The idea of selling the castle turned my stomach. Briarwood was the only thing in my life that connected me to my mother and our history. And now that I knew just how important that history was to the entire world, I couldn’t just abandon the castle to some rich eccentric or luxury hotel chain.
What about the guys? What would they do without Briarwood? Especially Corbin, who stood beside me with an expression on his face that was nothing but concern that I might give up on MIT, all the while we were discussing the dissolution of everything he’d worked for his entire life.
Not to mention, anyone who purchased the castle would also acquire a gateway to the realm of the fae. I wouldn’t pass on that burden to an unwary buyer.
I laughed, but there was no mirth in it. “I don’t know anymore. I’ve been waiting for college since the eighth grade. Thinking about being there was the only thing that got me through four years at Coopersville High. I know that there will be jocks and bimbos and stupid people at college, too. But I feel like all the kids like me – the science freaks at every school – are going to converge there and thrive.” I cleared my throat. “I was so alone.”
“You’re not alone here.” Corbin wrapped his arms around me, kissing my neck.
“No, I’m not,” I smiled. “I’m lucky. You guys are more than I could ever imagine. Not that I’ve ever had much of an imagination. But we don’t ever talk about what’s going tohappen after we stop the fae. Are we just supposed to live here for the rest of our lives?”
To me, Briarwood was freedom. But it occurred to me that for the rest of the guys, especially Corbin, it was a kind of prison. Corbin was bound to this castle by his sense of duty. He’d never get the chance at a real life as long as the fae were still a threat.
Would that be me, too? Was that the destiny of the Briarwood High Priestess?
Well, this is depressing.
There was another knock on the door. Corbin and I froze. A moment later, the handle turned and Rowan’s face peeked in, his dreads swinging.
“Supper in the Great Hall,” he whispered, his eyes on the floor. He disappeared again before I could even say thank you.
“Did something happen with you and Rowan on this trip?” I asked.
Corbin shook his head, but he dropped his grip on me.Great, so I guess we’re not talking about that, either.
Guys were so frustrating. If this were Kelly, she would’ve spilt her guts to me the moment she stepped back through the courtyard?—
On, no,Kelly.
I still hadn’t called her back. I glanced at my watch. Eight pm. It would be noon in Arizona. She’d still be at church.I’ll call after supper.
Down in the Great Hall, Rowan had set out a plate of weird-looking bread rolls covered in pink icing, as well as a pot of bubbling hot chocolate and several pots of tea. I noticed he’d set aside a pot of raspberry and vanilla herbal tea for me.
Supper, I learned, didn’t mean dinner but was a late snack before bed, something that Blake very definitely approved of, judging by the enormous pile of rolls on his plate.
“What is this?” I asked, picking up the roll and sniffing it. It sure smelled good, but why ice a bread roll?
“It’s a Sally Lunn bun, luv,” Flynn explained as he bit into one. “Iff a deliffifoooommeeee.”
“It is at that.” Blake elbowed in between us and stole three off the plate. Flynn jabbed him in the arm. Blake lobbed a bun at Flynn’s face, but Flynn caught it midair and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Hey, that was mine!”
“What are you going to do, cut my hand off?” Flynn shot back.
“Wow, too soon, Flynn.” Jane shuddered at the memory of the severed hand. My stomach churned. I was glad that Arthur had already dug a hole under the garden wall to dispose of it.
Severed hands and talking paintings and sex in a priest hole, just another typical day at Briarwood castle.
Arthur sat beside the fire, a cup of tea beside him. On his thigh rested a square stone, almost like a brick, its surface glimmering with clear oil. As I watched, he dragged the edge of his sword across the stone in slow, even strokes at a 30-degree angle, almost as if he were trying to cut slices out of the stone. Each time he drew the blade across, a faint blue light shimmered on the edge.
“What are you doing?” I asked, plopping down across from him and biting into my bun.Omigod. The pink icing hid a delicious moist sweet bun, a bit like a brioche but even lighter and fluffier and with icing and a hundred times better.
“Sharpening my sword,” Arthur answered, not looking up. “It was looking a little blunt after all the action yesterday.”
“Why does it glow like that?” I asked, watching the blue shimmer dance along the edge of the blade.
“I don’t know,” he frowned. “It’s been doing that ever since we came back from the fae realm. Yet another thing around here that’s completely bollocksed up.”
