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The hallway is dark and empty when I slip out of my bedroom hours later. Around me, the castle is so quiet and still that I can hear my own breath. It’s unsettling. I keep waiting for Legion to jump out at me and do something completely insane like kiss me.
I haven’t stopped thinking about his promise to find me a witch. Or how badly I want him to—and not for any other reason than wanting him—which is stupid. He’s the one who did this to me. Ugh. My desire for a cure is making me desperate.
I can’t trust him, I remind myself. He might have brought us here for protection, but remaining here forever only makes it a prison.
No, the only person I can count on here is myself—and Kendall.
I knock on her door as lightly as I can, hoping Legion’s not actually hovering nearby, watching me like some kind of stalker. Thankfully, Kendall’s door opens before I have to knock again.
“Hey,” she says, hair rumpled. “Can’t sleep?”
“Not a wink. You?”
In answer, she simply pulls the door open and retreats.
I slip inside, clicking the door shut behind me.
Kendall’s room is set up like my own, plush and cozy and stocked with clothes and essentials from the looks of her pajamas.
“Where’d you get the PJs?” I ask, thinking of the robe Legion had looked so scandalized over earlier. Clearly, he hadn’t picked out the items in these rooms. But why bother stocking them at all?
How often did he bring females home?
Ugh.
Why did I care?
“Chaya provided them,” Kendall says, climbing into bed and pulling the covers up around her.
Chaya. Right. The girl who’d greeted us downstairs when we arrived.
“I don’t get it,” I say, perching on the far edge of the mattress. “Is she related to him or something?”
“No. Legion found her living on the streets a few years ago. He brought her here to live with him. I don’t think she has anyone else.”
“Why would he do that?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s a decent person.”
I snort. “Or maybe he’s forcing her to be his slave.”
“You always believe the worst in people.”
“It’s called survival.” I stop myself before I can lecture her on all the reasons I have to worry in a world like ours. Instead, I change the subject. “This place isn’t what I expected.”
“Me neither,” she admits.
“It’s kind of beautiful,” I add reluctantly.
“Chaya says the village down the hill is really fun, especially on the weekends when they do a farmers market. We should go sometime.”
“I doubt we’ll be here long enough for all that.”
Kendall doesn’t answer.
For a long moment, we sit in silence in the dark room. My thoughts drift to Juniper. To the memory of her body being reclaimed by the Earth. The images of the trees being scorched right along with the Crimson Roses Legion rained fire upon. And my chest aches with grief.
“How are you?” I ask quietly.
