“My feather,” she snapped.
Right.
She looked down at the guard. A puddle of blood was spreading around him. She didn’t have much time. There usually weren’t other guards on this floor, especially during the parties, when they were needed up above. She only hoped none of them would come down and check in the next few minutes.
She tore down the hall, the path seared into her skull after weeks in this castle. When she finally reached the main floor, she slowed. She inched the door open.
The hall was clear. Everyone was in the galaxy room. She could hear the faint sound of music and laughter. It seemed tonight, the party had started early.
Her heart hammered as she strode in the opposite direction, toward where she had seen the heads of planets congregate. She hoped their rooms were nearby...and that Grim’s was too.
As she turned a corner, the castle seemed to change. Each wing looked different, as if it was made up of several different palaces that had been cut up and crudely combined. Just like Cronan’s galaxy he had pieced together. Just like his crown. Taking the best of each planet to shape his own universe to his liking, with no regard for what he left broken.
She didn’t know how much time she had. She couldn’t be sure how long it had taken to break out of the cell after dinner. The party could be just beginning or be close to ending. A knight could stumble upon her, or the body in the dungeon. Her heart thundered as she opened door after door, searching, until finally—she found his room.
There was nothing special about it, really. Only an unrumpled bed, with the pillows beneath the sheets. A chair, slid out from its deskat an angle. But she instantly knew it was his. She just did. Because she knew him. She knew the marks he left upon a space. The way he liked his things laid out.
She slipped through the door, whispering it shut—
And froze as she heard running water.
He was here. He wasbathing. She should leave...but when else would she have this opportunity? Especially after the knight’s body was discovered?
Nerves swirling through her stomach, she lurched forward, eyes roaming the room. She rummaged through his things as quickly as possible. She checked every drawer. Looked in every closet. Nothing.
The water turned off.
She couldn’t go back without the feather, but she also couldn’t be discovered here. Footsteps sounded. She had no other choice. Frustrated and hopeless, she strode toward the door. She pulled it open.
The handle was ripped out of her grasp as it was forced closed. Her lips parted in a gasp.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Slowly, heart thundering in her chest, she turned. Grim stood there, bare-chested with a towel tied low on his hips.
It was so easy to imagine that this was just a normal day together. That this moment would lead to them upturning that neatly kept bed.
But everything had changed. That was made clear by the fact that the shadows that had once caressed her skin now shackled her to the door. They pinned her hands above her head.
“I asked...what are you doing here?” he repeated. He stalked toward her until he was right above her. A droplet of water from his hair landed against her cheek and slid down her throat. He tracked its movement before his eyes snapped back to hers.
“Maybe you’ll answer Cronan,” he said, reaching for the doorknob.
“No, wait!” she said, the words spilling out of her.
He watched her expectantly.
“Just take me back to the cell. I promise—I promise I won’t leave again.”
That wasn’t good enough. His eyes narrowed. The shadows on her wrists tightened to the point of pain. “Why. Are. You. Here?” he demanded.
She couldn’t tell him. He might destroy the feather—or worse, give it to Cronan. And then she would lose all bargaining power with Lark. Oro needed the starstick. She had put him in this mess, and she would do everything in her power to help him.
Her lips remained closed, and he leaned down, so their eyes were level. His cheeks were flushed from hot water. His dark hair was already starting to curl around his ears. “No?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Very well then.” In a flash, the towel was replaced by black clothes and armor. He pushed her through the door, making them both matterless for a moment.
