He got what he wanted.
Hearing a sharp squeak, I glance through the balcony doors to my knapsack hooked on the corner of my ornate bed frame. After my afternoon got eaten up by Hovard, I never made it down to see Shay ... meaning I’ve still got a mouse in my bag.
Poor thing.
I peer back over the balustrade, watch Rhordyn trail the treeline, and my brows tuck into a frown.
Despite my bubbling well of curiosity, I’ve always stayed up here while he makes his evening rounds—figured the closed door between us extended tothispart of the routine, too.
But today is no regular day.
He screwed up my schedule, threatened me, demanded I attend aball,and took away my evening thrill. If he can’t respect my boundaries, why am I respecting his?
I draw a deep breath, scan the brassy rays stretching across the fluffy forest, and decide it’s theperfecttime to visit my friend Shay. The fact that I’m exploiting the task to garner an up-close view of Rhordyn’s perimeter sweep should be entirely discounted.
I pull on a sweater, repack my bag, and dash out the door, taking the steps of Stony Stem two at a time until I reach the base, exiting into the castle’s fifth floor corridor.
When I enter The Tangle, I take a shortcut that spits me out just behind Rhordyn, and the rich scent of blooming night lilies has me breathing deeply, capturing the spicy perfume that always makes the back of my throat tingle.
I dart across the small stretch of grass, merging with a pool of shadow that fringes Sprouts—the greenhouse. Taking advantage of a manicured garden shrub, I use it as a shield while peeking around the corner of the cold, glassy building I love so much.
Watching.
His shoulders are rigid, barely shifting with each smooth step he assaults the ground with.
There’s nothing strange about his actions. He’s simply walking the same trail he always does, brushing a hand across the odd tree trunk here and there.
Parting from my line of sight, he lures me to leave the safety of my perfect hiding spot. I stick to slabs of shadow as I trail him, silent as a leaf being pushed along by the chilled evening wind.
The stars are beginning to wink, the moon a crescent barely holding much light by the time Rhordyn reaches the path that cuts into the forest—one framed with dense, twisting vines petrified by a long life.
It almost looks like a tunnel, dusted with little white flowers that smell sweet and fresh.
He pauses at the entrance.
Something about the way he’s holding himself has me edging behind the stump of an ancient tree clothed in moss, dropping low and pressing flat against the ground. Cool grass cushions my cheek as I ease forward just enough to glimpse his profile.
It may be the swiftly fading light, but I swear I see him whisper to the flowers right before he disappears into the forest.
I sigh, roll onto my back, and look to the stars prickling the darkening canvas, drumming my fingers on the ground.
The hairs on my right arm lift ...
I let my head fall to the side and scan the inky forest depths.
Shay is harder to see at this time of day, and it’s not like he makes it easy for me by leaping around and waving a hand. But I can sense him—can feel the air around me shift as if it’s cleaving a path for my friend to move through.
I push to a stand and edge toward a bush of night lilies. The white dust on the tips of their inky petals shimmers brighter by the second, their luster brought to life by the fading light.
Courtesy of these flowers, some of my paintings glow in the dark; like the stars and the moon on my bedroom door.
Barely two inches from the black line of rocks I’ve planted to mark my Safety Line, I kneel, foraging through my bag for the jar with holes in the lid. I untwist the top and stuff my hand inside, pinching the mouse’s stringy tail before gently easing him out.
He wrestles the air, squeaks sharpening, and I catch movement in my peripheral—a lanky, wraith-like creature flitting between elongated pockets of gloom, dressed in a smoky sheath that seems to gorge on the light.
My smile grows.
I can feel his eyes on me, akin to a paintbrush dipped in oil that flits across my skin.
