“To think, you’re to be queen of all this,” Morton said in my ear, and I startled, forgetting he’d even been on my shoulder.
“I told them I’d think about it,” I said quietly. “I don’t have to be queen. Maybe the prophecy was wrong. Maybe I can just live here and be me.”
“Why not be queen?” Morton asked. “You’d get to be in charge of all this.” His tail flicked toward the castle.
Queen. That still seemedso impossible. The queen of Bergenay had been a warrior, someone who had fought alongside her soldiers. She’d fought the brotherhood to the very end—right until they’d stabbed her and thrown her out a window. She’d inspired people with her bravery. I’d never be able to do that.
“Is she coming or what?” one of the gargoyles said, and Morton jumped about a foot off my shoulder.
I gaped as the gargoyle glared at me.
“Sure, just let us hold open the doors for you.” The other gargoyle’s stone wings unfurled behind it, its short, squat face scowling. “It’s not like we have anything else to do.”
“You don’t have anything else to do, Barty,” Wolfe said. “This is your literal job.”
“They have names,” Morton whispered. “The stone gargoyles talk and have names.”
“Well, it is a magical castle,” I said, staring at the creatures in awe as they continued to glare at us.
“Hello?” One of the gargoyles waved its hand. “Are you coming in or not?” He spoke loudly and slowly, like I might not understand.
“She’s coming, Tal,” Wolfe said, and I wondered how he could possibly tell them apart. They were identical, with their long noses and pronounced foreheads, their bat-like wings sprawling out behind them.
“Y-yes,” I said, and I picked up the dusty skirt of my dress, almost feeling too dirty and ragged to enter something so beautiful, and walked up the steps until I arrived at the top.
“Magic,” Cillian said with a twinkle in his eye as I tried my best not to keep staring at the gargoyles. What godwitch was responsible for this magic?
“Right.” My heart was still hammering as we walked past them and into the castle, into my new home.
Hours later,my head was spinning. Cillian had given us a personal tour of the castle, which was as cozy on the inside as it had been on the outside, and now he wanted to show me to my room... except he seemed confused about where it was.
The three of us stood crammed into a spiral stairwell, Morton on my shoulder, and Cillian tapped his foot. “Should I put her in the east or west tower?” he asked Wolfe, whose jaw was locked, a vein bulging over his temple, and I was pretty sure he didn’t care if I slept right here on the stairs.
The stairs creaked underneath us, shifting, and Morton let out a howl and wrapped himself around my neck, making it hard to breathe.
Cillian and Wolfe didn’t bat an eye, which put me more at ease as the stairwell moved in an entirely different direction.
“Castle is at it again,” Cillian said. “It does this sometimes when it has a place it wants you to go.”
The stairs finally stopped moving with a jolt, and I planted my hand on the wall to stop myself from falling over. Cillian gestured for me to go first as Morton slowly unraveled himself from me.
We got to the top of a spiraling stairwell, which led to a single doorway, and Cillian reached out and opened it. The door swung open to a circular room with a bed, a wardrobe, and stained-glass windows that the sun shone through, painting the floor in a rainbow hue.
“Ah, apparently, the castle decided this will be your room. I’ve never seen this tower before.” Cillian rubbed his jaw, looking around in awe. “It’s nice.”
“Do people get trapped in here?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous about those shifting stairs, worrying they might shift away and never come back.
“It happens,” Wolfe said, speaking for the first time since we’d arrived.
“Rarely,” Cillian said, cutting the guard a look. “Why don’t you get a little rest and get settled? We’ll send a lady’s maid with some new clothes for you. Maybe later in the week you can go shopping.”
I looked away. “I don’t have any gold.” I shoved my hands into the empty pockets of my torn dress. “I can work, though.” I thought of my former life before the tower, how I’d taken such pride in my job, loved going to work every day at the castle.
Cillian held up a hand. “Not necessary. All expenses will be covered.”
I bit my lip, not sure how I felt about that. I didn’t want them assuming I would take this job as queen. I’d been very honest when I told them I would have to think about it.
Cillian clapped his hands together. “Well, you get yourself settled. Maybe take a nap, and later I’ll give you a tour and introduce you to our chefs, Elowyn and Liam. Very talented. They cook some of the best food on the continent.”
