“So find someone else,” I demanded, fighting off the rising panic within me.
“Unfortunately there are only two remaining Walkers, and Lorduin is the only one who resides here.”
I took in a deep inhale and smoothed back my braid. “Okay,” I said, more to myself than them. “This is okay. Jenn might freakout a little bit, but I’ll explain everything. It’ll be fine. Everything is fine.”
I would have killed for a Klonopin, but I at least managed to get my breathing relatively under control. “So when can I go home? Another day or two?” I looked at my father expectantly.
“I am afraid it will take longer than a day.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “How much longer?”
He hesitated, then said, “An entire lunar cycle.”
A lunar cycle? What the hell was a lunar cycle? I sorted through my memory until my brain snagged on a werewolf movie Jenn made me watch years ago.
“I can’t go home for a fucking month?!”
Chapter nine
My legs dangled over the castle parapet, a sense of complete and utter numbness settling into my bones. It was strange because I didn’t think I should feel numb. Normally I would be a drooling puddle of panic in a situation like this. Yet when I glanced over at the long drop that would inevitably result in a painful death, there was simply nothing there. It was as if my body had reached its capacity for emotion, and now I was officially tapped out. It would probably be kind of nice if it wasn’t for the whole trapped in a different realm thing.
Still, I admired the landscape before me, amazed at how far I could see. Situated on the coastline atop a vast hill, the castle nudged right up to the edge of a steep cliff. A grand bay twinkled in the morning light off in the distance, but none of the boats moored there were leaving the docks. Probably hindered by the thick fog that concealed any traces of the sea beyond.
Staring out at the ocean was one of my guilty pleasures back home. I would take the train out to Montauk, to the very tip of Long Island, so I could feel like I was surrounded on all sides bynothing but water. I never liked the beach—the heat, the people, the sand, any of it—but I loved the sea with a passion deeper than its darkest depths. It was open and endless and lacking any of the weight of the city. My mind was always quieter around large bodies of water.
Turning away from the shoreline and the oppressive fog, I surveyed the rest of the castle. Servants rushed around the main courtyard below, the females clad in plain gray dresses and males in matching long-sleeved tunics, their arms full of trays and linens. Courtiers dressed in fine sleeveless tunics and dresses that showed off the tattoos everyone seemed to have lingered around the fountains, engaging in private conversations away from the servants.
Neither sun was anywhere near its peak, so the diamonds only twinkled faintly, though in a few hours I knew they would become hazardous to the eyes.
Beyond the courtyard, the pseudo-rose garden stretched out for at least a couple acres to the right of a cobblestone path. Past that, tiny cottages with thatched roofs were sprinkled throughout the copse of oak trees.
To the left of the road, a grandiose coliseum sank deep into the ground with the entrance just outside the palace. Rows and rows of seats descended into the earth, and the pit at the bottom was littered with boulders and small blast craters.
And surrounding all of it—the palace, the garden, the arena—was a massive outer wall stretching over twenty feet high. The only break in the defensive structure was the imposing front gate where the cobblestone road led away from the castle, twisting and winding until it reached a sparkling walled city that spilled down the side of the hill like a jar of glitter tipped on its side.
There appeared to be even more buildings beyond the far side of the town, but I couldn’t tell for sure. I would have plenty oftime to explore later. I had no intention of sitting around for twenty-eight days trying not to worry about Jenn.
My heart ached as I was reminded of what she must be going through. God, she probably thought I was dead. The thought gutted me. If our roles had been reversed and she was the one who disappeared, I didn't think I could survive it.
Jenn was strong though, and she had friends she could lean on. We paid rent two days ago so she’d be fine until I got back, hopefully with a bag of diamonds in tow. Still, twenty-eight days of not seeing her smile, hearing her laugh…
The scuffing sound of boots behind me broke up my pity party.
“I suppose you’re ready to take me to the dungeons?” I said dramatically, sliding off the wall.
Dey’s eyes widened in horrified shock. “Where would you get such an idea?”
“It was a joke,” I replied dismissively, walking past him toward the stairway. “You know, since I’m being held here against my will. Like a prisoner.”
“I know this is difficult for you, Rain, but you are not a prisoner. And I can assure you that we would never put you in the dungeons.”
“Right. Because I’m a princess.”
Dey followed me down the twisting staircase. “I actually came to bring you to the library. King Verren has asked that I explain a few things while he meets with his advisors. He will join us there shortly to answer all your questions.”
“All?” I asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Well, as many as he has time for. We are honestly not trying to withhold anything from you. I promise.”
