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I wedged my fingertips into the breaks in the bricks and began to pull myself up. That strength I pulled from the air was slipping. It took more time than I ever imagined to get to the ledge.
Swinging my leg upward onto the platform, I looked into the oval-shaped window and realized it looked like a dining area.
The wooden shutters were easy to pull open.
I swung my leg over and plopped down into the room.
Being in this place again had my body on high alert.
There was no guessing her moves or if she knew I’d made it inside. I would expect and prepare for the worst.
A flowery scent caught my nose amid the brimstone.
Josephine was here.
That unfamiliar flood of heat swarmed me from head to toe. I prayed Deidamia couldn’t pick up on emotions because mine were all over the place.
I swallowed down the heavy lump in the back of my throat, opened my hand for my sword, and started toward the grand staircase.
The darkness in the room didn’t bother me.
It was the monster I knew that waited in it that did.
Chapter Fourteen
Josie
The lap of water against my body startled me awake.
I hadn’t been able to sleep before in this pathetic excuse of a wasteland, not that I remembered at least, but I felt as if I’d been asleep.
The sun hadn’t long set. I could tell by the darkening sky and the twilight that settled around me.
Swampy water bogged me down into the mud. It reminded me of back home, where I yearned to be. I missed my family. My life. I’d never take the bayou for granted again.
How much time had passed?
Had they filled my position at the school?
Shifting my weight, I felt my heels sink into the deathtrap that sat beneath me.
The outline of the castle slowly formed when I blinked to readjust my sight. The Dark Woods looked far away, which I wasn’t sad about. The last I remembered was the fight with the talking wolf. I didn’t recall getting here, but I wouldn’t complain, as long as I didn’t run into a Louisiana-sized alligator, ready to swallow me whole.
Something slithered next to my foot, sending me up to my feet. I knew enough about snakes to stay away from them. The mud captured my bare feet, trapping me in the middle of this marshy mess.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled, grabbing my knee and lifting it out of the mud to take a step.
Irritation flooded me.
Maybe the Dark Woods weren’t so bad after all.
At least I could make my way through the brush. This was going to take me all night and exhaust what little energy I had left.
Sighing, I pushed my ebony-colored hair out of my face and glanced around.
A slight movement caught my attention on the castle. A figure swiftly scaled the wall. The speed was impressive and gave me chills at the same time.
When the man opened the wooden shutters and crawled inside, my heart leapt into my throat. It looked like a man from a distance, but considering where I was, I couldn’t be for sure.
