“I see you were successful,” the woman said, this time closer. The lower volume revealed a huskiness to her voice. “I can take her so you can rest.”
Just like that, my muscles tensed again.
“I’ll take care of it,” Harthon replied. “There won’t be rest. Call a meeting. I’ll be there soon.”
Then we were moving again. No one yelled to us here, the clinks and thuds of work and daily chores echoing around us instead. Thesmell of dried grass and animal waste soon invaded the air. The stables, most likely. We came to a halt.
Finally, Harthon’s hand slid from my waist, and he disappeared from the saddle. “Lean forward.”
I did as told, assuming his arms were raised to catch me. If they weren’t, I’d faceplant, but some part of me innately trusted him.
For this, anyway.
Sure enough, hands caught my ribs and lowered me to the ground. Then, just as he did in Carmen, Harthon swept me into his arms and began to walk. It was rather annoying, being carted around in that way. All it did was remind me of his obvious strength and the fact that I no longer had my independence.
Trying to sense our route, I felt as he turned left, then right, warm air blocking out the cold. Then there were stairs. A right, a slight shift in the opposite direction, and then a long straight walk. He paused as a door opened, and then we were inside a room that smelled of lavender and burning wood.
This time, when Harthon set me on my feet, I poured my entire focus into maintaining my balance. His hands steadied my shoulders, but I didn’t fall into him.
A moment later, the blindfold was off.
Harthon appeared somewhat surprised. “Good balance this time.”
“As I told you, I’m graceful.”
“Right,” he said, sounding completely unconvinced as he undid the bindings.
I shook out my arms, reveling in their freedom as I spun to take in the room. “Oh my…” the words trailed off as my jaw hinged open.
This place was…beyond words. Itsprawled. More than half the size of my cottage in Second Territory, it was almost a small home within itself. Plush red lounge chairs were stationed by a roaring fireplace, and a bathtub with the most intricately carved legs marked a washingstation in the corner. There was a mirror above a massive dresser, and the bed was large enough for four people, at least. Gauzy white curtains hung from the bed posts and fell to the thick white and gold carpet that engulfed the floor. Gray and tan stone walls led to a high, domed ceiling that was painted with muted swirls of orange and red, and a massive window welcomed light into the space.
In somewhat of a daze, I walked to the window to find a view of the Citadel’s interconnecting walls and—
A vibrant food garden, dotted with tall, magnificently leafy trees, just below me.
Skies, it was soalive.Never had I witnessed so much vitality. Only some of those trees’ branches were bare, and beneath their canopies, long rows of dirt framed strips of plants. While the crops were too far away to discern their types, their color was apparent. To have so muchgreen, to be thriving, was something that could only be accomplished with the utmost care and all but unlimited resources.
“Do you find it comfortable?” Harthon’s voice cut through my awe, and I twisted around.
I struggled to piece together an answer. “The garden…this is the nicest…is every room like this?”
He smiled a little, and I watched in fascination as his face lost its brutal edges for a moment. “Not every room. This is one of the nicest.”
“If this isoneof the nicest, I can’t imagine what yours looks like.”
“It’s actually a mirror image, which makes sense, given that it’s right next to yours.”
The moment his words registered, the airy amazement vanished. “You’ve given me a lovely cage, then.” A lovely cage with a view.
The room and the garden below were beautiful, a magnificent display of wealth and luxury, but I was a prisoner here. I couldn’t leave to return home. And Harthon had positioned me right next tohim to ensure I stayed put. Escape would be far more difficult with him monitoring me.
“So you do find it comfortable.”
I wasn’t going to justify that with an answer.
He took a step forward. “One day soon, I hope you’ll see this as your guest quarters rather than a prison.”
“That’ll be the same day you allow me to return home and roam freely.”
