We eat in silence. I can’t get the stew in my mouth fast enough; it’s that good. Isla eats as well, but her eyes are filled with concern.
I look back down at my plate.
“So,” Julienne says. “What was it like? Being lost all that time? Belen said that you were working for the queen.”
I swallow my mouthful of bread. “It was strange. Like living in a dream, only I didn’t know it was a dream.” I take another bite of stew, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “I thought I was a blind clerk who worked in the records chamber at the Shadow Court. I had another name. My past was erased completely.”
“So, you were blind? That is quite bizarre.” Julienne’s eyebrows rise.
“Completely. From birth. Or so I believed.” I touch the skin near my eyes, still marveling at the fact that I can see. “The spell took everything from me. My sight, my memories, my magic. Even my knowledge of who I was.”
“That’s terrible,” Julienne murmurs.
Isla takes another mouthful of food, pretending not to be interested in any way.
“And you had no idea of who you really were?” Julienne asks.
“None whatsoever.” I reach for more bread, tearing off a chunk. “I had friends. A life. Memories of a childhood that never actually happened.”
The silence stretches. Isla chews before taking another bite.
“What about you, Isla…?” Julienne starts to say when a soft tinkling sounds.
Isla drops her spoon.
I look up at the bells, my body going tense. One of them is moving, ringing softly.
“It looks like we have company,” Julienne says calmly.
Isla’s eyes are wide, and all the color drains from her face.
But Julienne stays perfectly calm as she puts down her spoon and stands. “To the trapdoor, Sire…Isla. You’ll need to be quick. They’ll be here soon.”
12
Isla
No! No! No!
“I thought you said they’d stay away from here,” Sebastian says.
Julienne shrugs. “Belen can only do his best. You need to hide. Now!”
“They’re really here,” I squeak.
“Yes,” Julienne says. “Hide.”
I panic for a second, realizing that we may have left tracks leading here.
I hope not.
“Take your bowls and goblets with you,” Julienne urges. “Any sign of your presence.”
I grab the items in front of me, and Sebastian does the same. We move fast.
Julienne pulls the animal skin aside, revealing the trapdoor underneath. She lifts it, and a dark square opens up in the floor.
“Down you go,” she whispers.
