I pressed my ear to the door, straining to listen over the whoosh of blood in my ears. Seconds passed, melting into minutes. I should go back to bed. I needed to be rested and fully alert to make sure I tagged the prince without detection.
The magic stubbornly surged, refusing to retreat, my fingertips on fire.
Something heavy collided with the floor inside the bedchamber, thumping onto the stone.
I flung the door open, the wall shuddering as it struck and bounced back. Lilyanna lay frozen on the floor, her entire body rigid and lifeless. I yelped and dropped to my knees, grabbing her shoulders and violently shaking her. She moaned, then fell silent again.
I pressed my fingers to her neck. Her pulse bounded and the exposed skin on her chest and legs flushed red hot as if she were feverish. Her body trembled, and she whimpered softly like a terrified animal backed into a corner.
I scooped her into my arms as best I could and hauled her onto the bed. The sheets were still smooth, not even a wrinkle marring the cool white silk. Her eyelids fluttered open, the mewling noises immediately severed.
“Tam?”
“Hey.” I pulled the sheets up and tucked them around her slim frame. “You fell out of bed. Was it a seizure? An episode? I bet they have a doctor nearby.”
She blinked slowly, barely able to stay awake. “You feel them watching, don’t you, Tam? Their whispers linger in the walls like echoes. Repeating over and over.”
I brushed her forehead. “There’s nothing there, it’s just the storm.” I forced my voice to be calm, to sound certain. Her skin cooled, the feverish sheen receding. “I’ll go and find help.”
She shook herself, forcing a shallow smile. “It was just a nightmare,” she whispered. “It only needs to be me and you, Tam. No one else. Don’t mind me, forget I said anything.”
“A nightmare?” Had I overreacted? If I ran through the castle screaming for help because she’d just had a bad dream, they’d fire me on the spot. Then I’d lose access. Telling a stranger about voices in the walls, that I wasn’t entirely sure weren’t there, would not be helpful either.
I smoothed a wayward lock of her hair, plucking it out of a hardening pool of sweat on the pillow. “Okay, a nightmare.”
She murmured agreement and nestled deeper into the covers. “I haven’t fallen out of bed since I was a young child.”
I sat on the edge of the downy mattress, her body rocking toward me slightly with the weight. “Well, if it keeps happening, I’ll get you some crib bars. Although, they’ll probably be made from diamond and so sharp they’ll impale you.”
She closed her eyes again, face softening.
“But then problem solved, I guess.”
Her soft breaths warmed the space between us.
“Lilyanna?” I tutted softly and crept up. How could she fall back to sleep so easily? The soles of my feet stuck to the floor. Small particles of grit or something sharp slipped between my flexed toes on the hard stone. Crouching down, I ran my hand across the floor and a clean streak of gray appeared, leaving my palm blackened. Shining faintly in the dull twilight, a large patch of stone lay surrounded by thin dust. It fit perfectly with Lilyanna’s silhouette where she had fallen, but how had she not disturbed the ground around? And where did it come from?
The only dust I’d seen so far was when we got lost on the way to dinner. Everywhere else was spotless. Maybe they only cleaned where they thought people would see? Or perhaps they literally swept everything under the bed. I hardly saw any staff, except in the kitchens, maybe this was the best they could do?
I suppose it could have arisen from the fireplace or become exposed from under the bed by a wayward draft. I squinted up at the thick window. No breeze stirred and the rim was cemented shut like all the others. Condensation pebbled the inside of the pane, trickling down and pooling on the floor in a slick oily puddle with flecks of black dust swirled through.
Distorted through the moisture, a grotesque carved face leered at me. Its deep eye sockets glinted in the sparse light, the diamond cores burning as if they were alive. Gnarled hands curled around the window frame, its long, pointed nails extended toward the glass.
I shook myself and stood up. That gargoyle must always have been there, I’d just not noticed it before. I cursed whoever designed this room for their lack of drapes. Backing toward the door, I kept one eye on Lilyanna to make sure she didn’t wake and one on the gargoyle who’s head inched around, following my retreat.
I chided myself again and willed my heart rate to return to normal. Quietly closing the door behind me, I headed over to fix the fire with hopes this would be my last nighttime ramble for a while.
CHAPTER SIX
THE LABYRINTH
Breakfast had been left outside the main chamber of Lilyanna’s room with a curt knock. When I went to retrieve it, the corridor was deserted once more. I declined her offer to join after I’d laid everything out and slipped outside under the pretense of finding more tea.
In the light of day, the walls were even more stark. Devoid of any homey touches, the dim light from the sconces neither warmed the air nor the atmosphere. The flagstone floor was swept clean and the corners free of spiderwebs. I’d heard no one moving about last night. I’d hardly slept, what with listening out for Lilyanna and chiding myself for every second that slipped past when I should be resting so I would be refreshed and able to formulate some kind of plan today.
There had to be staff somewhere. Maybe I’d find them in the kitchen. Matron must run such a tight ship that the help was stowed neatly away, neither seen nor heard. I’d hoped the castle would be bustling, full of people watching and listening discreetly—the kind I could barter with. The prince had to have secrets stored here somewhere.
I turned the corner expecting to see the dining room, but another identical passageway stretched before me. How was I supposed to memorize the layout when everything shifted? I should get some twine to thread my way through the labyrinth, marking the nearest exits. I stopped and rubbed my eyes. Maybe the floor plan was mapped in my subconscious, and I just had to relax.
