It was an eternity before the prince released Yann, who crumpled into the dust and dead leaves, cradling his shattered bones.Raleigh caught me by the arm before I could fall by Yann’s side.
‘You said you’d spare him.’
‘I said I wouldn’t kill him,’ he corrected, releasing my arm.‘They’re only bones.They’ll heal.’
Only if they could be set in time.If they could be set at all.Yann moaned in pain, writhing helplessly at our feet.I could only imagine how much agony he was in.
‘Come along.’
‘No.’I threw myself to the ground beside Yann.‘I can’t leave him here.’
Raleigh pinched his nose and muttered something I couldn’tmake out.‘I don’t have time for this.’He cast his eyes to the sky, as if looking for something within the inky black I had no hope of seeing.‘We need to be back before sunrise.’
I barked a cold laugh through my tears.‘Have issues with sunlight, do you?’
‘An allergy of sorts.’He grabbed my arm again and wrenched me to my feet, not bothering to rein in his strength.My flesh bruised instantly under his grip.‘We need to go.’
‘Not without Yann.’
‘Oh, for goodness sake.’The prince spun me to face him and planted both hands on my shoulders, his fingers pressing down so hard I didn’t dare try to move.I turned my face away, avoiding his eyes.‘Look at me,’ he commanded.
That strange sensation rushed through me again, sweet and warm and horribly wrong.I obeyed before I could think, and suddenly my body felt light, airy.The world faded around the eyes of my betrothed.His lips moved, but I couldn’t hear him.Everything was crumbling away.I closed my eyes, and that felt right too.It was what he wanted, which meant it was perfect.
The last thing I knew was the pleasant sensation of Prince Raleigh scooping me into his arms, and then there was nothing.
Four
IAWOKE IN THE SOFTESTbed I’d ever slept in.
On any other day I might have lain there a moment longer, luxuriating in the feel of the clean linen against my skin.But as my thoughts clanged together and the events of last night came ricocheting back, I tore off the covers in alarm.
Yann.
Where was he?Was he safe?Was healive?The last thing I could remember was the prince’s cold eyes, his arms around me.I couldn’t shake the image of Yann abandoned in the dirt, his body torn apart, blood soaking into the greedy, barren ground.Raleigh had given me his word he wouldn’t kill him, but that didn’t mean Yann wouldn’t be found by more wolves.That was if he didn’t starve first, wandering the woods in circles.I could only hope he’d made it out alive and that wherever he was, he was safe.
But I was hardly in a better situation.I surveyed my surroundings with reluctant awe.The room was richly furnished.Heavy crimson drapery framed the bed, cut from the same fabric as a set of curtains on the wall, concealing what must have been a window.I swungmy legs from the bed, my toes sinking into a fur rug.Someone had taken my shoes off while I slept.No.I looked down at my attire, feeling a chill spread from the base of my spine.My ruined travelling clothes were gone, my skin scrubbed clean of blood.Someone had bathed me.
The thought of Raleigh’s hands roaming my unconscious body sent a mix of emotions racing through me that I had no wish to interrogate.I prayed that he had servants.Man, woman, young, old, I didn’t care.Anyone but him.
I had been dressed in what must have been a nightgown, though I never would have dreamed of wearing something so decadent to sleep in.It was angelic white, with delicately stitched lace framing the wrists and hem.Running my hands over it, I realised it was probably silk.I’d never owned more than a silk handkerchief in the past, and that was luxury enough.
The room had no mirror, which was disappointing, but not surprising; I had a fairly good idea of where I was and knew my host had no need of a mirror.Raleigh von Rostenburg was not human, of that much I was certain.If I had any chance of escape, it had to be while the sun was out.
I made my way to the window and hurled open the curtains, blinking against the harsh spray of light that burst through.It must have been midday, and the sky was so clear it seemed to be mocking me.When my eyes adjusted, I scanned the horizon for any telltale landmarks in the distance.I couldn’t see much more than mountain from this angle, but when I leant out as far as I dared, I could make out a cluster of roofs I knew to be Orlfen.
There was only one place I could be.
Growing up, I had always thought Castle Rostenburg hung precariously off the mountain, clinging to the cliff like an ancient, stubborn dragon, despite how structurally impossible I knew thatto be.Now I realised I’d been right.Though I judged I was only a few floors up, a fall from this window would send me tumbling far deeper into the valley.The mere thought of looking down at the trees make sweat bead on my arms, and my feet felt like they had turned to air.I wouldn’t be escaping through the window, then.I’d have to venture into the castle.
My room was unlocked, which did nothing to still my nerves.Clearly Raleigh didn’t think a lock was necessary to keep me inside.He even left the key on the dressing table for me.There were no windows in the hall, and the sconces were unlit.I retreated to my room in search of a light to take with me.Theroom, I reminded myself.It wasn’t mine yet.I had no intention of staying here another night.
A practical candlestick was too much to hope for.Instead, I found a candelabra on the end table beside my bed, with three fresh candles and a gold vase of wooden spills to light them.I dipped one spill into the glowing embers in the fireplace and lit each candle one by one.Then I stepped back into the dark, took a turn at random and began to wind my way through the halls.The atmosphere was heavy, unwelcoming.If I didn’t know any better I’d think no one lived here.Every surface I passed was covered in a thick layer of dust, and no matter how far I walked the sconces remained unlit, cobwebbed with disuse.My candlelight cast shadows upon portraits of long-dead Linfords, their unseeing eyes following me in the darkness, their names lost to time.
There were no signs of life.Not a scurry, not a creak.Even the webs held no spiders under their dusty coating.And yet I couldn’t shake the feeling I was not alone.
The corridor stretched for longer than I thought could possibly fit within the castle before I finally reached a flight of stairs.I started down them, hopeful at first, but they twisted and led to so manyidentical corridors I felt no closer to the ground than I did at the top.Twice I had no option but to retrace my steps, and once I found myself standing at the top of the same set of stairs again without ever realising I’d gone back upstairs.
I couldn’t tell how long I’d been walking.It must have been hours.My legs and back screamed at me to take a break while my stomach howled for attention.I ignored it all, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other to make it out of this dreaded labyrinth, until one by one the melted stubs of my candles sputtered and faded away.
