I glance at the door behind her, thinking of the guards who were nice enough to leave me a bottle of wine. “Are they…dead?” I whisper.
She stalls, then lifts her veil, revealing flushed features, which I see for the first time without makeup. She looks almost… human when compared to the porcelain-skinned goddess she’s presented herself as every single time before.
“Of course not. It’s for the balcony,” she says, pointing at an iron door, which I couldn’t open before.
“Oh. Okay. I… don’t get it.” I spread my arms. This is the tallest tower in the entire castle. I barely have enough upper body strength to do three pull-ups, let alone climb down a slippery rock wall during a storm.
She huffs and shakes her head, passing across the room. “The guards won’t know you’re gone, because youwillbe back. If we don’t want an actual war with the Goldweeds, you have to be here in the morning but I’m giving you a chance to speak to Prince Kyran.”
I still don’t know how that’s supposed to work, but then she opens the door into a wall of gray rain. As I’m about to step back, worried she intends to push me into the void below after all, a dark shape appears out of nowhere. I cross my hands over my lips to keep in a scream, but then two wings send water my way, and Tristan floats in the air just beyond the balcony with his hair hanging in wet streaks.
He waves at me, and I step toward him without a thought. He’s the one who’s saved my prince twice already, and if there’s one other person I can trust in this den of snakes, it's him.
A whirl of icy rain hits me the moment I’m out of the room, but there’s no time to hesitate, and I grab his hand, ready for anything.
I understand it all without words. Shadowcraft can’t be used in the tower, but he’s notinthe tower.
Vertigo makes nausea rise in my throat when I take the leap of faith over the void under us and into Tristan’s strong arms. I wrap my arms around his neck for good measure, but he’s holding me so firmly, I feel safe despite hanging in the air, hundreds of feet above ground. Harsh wind covers my face with my own wet hair, saving me from the terrifying view.
Tristan’s shadow wings are a solid black, and leathery, like those of a bat. Or a demon.
What matters is that he’s here to take me to Kyran, which means he’s alive and safe enough to have planned this. I scream into Tristan’s shoulder when lightning cuts across the dark sky, contrasting with the moon that’s now low in the sky and reached the shade of old blood.
But my savior fears nothing, and as I close my eyes, desperate not to look down. He carries me away from my prison with the ease of a seagull snatching someone’s French fries.
My sense of balance spins, as if the laws of physics no longer matter in a storm such as this, but moments later, I dare to peek over my shoulder, and my stomach curls against my spine when I spot a large greenhouse perched at the very top of the palace.
It’s hard for me to tell with the world twisting around me and rain smacking me in the face, but I’m pretty sure I’m being taken to the Ancestral Sanctuary Kyran pointed out to me on the way to the village. Which makes a lot of sense, as it’s also high up, making it easier for Tristan to get there from my tower.
The glow of small, red lamps reveals the shapes of huge plants inside, but I don’t get much chance to see them all in detail, because moments later, my feet meet a puddle, and Tristan steps away with a grin. “There.”
I don’t get to take a full breath of damp air before the glass door leading into the greenhouse swings open, revealing Kyran. He pulls apart a huge plush blanket, and I step right into his arms, out of the rain.
The misgivings he put in my head at the end of the ball no longer matter as I cling to him, seeking the comfort of his warmth, and of his soothing scent, which I can no longer live without. Tristan must have closed the glass door behind me,because I can't feel the wind on the back of my head any longer. I don't think about him anymore when Kyran’s mouth opens mine. His tongue is pure bliss, and as I whimper, falling deeper into him, I lose my breath, trying to keep up with my lover.
We should talk about everything that’s happened, about the wedding, our future, but I have to get my fill of him first. His tongue is so familiar by now, and yet it never fails to make my heart beat faster. A greedy part of me likes that I’m the only one who’s ever tasted his soft lips.
My breath evens out in his presence. My body knows he can protect me from anything coming our way. But as my hands climb his shoulders and meet the collar made of silver and leather, I’m plucked out of our happy place and thrown into the dark reality.
I lean back, staring at the thick band with rows of symbols etched into it, but Kyran cups my face when he meets my gaze. “Are you all right?”
“Me? I… I’m fine,” I dismiss it. “Tristan helped with my hand, and my prison even has wine, so can’t say I’m complaining,” I joke because I want to see him smile. Especially when he’s in such a terrible position. He’s a powerful man even without access to shadowcraft, but it must hurt him to have his skill taken away. “Are you allowed to be here?”
He exhales and steps back, grabbing a black robe with a long train and wide, lushly embroidered sleeves. “Change into this. I… don’t want you to catch a cold because of me on top of everything else,” he says, holding the garment open.
I have to turn around so he can open the buttons at the back of my wedding shirt, and I can’t help the sadness filling my chest. He was supposed to be doing this on our wedding night. We were supposed to be happy.
“Thank you for bringing it,” I whisper when I put my boots and breeches on a bench. I inconspicuously take the ring I made for him out of my pocket and slide it on my thumb, because my dreams of marrying him are still fresh and I can’t risk losing it.
I don’t know how much time we have and don't want to talk about what should have beens.
I still remember the sting I felt when Kyran told everyone he never planned to let me go, and while at this point I intend to stay at his side, it hurts to know this man I’ve fallen for so fast might not see me as his equal. Pretty words mean nothing in the face of his power, both political and tangible, but it’s so difficult to think straight when he closes the robe around me and hugs me from behind.
“I was so worried. I’d rather die than let anything happen to you,” Kyran whispers, nuzzling my ear with a fondness no lover has ever showed me.
“It’s all fucking Anatole’s fault. He asked me for a dance just to bait you.”
I take the chance to take in our surroundings, and for a moment, the Sanctuary takes my breath away. The greenhouse is massive, with a glass ceiling high above us and a whole mixture of dark plants. So many of them are black, but a dark blue or burgundy peeks out here and there, with midnight blue roses featuring in a large number. Among all the lush greenery are paths leading past plinths adorned with carvings of fantastical creatures and seashells. They’re topped with crystal domes under which skulls glisten in the glow of the red lights dotting the airy interior.
