the straw stuck in the greasy locks.

"As soon as the doors are opened, we make a run for it." I could hear Jax moving across the car. "For now, stay silent."

I followed Jax's voice. The metal cages guided me down the car until my face met Jax's back. He stumbled, a dull thud and curse mixing in with the animal's protests. They weren't the only ones anxious to breathe fresh air.

I started to apologize, but Jax's hand found my mouth as the door slid open, the light shining inches from our faces. I held my breath as the shadow of a man disappeared.

"Follow me," Jax ordered, moving to the doorframe to listen for movement.

Sticking my head out, I found we were on the outskirts of a large city surrounded by farms with thousands of acres of crops. The lights burning along the hills in the dark. The warm grass and wooded breeze were heavenly and I sighed into it. The air flowed down to my lungs, cleaning them of the stale, dirty air I had been breathing.

"We should be close." I turned to Jax who was listening to me while enjoying the fresh air. "A few hours of walking and we should be at her estate. I have never been though, so we might need help."

"I did bring a map, Maurea," Jax teases, pulling the paper out of his sachet. It was wrinkled, but the ink looked intact for the most part. "For now, let's get out of here unnoticed."

He slipped out of the car, boots connecting with the ground with a thump. He looked around and motioned for me to follow.

I copied his actions, skidding my legs over and jumping, the folds of my cloak folding around me as I connected with the ground, knees bending to support my weight.

"If I wasn't a Spirits, that would have hurt," I regarded my intact legs with care.

I looked up to find Jax shaking his head at me. "What's the estate called?"

I joined him walking away from the train, the workers still resting along the tracks. We must have traveled all night because the moon was just setting in the distance.

"Look for Bartne. He resided north of Madrid," I paused, looking at the tall buildings and expensive city to my left," if this is Madrid."

I had been to the capital when I was younger, but I barely remembered it. The sweet vanilla pastry I had eaten as we waited for my father to finish a meeting was one of the good memories I had with my mother, but I was too young to remember the city, at least the poorer areas.

"It is and, if I'm reading this right, Lord Bartne has a large expansion of land three miles north." Jax used the rolled-up paper to gesture to the distance. "If we follow that road, it should take us there?"

"I'll follow your lead." We picked up our pace, the beating of my heart growing with each moment.

The train station faded behind us, the darkness clouding the figure illuminated by nothing but flame and moonlight.

Jax seemed to sense my nerves and didn't say anything, instead of matching my pace quietly. Each step brought me closer to Isabella and the answers I desperately needed.

At the same time, I couldn't help but study Jax out of the corner of my eye. If my family saw him, they might harm him and I couldn't let that happen. I was more likely to encounter my father when I entered his domain and I didn't know what would happen. I was already emotionally invested with Jax and Intutum. I couldn't afford to lose him.

My father's words came back to me as I stared at the pale figure across from me.

"Maurea de'Laure, you are my daughter and you must act like it." The sharp clink of glass on wood interrupted his words. "You are no longer allowed to play with Grace. If I see you interact with someone from a lower status, their family will be removed from the house and they will be imprisoned. You can't dirty our family name with people below us."

From my spot in the middle of the room, I could hear Grace and her mother being led through the hallways and outside. My father had found me playing with Grace and letting her try on my jewels. At the time I didn't understand why my father had been so angry, but I learned he was protective of his image after that horrible mistake.

I wasn't allowed to play with anyone other than the children's father presented to me, but I thought Grace was kind and always treated me like a sister, not a Lord's daughter. Noble children were all stuck up and proud, not someone I wanted to befriend. I kept the tears in as I listened to Grace's sobs and Father's lecture. Isabella would always comfort me when our Father would get angry but she had been locked outside the room. That didn't stop her later as she held me close.

"Maurea, you need to listen to father. He will follow through on his threats," Isabella said once Father had let me leave. She led me to our bedroom and shut the door behind us.

We were curled up on my bed, Isabella holding me in her arms as I continued to cry. Her lacy dress was splattered in tears as I tried to calm down. Her fingers ran through my hair, soothing me.

"But- but it's not," I hiccuped as I tried to talk through the panic. "It's not fair."

I broke down as Isabella pulled a blanket over us and lay down facing me. She cupped my face and turned my head to look at her.

"Maurea," she cooed. "Do you remember Philip?"

