I shot a sidelong glance at Bellamy, who twisted her hands together.
“Fine.” Driscoll huffed as Leoni pulled him away, then looked back over his shoulder and mouthed,“Tell me everything.”
They disappeared out of sight, and Bellamy turned to me, rubbing her arm up and down, uncharacteristically shy.“We have a lot to talk about,”she signed.
I thought of my journey over the last week and a half. “We do, and that’s part of what I want to show you.”
Chapter Fifty
BELLAMY
Kairoth led me away from the east wing and toward the garden. I walked next to him, the entire time my mind spinning over that kiss. As soon as his lips touched mine, the memories of our first kiss flooded back to me. I’d been so sick I hadn’t remembered it, but now, now I wasn’t sure there was anything that could make me forget either kiss. He kissed me like I was the air he needed to breathe.
Spirits below, those lips. The way they’d prodded mine open with hunger and want and need. I wanted him too. That wasn’t even the scary part. The scary part was that wanting him felt right. Everything about us felt right so far. He knew what it was like to be an outcast, to be different, to not feel loved.
When Kairoth and I talked, I felt seen in a way I never had before. I touched my lips again, this time a slight smile on them.
“Here we are,” Kairoth said.
I stopped in front of the garden. The sky had turned a deep purple by now, the moon and stars fully visible and glowing bright.
I walked up to the black iron gate and opened it, stepping inside the garden and blinking a few times to make sure I was seeing things right.
Nettle weed spread across the ground, full and abundant with its dark pink flowers blooming, triple the amount that had been there before. More than enough to finish my sweaters.
“Is this where you’ve been all this time?”I turned to Kairoth.“Finding nettle weed to plant in your garden?”
He shook his head. “No. This was the last stop on my journey. Now you have as much as you need to finish the sweaters, to free your brothers.”
I stared at the nettle weed in awe, walking toward it and reaching for it, itching to get started again.
He grabbed my arm, and I whirled.
“There are rules,” he said.
I shook free of his grasp.“You and your rules.”
“You will consult with Leoni and Driscoll about this flower. I actually had a similar idea using some herbs and plants that are common here, but the hastasias flower will work. You’ll use it after every time you touch the nettle weed, and if you run out, you’ll wait until you have more of the salve. I’ll make sure Goji, Driscoll, and Leoni have all the hastasias they need to get started on making a salve for you.”
My throat grew thick. Everyone was coming together to help me. This didn’t benefit any of them, yet they weren’t hesitating to help.
I thought about the bargain I’d just made with that prisoner. She’d told me where to get nettle weed, and now I didn’t even need it. It was fine. I’d cut some weeds and allowed a little light into her cell. It wasn’t as if I’d set her free.
“Are you alright?” This time, when Kairoth lay a hand on my arm, his touch was gentle, unsure.
I jolted from my thoughts.“Thank you,” I signed.“I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”
He slid his hand down my arm and threaded his fingers with mine. “That’s not all. Come on.”
He led me through the garden to the other side with another gate, already partially open. His shadows stretched out and pushed the gate farther open, but the tall grass and weeds prevented it from budging any further. We squeezed through, Kairoth still holding my hand as he led me toward the jungle that spread around his castle.
I wanted to ask him where we were going, but he didn’t look back, just kept moving forward. Moonlight bathed the trees in a silvery glow, a warm breeze rustling the leaves.
We walked between the trees and into the jungle, plunging into darkness. “Just a little farther,” he whispered in my ear, breath warm, his hand so firm and steady.
We went slowly, stepping over raised roots, feeling our way around trees, until we came to a clearing. Palm trees and other plant life surrounded a large pond, the moon glinting off its calm surface. My breath hitched.
Sitting in the water were seven swans.
