Leighton started to slowly inch away. “End his curse, and the boundary around this place will be lifted. You will be free.”
“Wait!” Kestrel cried into the unseen barrier, pressing the entire weight of her body against it. “Don’t leave me here!”
To his credit, his expression actually wilted with a hint of remorse, though he did not stay. Leighton’s pace hastened as he continued to back away, abandoning her to the most miserable fate she could even imagine.
“Remember, silence is your greatest weapon in there. I believe in you, Princess Kestrel of Caelora.”
And with that, Leighton spun around and ran, cape billowing behind him.
Kestrel was alone in the world again. Just her and the cursed monster.
Chapter 13
No Way Out
KESTREL
By the time Kestrel turned around, the beast was already bounding into the grand but dilapidated foyer.
There was nothing human about it, let alone kingly. As the creature of her darkest nightmares leapt into the room, its pale skin shone in the moonlight beaming down from the broken windows, making it almost appear translucent. It was a miracle its sickly arms could hold up the massive weight of its rotund belly, and Kestrel was almost certain she could make out the shapes of faces and hooves and bones undigested that were protruding from within the taut skin.
The monster’s jaw hung limply as his tongue lapped at the air. As if he could already taste her.
The creature stared at her, but did not move. After a moment she realized it was more like it was staring straight through her, waiting.
Kestrel wasn’t sure if what Leighton had told her was true, but it was all she had to go off of. Even though her hands were quaking, her cheeks slick with tears, she forced herself not to make a sound. Maybe if she stood as still as possible, the monster would give up and retreat back into the darkness.
But that wasn’t a plan at all, it was wishful thinking.
She needed something concrete.
There’s always the walls,Imaginary Thom said into her thoughts.
Without moving a muscle in her neck, Kestrel’s eyes swiveled to the wall beside her. The stones were large and rough, most of them jutting out in ways that would make for great handholds.
You always told me climbing was dangerous,she said into her mind, grateful to have someone with her—even if he was just a figment of her imagination.
Yeah, well, aren’t I glad you never listened.
Kestrel moved slowly as she reached for the nearby wall. The stones were dusty beneath her fingertips, but fortunately the inside of the fortress was even more destroyed than the outside. It looked as if something had slammed into every surface and wall, the stones cracking and crumbling in dozens of places. It made for even better handholds than she had previously deduced.
The monster panted and sniffed the air, masking what little sounds Kestrel made as she slowly began her ascent.
She gripped one stone, then the next, careful as ever. But that was the thing about climbing. It was an art. A slow and steady dance of the body as she climbed higher. Every foot placement was always delicate, every handhold precise.
When Kestrel was high enough up that she was certain the monster could not reach her even if it jumped, she scanned the room. On the wall opposite her, she noted the shattered windows. It looked like the only exit, aside from the door that she already knew was blocked by some magical, unseeable boundary. It was possible the windows were blocked too, but for the chance at freedom, it would be worth testing that theory.
Only, the monster stood snarling in the center of the room. To creep past it would require a level of stealth—and an abundance of luck—that Kestrel wasn’t confident she possessed. Unless she had a distraction.
Tightening her grasp on the wall with one hand, she reached down her leg to remove one of her leather slippers. Then the other. It was easier to climb barefooted anyway.
Amidst the stress and fear though, her palms were starting to sweat, her grip slipping.
Before she could fall and risk making a clamor, Kestrel flung one of the shoes across the room, as far as she could make it fly. It smacked the wooden chandelier as it soared through the air. The monster’s neck snapped upwards as he listened to the creaking of the wood as the chandelier swayed. A guttural snarl erupted from the creature’s corpulent belly and he flung himself up high—higher than she expected him to be able to lunge.
Kestrel filed that bit of information away just as the slipper landed in a heap of rubble on the other side of the room.
The beast skittered into action, teeth gnashing as he bounded across the room toward the source of the noise. As he tore through the pile of debris there, Kestrel made her way back down to solid ground.