I thought about Philip. He had been a stable hand who lived with his father near the woods. Isabella was the one who loved horses and riding when she was younger, so she was familiar with them. I had only met him the few times I had been riding with her.

"Yes, I think he worked in the stables," I muttered into her dress. "He was the one who always wore the blue cap."

Isabella nodded, "Yes. Remember how I would spend every day there in the summers after I studied?"

I nodded my head. The tears had stopped, but my chest was still tight from the sobs that had racked my body.

"Well, when you were traveling with mother to grandmother's for the ball, I went for a ride with Philip. He had finished his work and I invited him. We traveled around the field a few times and came straight home." She rubbed her thumb across my cheek, banishing the tears that remained. "The next day he was gone."

I tried to ask Isabella where he had gone, but tears were streaming down her cheeks now.

"I asked father, but he wouldn't reply. You must be careful with your heart. Don't lend it often and never lose the people who have it. I will not be here long and cannot watch out for you. Father has started arranging suitors for me and I fear I have a limited time with you."

I started crying again. Father and mother had been seeing more and more young men over the last year and with Isabella's eighteenth birthday coming, they had been increasingly common.

"Isabella, you can't leave me with them. I can't do this on my own. I'll keep making mistakes and angering them," I sobbed again. Isabella was the only one in the house who made me feel safe and, if she left, I wouldn't know what to do.

Isabella hugged me close and I cried. She hummed as I clung to her. My fingers dug into her long blond hair, but she didn't complain.

"Maurea, you can trust me. If you need me, I will always be there for you. I love you and I will always protect you. Do you understand? Just promise me, if you find something you love, hide it away from this family."

I nodded my head against her chest. The lilac cloth was dotted with plum droplets where my eyes had been. Our tears continued long into the night and I found myself tearing as I walked years later.

The tears dripped down my face and splattered on the forest floor. I resisted the urge to take death breaths, trying to hide my emotions from Jax. He didn't need to see me in such a vulnerable position again.

"Maurea, we're almost there." Jax's voice echoed across the small space. I dried my tears with the impression Jax had seen them but chose to ignore them.

"Thanks." The cracking of my voice is still evident at the end. "I'm sorry for anything that might happen."

"It was my choice to come," he smiled, "I don't blame you for any of this."

I nodded as we continued around the bend as the sun rose. I could feel the tension increase as we entered the first of many fields. We were on the estate now, but we still had a long way to go.

"Tell me about your sister," Jax prompted as the lights from the houses disappeared behind us. "You seem," he sighed, "close."

"We were," I smiled. "Isabella was like the ocean. She could be soft and caring, but the few times I saw her angry, she stormed like a goddess. Her eyes would light up when she rode. Her eyes were the prettiest, dark brown." I laughed, remembering how Isabella used to complain that her eyes blended into the chestnut curls on her scalp. "She looked like me. Slightly older and more mature, but similar to me."

"Then I'm sure I'll recognize her instantly. If she is half as memorable as you, she'll stand out like a beacon."

I looked away as he grinned, feeling my cheeks heat up. He looked proud of himself, eyes lighting up as his eyes brow shifted closer to his hairline.

He seemed to notice my reaction and remained silent. I was used to his words, but there was something about him giving compliments in the open rather than Intutum. In Intutum, no one cared for formalities while I expected eyes to follow us now.

"She might misunderstand if you tease me while in her presence," I warned. "She was raised very conservatively by our Father. He was more like a stern teacher than a parent, so she could either have a pleasant reaction or a less than desirable fit."

"Which do you think is more likely?"

"If I was, to be honest, I would expect her to accept you as family immediately," I wrung my hands as I thought, "but I would rather not risk it."

"Then I won't tease you, but I will be honest," Jax smirked and clapped his hands together.

I suddenly worried that I would have a harder time convincing Isabella that Jax was a good man. If she liked the blatant flirt, she would love the Spirits.

"Please don't impede our mission," I begged.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Jax looked down on me and I could see his sincerity. "I look forward to meeting her and I hope she will like me."

I shook my head. "If I learned to like you, she will as well."

"Then let's hurry, it's almost dawn."

He didn't have to tell me. I could see the sky growing brighter which meant the road would become crowded with passersby. I didn't want any more attention than needed, not with my father searching for me at such a critical point in my journey.