“What do you want?”
“Where are we?”
Hah! Whatever their orders are, talking to us isn’t one of them. I puff up. Moth has always been the strong, silent type, but couldn’t he at least say something? I glance at the row of guards and feel a lump form in my throat. I assumed there were more creatures like him wherever he was from, but seeing this many pairs of wings is still surreal. They march with stern looks on their partially obscured faces, their full armor shining in spotless silver. I shrink closer to Moth, finding a small comfort in his strong arm encircling me as we we’re ledforward.
He could take the guards out with a snap of his claws. Why is he still in human form anyway? Why is he just letting them lead us to our doom? With every step, anxiety takes my heart in its hand andsqueezes.
I wonder if he’s worried that transforming will give them a reason to attack.Ugh.
As far as Sundays go, this is a pretty bad turn of events. I mean, not only could we get murdered, but worse, I have homemade gluten-free cinnamon rolls cooling on the counter. They are going to get stale if they’releft out.
Why did we have to get pulled through a portaltoday?
I know Moth did something terrible to get banished, but damn, it’s clear that his reputation is way worse than I realized. Twelve armed guards in full armor seems like a lot for two people.
We’re led through a flower-filled hallway with high arched columns. Everything is light and floral with high ceilings bleeding into the natural elements outside. The walls are sculpted in what looks like shining white marble. It’s hard to believe that my dark, brooding cryptid came from a place so… pastel.
“I will not let harm come to you.” Moth’s deep rumble is a warm blanket pulled over my ears. I shouldn’t be worried. I know how powerful Moth is. In the mortal realm, with him at full strength, we’d have nothing to worry about. But we’re not in the mortal realm, and I have no idea what could be waiting for us here. I tightly clutch his elegant, clawed fingers to keep from trembling.
Our friendship with Rosie and Clara may have helped him brush up on his people skills, but if there was any time to go “full monster” and knock these guards down like a stack of playing cards, it would probably be now,right?
Oh my god. They’re going to make us prisoners and feed us stale bread and water for the rest of our lives, and I can’t even eat bread! I’ll wither away and be horribly bloated for the rest of our dark and damned days in the castle’sdungeons.
“My flame,” Moth whispers, squeezing my hand. “No harm will come to you.” His complete disregard for himself makes my shoulders puff up. I refuse to step into this afraid, not when there might be some way Ican help.
“So we’re just letting them take us to … whoever is in charge?”
“Yes.”
“And you have a plan?” I whisper from the side of my mouth, hoping the guards don’t have supersonic hearing.
“Yes.”
“And you’re going to tellmesaid plan?”
His red eyes shift to the guards.Right.That makes sense. I’m not the quietest of whisperers. That’s evident from the glances we’re getting from the guards.Ugh.
At least one of us knows what they’re doing. Though, it would have been nice to have a little time to strategize before the enemy captured us. I straighten, shaking off the panic that—let’s be honest—is still gripping my heart. This, unfortunately, isn’t my first time being kidnapped; the whole thing has my skin crawling with memories. This time feels much more dignified than being tied up and pulled from my cabin in the middle of the night, which gives me time to think and look around for any possibleexit plan.
The guards are big, but Moth is bigger. They have numbers, but I’m sure he’s handled himself in worse situations. If negotiations are the solution, I once talked a trendy designer brand into letting me wear an unreleased sample at a red carpet inmy heyday.
Together, we can handleanything.
We’re led to a giant door with intricate carvings at the end of the hallway. I’m prepared for either bloodshed or the verbal battle of a lifetime. Instead, the impossibly large door is pushed open to reveal a woman—pale with dark Old Hollywood curls and deep mauve lips—standing as stiffly as a mannequin in a window display. She’s on what looks like a stage at the end of the room with a series of thrones behind her.
Sunlight streams through a massive skylight, making it look like part throne room, part greenhouse. The scent of flowers tickles the back of my throat, threatening to drive a sneeze from my nose—which would be one way to break the ice.
“It really is you,” the woman gasps. If this realm has a queen, it’s got to be her. Her brow pinches at the center as she regards Moth and me, squinting as if trying to clear her vision. The heartbreak on her face suggests whatever Moth did to be banished was, in fact, very, very bad. I steady myself, ready to come to his defense. Not only does he barely remember this place, but he’s changed.
Though, something tells me we’re not about to be sentenced to death or locked in a dungeon. No, something else is going on here.
“I am ready to pay for whatever crimes I have committed,”Moth says.
He’swhatnow? This had better be a part of the aforementioned plan.
“My only request is that you let the woman beside me goin peace.”
Okay, no. Can we not do the whole hot self-sacrificing hero thing before I’ve had my second cup of coffee? But then Moth squeezes my hand like he did when I asked if he had a plan. He’s buying us time; I just hope whatever he’s planning works.
