Asmodeus and the butler demon hastened to bring her trunks inside, depositing them in a pile at the entryway. Iago looked comical, lugging trunks that were bigger than he was. He huffed and puffed, while Asmodeus looked resigned, carrying two at once.
Caspian stood in silence, waiting with his arms crossed while his servants carried her things into the entrance hall. He glanced between her and the growing pile of trunks on the floor, raising his brows. She copied him, crossing her arms as well; she hadn’t been about to leave it all behind.
Elizabeth looked around the entrance hall and her breath caught.
Her first impression of the castle was of black marble trimmed in gold. In front of them stood a grand staircase that led into the rest of the castle, and on either side of them were halls lined with archways made of polished dark stone. Black marble pillars stood throughout the hall, and high vaulted ceilings made the space seem ridiculously extravagant and luxurious. Gold accents peeked out from everywhere she looked, from the capitals atop pillars to the elaborate railings flanking the grand staircase.
She touched the walls, as if to be sure it was real and not an illusion. Cool marble met her fingertips.
Asmodeus came to deposit the last pair of trunks inside, his footsteps echoing across the polished black marble floor veined with white. Iago shut the door, extinguishing all light from outside.
The hall suddenly grew somber and foreboding.
“Ignisiar,”said Caspian, sounding bored and lifting his hand.
Torches burst to life, flickering in gold brackets on the walls, and looking up, she saw an enormous crystal chandelier that bathed the hall in soft candlelight.
“Váless,” Caspian said, lazily flicking his fingers towards the trunks, and drawing her attention back to the master of the house. The trunks lifted into the air as if suspended by invisible strings.
Caspian beckoned to her. “Come.”
She made to follow him and the trunks trailed after them, floating through the air.
She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Standing so close to magic left her feeling apprehensive, as if the queen’s guards could storm in at any moment and arrest her for not reporting Caspian to the crown. But no one burst through the doors, and Asmodeus and Iago didn’t even blink at Caspian’s casual use of magic.
Climbing up the stairs, she darted a glance backwards at the trunks still hovering in midair.
They passed enormous arched windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor, offering glimpses of the forest covered mountains that surrounded the castle. The windows made the castle seem larger than life, like she was living in a house of the gods.
They continued climbing the stairs, passing what must have been the fifth—or was it sixth?—floor, and she followed the demon down a dark hall. Caspian stopped in front of a door and gestured for her to enter first.
He clenched his jaw so hard a muscle flickered in his cheek.
She quirked her head towards him, feeling slightly bewildered. He caught sight of her staring at him, and his expression cleared, the shadows lifting from his features as if they had never been.
She blinked rapidly and wondered if he had really looked so frightening, or if it had just been a trick of the light.
“Your chambers,” Caspian said.
She nodded and turned the elaborately wrought handle. Moving into the room, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was a normal chamber, and nothing jumped out to scare her. He had kept his word and was truly offering her houseroom.
Caspian strode in after her, raising his hand and twiddling his fingers to direct the trunks to organize themselves into a towering pile. The trunks quivered as they gently bumped together.“Lida.”
With a small thud, the trunks froze where they were, and moved no more.
“I’ll leave you to freshen up, and then you may come down for supper.”
Her heart beat rapidly as she wondered exactly what kind of supper he had planned. Did they even have food fit for mortals here?
He turned to leave, and she grew flustered, quickly raising her hand to halt him in his tracks. “Er. Caspian?”
He stilled, arching a dark brow.
She swallowed. “Caspian, if I may, I have an agreement for us to sign before this goes any further.”
Elizabeth looked for a particular trunk and opened it to pull out several sheets of parchment, along with an inkpot and quill. She wanted a better contract between them, one that was not so frustratingly vague in its wording and outlined additional things that she thought were fair to ask for. She had obsessed over the wording for the last several days, putting a good deal of thought into ironing out details that would make her feel safer when she gave him blood. She smiled encouragingly. “One is for me to keep; one is for you.”
He held out a hand and swiftly skimmed the page before looking at her expectantly.
