“This does not concern you, Outsider,” Keir warned before turning back to Skye. “Your father wishes you to confine yourguestto his chamber for the remainder of the day. And he suggests you remain in the library or retire to your own chamber. He leaves that choice up to you but asks that you do not wander the corridors or appear in the public places.”
“But…” Her look of confusion turned to determination. “I’m sorry. I’ve made arrangements to occupy the west terrace for an hour or so. We’re having lunch there. We’ll be of no consequence to my father or his visitors out there.”
Keir’s face morphed from shock to fear. “No, Skye. He specifically said?—”
The look on Skye’s face stopped him cold. Noah could sense the wheels turning behind the panic in Keir’s eyes. Should he obey the mistress he serves, or the master? Despite Keir’s clear distress, they all knew ultimately there could only be one answer.
“Perhaps I should speak to him myself,” Skye suggested. “Where is he?”
Keir shook his head. “I think not…uh…in this instance,” he added hastily.
Skye’s eyes narrowed, piercing Keir with unquestionable authority. “Whoare these visitors?”
Keir swallowed, aware he couldn’t please both Skye and her father. “Only one confers with your father. His…companions…await him in the area outside the southern kitchen.Devouring what might be the entire contents of the storeroom,” he muttered under his breath.
“I see,” Skye nodded her understanding, her mouth tightening with barely masked distaste. “Considering the…associates…you describe, I presume it’s Austin who meets with my father.”
The look on Keir’s face was answer enough as Noah’s pulse raced with alarm. Could there be two with that name and a repugnant following, in this strange world?
“Austin?” He pierced Keir with a demanding stare. “Austin…Williams?”
Skye gasped, eyes wide as Keir’s brows crunched above his scowl.
“You’re familiar with him?” Keir challenged.
“Not with him. Onlyofhim,” Noah explained, shifting his focus to Skye as memories of Paige’s sorrow-filled tales of growing up in foster homes waiting for Austin to rescue her, and ultimately sacrificing everything to follow and search for her missing brother, literally through time. A search that led her and Taran to Havenwood and ultimately trapped them there, only to have Paige finally find Austin and be rejected all over again.
Austin had taken part in forming the ragtag group of outcasts,The Others, into a terrorizing group of plunderers and thieves. He was a user. A taker. What business could he possibly have with The Keeper?
“He’s my mother’s brother.Estrangedbrother. Are you well acquainted with him?” he asked Skye. “Does he come here often?” A multitude of nefarious scenarios vied for attention in his mind.
Skye’s eyes widened. “That’s quite an…interesting coincidence. Austin is one of my father’s most trusted administrators. His companions are…tolerated. The cost of doing business, my father says.”
“Mistress Skye,” Keir interrupted. “Your father…I must insist… If you’ll wait inside, I’ll escort your guest back to his chamber and then come back for you if you wish to retire to yours.”
Noah could see the flicker of determination behind Skye’s eyes as she turned to Keir and straightened her spine with quiet authority. “I promised a surprise, and I intend to keep that promise. We’ll continue with our plans for the west terrace. Myfather and his companion can’t possibly be disturbed by a simple luncheon.”
Noah fought to keep his expression neutral, but something warm unfurled in his chest at her defiance. Here was a woman used to navigating the treacherous waters of her father’s commands while finding ways to bend without breaking. Not unlike the delicate balance he himself had tried to strike between obedience and protection when Taran first took him and Emily in.
Keir’s face was a mask of pure fear. “But?—”
She sighed in concession. “If it will ease your distress, we’ll take the small corridor past the kitchens and use the servants’ entrance to the terrace. That route goes nowhere near the meeting hall, so we can’t possibly disturb my father, or his guest.”
“But…” Keir’s face fell, knowing he had lost. “If that is what you truly desire, I will escort you there and make sure you are not disturbed by the…uh…additional guests.”
Skye’s face softened as she smiled at Keir. “I realize I’m putting you in a difficult position. Forgive me. But I see no harm in my decision.”
Keir nodded, his face grim. “I pray your father does not as well.”
Noah watched their exchange with interest. Skye asserting her power was clearly a rare thing. And Keir’s compliance underscored his loyalty to her, despite his obvious fear of consequences from The Keeper.
All useful information Noah filed away. Mapping the people in the Citadel was just as important as mapping its layout. And he realized the more he learned about Skye, the more he craved to know. There was something about her…something captivating. Something he couldn’t quite define but fully intended to.
As Keir led them down a dim hallway, Noah noted several corridors that branched off in all directions. Some were wide and well-lit, but several looked as if they’d been unused for centuries, dark and dusty, swallowed by shadow. A veritable maze that might have been designed to confuse intruders.
He made a mental note to add the passage locations to the developing map in his chamber.
They rounded a corner leading to what Noah presumed was the west terrace when the corridor suddenly widened into a central area with entrances to several rooms. Through one of the wide open-arched doorways, Noah first heard, then glimpsed a group of men seated at several long tables, more ragged and wild-looking than the Citadel’s usual inhabitants, but far better dressed and fed than The Others who had attacked them in the forest.
