With frustration mounting, I decided to head back to the north entrance and get some fresh air out in the gardens. I hadn’t been outside since leaving Leo and Nightshade, spending all of my time combing the palace or eating meals with my aunt and cousin in the infirmary or one of our rooms. I figured the night sky and open grounds would do wonders for my anxiety.
As I wound my way through the halls to the north entrance, something snagged the back of my mind. Something that felt familiar, like I’d followed this exact path before.
I circled back, my senses on high alert. I’d examined all these halls in the last few days, but maybe I’d missed something.
My feet stopped at a particularly quiet archway, my body somehow sure in its resolve even when my mind told me I’d already ruled this one out. There were a handful of guards positioned as they were last time, the same tension and intensity making my heart pound and my stomach flutter.
Moving out of sight, I shoved an amaranth stem and a heaping pinch of hellebore root in my mouth before casting the invisibility spell, strengthening it with several drops of bergamot—an oil that doubled the power of a charm. I wasn’t taking any chances of being discovered again.
Anticipation grew as I glided silently down the hall, the guards not so much as blinking in my direction. But when I approached the end, my exhilaration was cut short.
A solid wall stared back at me.
No heavy wooden door leading to the cold, dark passageway.Not even the outline of an entrance or a tapestry to hide its whereabouts. It was completely gone, as if it had never been there. The only thing gracing the wall were two sconces on either end and a decorative painting of a fountain.
I reached out a hand to the stone and moved the portrait to see if something was behind it, feeling along the hard plane for a break in the wall, a hidden button,anything.
Disappointment rose. How was this possible? Iknewthis was the right hall. It had to be. How could an entire wing of the palace have disappeared?
I held in a groan, leaning against the wall as I contemplated my next course of action.
Suddenly, I smelled smoke.
Looking up, a fluttering piece of torn parchment appeared in the air, its edges burning with soft orange and yellow embers. I blinked several times as it landed on the ground before me. The guards lining the hall didn’t seem to notice; they stayed still, eyes straight ahead, hands either fixed on their weapons or hanging at their sides.
I swallowed and knelt to the floor. When I saw my name at the top of the paper in unfamiliar cursive, I held my breath. A message about the second trial, perhaps?
Rose Wolff,
Such a clever, curious young Alchemist. I’m unsurprised it did not take long for you to wander back to these halls. Your father was the same. If my threats cannot keep you away, then perhaps the truth will. Meet me in the west tower at ten o’clock tonight.
-T.G
T.G.
Theodore Gayl.
“You’re out of your mind if you think you’re going to that tower,” a low voice said in my ear. Before I could cry out, a handpressed into my mouth, pulling me flush against a hard body. The familiar scent of sandalwood and vanilla surrounded me.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Leo murmured while I struggled to rein in my thrashing heart. “If I let you go, will you be quiet?”
I nodded, but right as he removed his hand, I bit down hard on his finger. Whirling around, I mimicked his actions and shoved my hand against his lips to stifle his grunt, pulling out my dagger and holding the tip to his neck.
“What do you think you’re doing, Aris?” I hissed. “You’re going to get us caught.”
He turned his head to free his mouth, and my hand fell back to my side, curling into a fist. “And here I thought we were becoming friends.” When I rolled my eyes, he nodded to a nearby guard and added, “Don’t worry, they can’t see us. I noticed your spell fading, so I cast another over both you and me.”
I bristled. “It wasn’tfading. I was…distracted.”
He eyed the blade still at his throat. “If you’re going to stab me, you might want to do it when my spell isn’t what’s keeping you safe.”
“I wasn’t going to stab you,” I grumbled, putting the dagger away. “Just thinking about it.”
Truthfully, I hadn’t meant to react so rashly, but after everything that had happened with the Shifters in the forest and then Callum, I was constantly on high alert.
Not to mention the memory of that tail wrapped around my neck.
For some reason, heat raced to my cheeks. I shoved the thought away and sprinkled blackthorn ash across our hiding space, whispering the spell for silence. “How did you know I was here, anyway? Are you following me?” I asked.
