Chapter 25 – Cinder
Watching Xavier touchme intimately as he shaved me strengthened the acceptance that he wouldn’t hesitate to help me with just about anything. Also, why I decided to attempt going outside my room. He’d tried several times to coax me out since the mirror incident, and I’d refused.
However, when I stepped outside my room door, I still grasped the doorframe in a death grip. Biting my bottom lip, I let my eyes wander the long hallway, first right then left, repeatedly, trying to calm my mind that nothing lurked in the shadows cast by the high ceilings. Whether it was my imagination from having lived in a small space for so long or my fear of the unknown, it felt like they were closing in on me. I shut my eyes, willing calm into my tense body.
It came in a different form. “Breathe, love.”
I opened my eyes, and brightness surrounded me, hiding the gloom that threatened me a moment ago. Leaning with one shoulder to his doorframe opposite mine, Xavier watched me, his smile soft, his eyes tender.
He’d gone to change after shaving me and now took a step closer, his hand coming up to palm my cheek. “Want me to carry you?”
“No. I want to try.”
“Good girl.” Once more, those words made me feel like pleasing him. He held out a hand. I hesitated for just a second, reminding myself who he was before I slipped mine into his. He placed my hand on his chest, and immediately the thrum soothed me. “Keep your hand on my chest and follow me, okay?” I nodded. He slipped his hands in his trouser pockets as if he was giving me the choice to try and took a step back. I took one forward. He took another, and I followed. That’s how we moved—a subtle dance rhythm created by my fear and his care. “Look around you, love. Familiarize yourself with your surroundings. I’m right here.”
With a nod, I did as he asked and surveyed the long passage. Thick maroon carpet, soft beneath my bare feet, high ceilings draped in small glass chandeliers, lit only by sunlight pouring through large gold-framed windows that ended above a wide staircase also wrapped in the burgundy rug. I paused to look over the balcony.
Just from descriptions, I’d read in stories, having had nothing to compare them to, I felt like I was in a castle instead of a house. Or maybe my overactive imagination made Cinderella’s first visit to the palace come alive in my head. Everything from the stairs downward, if not made of stone, was gold or cream with touches of green from the plants scattered around and dark railings. A chandelier, so big, I wondered how they changed the lights, hovered over the cream and black tiles below it. Huge windows, covered by pretty curtains, cast sunlight over the whole space.
“Still scary?” Xavier’s soft question drew my gaze.
I wanted to ask him if we were in a castle, but strangely and even after telling him my name, I didn’t want to appear childish. “No.” I dropped my hand to my side, comforted by his presence alone.
“Come.” He guided me down the wide stairs with a hand on my lower back, his soft voice echoing.
When I stepped through the gigantic wooden doors John held open for me, my eyes widened, and my hand flew to my mouth to cover my gasp. “It’s a castle.” My breath hitched. “Iwasliving in an actual castle.” I did a slow three-sixty turn, taking in the tall gray boundary walls, the roof turrets and towers rising skyward, their spires disappearing into the thick clouds, and the domed windows in different shapes and sizes. From where I stood, I could also see gargoyle sculptures. “An actual castle,” I repeated.
“Yes.” Xavier followed me outside.
I lifted my excited gaze to him, and my heart stopped beating momentarily. Whether it was the difference in lighting out here or the knowledge he might be my prince, I couldn’t look away. In a charcoal jersey that rolled at his neck, a light gray overcoat, and dark trousers, every inch of him screamed prince in my head. Against his silver hair streaked with threads of black, worn long on the top and short on the sides, that thought changed to a king instead. Two locks of hair fell across his forehead, making me want to move them. I resisted.
One of his brows went up, reminding me I was staring. Clearing my throat, I yanked myself out of that weird reaction to him, not missing his soft laugh. “I can’t believe you live in a castle. I read so many stories about them, I never dreamed I’d see one.”
“Cinderella has found her castle,” he said, smiling.
His words had me biting my bottom lip.Are you my prince?I dared not ask it, but I couldn’t stop the sudden shudder.
He mistook it for me feeling cold, slipped off his coat, and held it up for me to poke my arms through the sleeves. I’d refused the coat, shoes, and trousers he’d brought me earlier. Waiting for his punishment for disobedience, I was surprised when he asked if I was sure I only wanted to wear his shirt. Having never worn shoes before, I found the one time I did, I hated it. Maybe because the circumstances around it left a sour taste in my mouth. I shivered at the memory of Zarina’s lies.
Xavier frowned. “You’re still cold?” He buttoned up the oversized coat. I shook my head, my eyes drifting to the dark clouds moving across the sun. He followed my gaze. “We might get rain later. Come, let’s get you into the car.” He guided me to a huge black car with his hand on my lower back. Just as we reached it, a large man stepped around the vehicle. Tensing, I backed up against Xavier. Immediately his hands came up to grasp my arms, his hold comforting. “It’s okay, love. Don’t be afraid. This is Ramone. He’s going to be your bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard?” I turned my head to look at Xavier.
He nodded. “He’ll escort you anywhere you want to go when you’re ready to explore the castle and beyond the gates. Say hello.”
