CHAPTER TWENTY
Calista
Jessandra found me sitting on the cobblestones of the courtyard, staring at the goblin carvings when she returned. Dirt and grime covered her from head to toe.
“Did you find it?” I asked.
“No. Did you?”
I wasn’t surprised she already knew of my failed escape. Astaroth probably found her and filled her in on my excursion. “No, but I wasn’t looking for it. What’s the big deal anyway? It’s just a pixie.”
“Just a pixie,” she mumbled under her breath. “You are not privy to our way of life. There are creatures that appear big and scary and some that seem small and endearing. It would be easy to confuse them if you did not know. Surely beings on Earth are similar.”
I nodded. There were all kinds of insects and animals that fit the profile. She definitely fit the profile here. Whiplash should be her nickname. Why was she being so nice to me right now instead of dragging me back to my room by my hair?
I took the inch Jessandra gave me and pushed a little further. “But a pixie?”
She held her dirty hand out to me and ignored my question. “Give it time. You will learn.”
I accepted her offer, and she pulled me up. The muscles in my body protested the quick movement, and I pushed on my lower back to help straighten my spine.
“So, time does exist here.”
She shrugged. “What is time, really?”
This place was as deceiving as those within it, or are they deceiving because they are in this place? It was a paradox. Would I become like them the longer I stayed here? Or was I already like them from all the lying I’d done through my life? It was driving me insane.
I dropped my head back and winced. I rubbed my nape then stretched to rid myself of the soreness.
“Your old body can’t handle it.”
“Old? Look who’s talking! You’re like a bajillion years old and look like you’re thirty.”
Jessandra actually laughed. The smugness she wore well returned to her. “It is an honor to age in Faery.” Her smile drooped, and she changed the subject. “Come, I will accompany you to your quarters.”
“Wait.” I jogged to catch up with her long stride. “Can I ask you a question?”
She didn’t slow down. “You just did.”
“Ugh.” I forgot how direct I had to be if I wanted a straight answer. “No, not that. What happened to you after I left? Did he find you? Were you punished?”
Jessandra peered at me out of the corner of her eye. “Take a breath, human.”
She continued her march out the intricate archway of a loggia overgrown with withering grapevines entangled with the ivy. The view of this courtyard wasn’t much better. I shivered upon seeing a monument of Astaroth in the center of the water fountain, smack dab in the middle of the yard. It felt like he watched me as we made our way into another part of the castle.
It was hard to see last night, but the interior of the castle was far grander than the outside. I wasn’t sure why. If this were medieval times on Earth, I’d say it was to hide wealth and strike fear into the hearts of anyone who dared try to overrun it, but this was the labyrinth. Who in their right mind would try to usurp Astaroth?
Jessandra entered the hall where the stairwell was. I knew this part of the castle from our trip last night. Statues of weird beasts sat on either side of the opening. The same artist who carved the columns must have carved these. I started up the winding staircase behind her, seeing it in the daylight for the first time. I lagged behind after she passed the second level, even farther when we hit the third. A tapestry on the wall caught my attention, and I paused to catch my breath.
“Astaroth,” I grumbled at the life-sized image of him with his hair blowing in an imaginary breeze created by the storm-like portal behind him, exactly like last night. Even in the tapestry, his presence was pronounced and commanding. I didn’t want to look away.
I rubbed my bicep where Jessandra had bruised me when she dragged me back into the dining room and gazed up the stairs after her. How long would she remain nice to me? Why was she being nice to begin with?
Lack of sleep had caught up with me. I trudged the remainder of the stairs to the very top floor where she waited outside my bedroom door.
“If you are to bear Roth’s heirs, you must grow stronger.”
“Heirs?” I hissed. “As in multiple?” When she didn’t answer, I continued, “Uh uh. I didn’t sign up for that.”
