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“But the queen...” I hesitated.
“Before I talk to her, I need to make sure I’m right,” he said, his tone becoming even grimmer. “Follow me. We have to do this now.”
He released my arms and opened the door that was behind him. I was speechless as I followed him into a dark hallway.
“Why are we...”
He shushed me. “Be silent!”
He was walking quickly. I did not know where we were in the castle, but we were on a lower floor. He led me away from the great hall toward his room, but we were taking a strange route as though he did not want to be seen.
It was odd for him to choose this night to do this. Others would realize we were not at the feast. Even if they did not care about me, they would ask where Master Leo was. And yet, he was here, leading me in the dark hallways.
I did not know if it was wise for him to ask me about my vision when the queen said I was not supposed to talk to anyone about it. But I trusted Master Leo. If he thought the vision was important, I was ready to share every detail with him despite the queen’s orders. She would understand. Master Leo was not a stranger; he was one of her most trusted advisors.
We reached his room after a long and quick walk. I was out of breath, but Master Leo did not pause even after we climbed the stairs and arrived at the hallway where Aislinn and I had argued.
He turned a corner and went straight for the door to his room while I took a moment to catch my breath.
“Hurry, boy," he mumbled.
I started walking toward him. He looked over his shoulder to spot me and waited by the door to let me in as I increased my pace to turn the corner.
A whooshing noise made me stop and look around. The hallway was dimly lit; I could not see anything. A wet sound that irked me to the core followed.
I turned my gaze to Master Leo.
He was still looking at me over his shoulder as his hand became limp on the door handle. His expression twisted with surprise. He turned his gaze away from me to look down and released the door handle.
Urgency rose in me even though I had not fully understood what was happening.
Master Leo fell. Blood poured out of the left side of his chest.
I looked down and fear took hold in me.
There was an arrow stuck to him.
Instinctually, my gaze followed the direction from which the arrow had to have come from.
There was nothing on the other side of the hallway. No motion, no color... My gaze darting away from the hallway, I took a step toward Master Leo to take a knee beside him and look at his wound closer. But before I could do that, I heard someone exclaim.
I looked up, expecting to see nothing.
Slowly, like a mirage forming within a fog, a shape appeared in the middle of the hallway. I thought I saw a fae. I thought I saw eyes. Then, it stopped. The shape disappeared and the hallway became empty at once.
I couldn’t be sure if it had been an illusion. It had all happened within seconds.
But Master Leo grunted, and I had to look away from the empty hallway.
When I turned back to Master Leo, I wished it had all been a dream.
I got down on my knees beside him. He was laying on his back. His eyes were closed, and there was a painful expression on his wrinkly face.
The blood escaping the wound on his chest was all over the floor. It seeped through my pants and wetted my knee. There was too much of it. Too much blood for that singular arrow... But it was stuck deep in his chest, close to his heart or perhaps right inside it.
“Master!” I put my hands near the wound, trying to contain the blood. It did not work.
Was I supposed to pull the arrow or leave it? I could not remember.
He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but his words got lost in a gurgling of blood. He was still looking at me as his eyes became glassy.
There was no time. I had to get a healer for him.
But everyone was at the great hall.
Master Leo would die before I could get back to him.
Still, I got up, left him bleeding on the ground, and ran.
