My heart hammered in my chest as I went in the direction Nico had gone. It was easy for me to tell because of the disturbance in the air from the lion’s fur. It would be a mess to clean up.
I kept close to the walls where detection was least likely. For centuries, I’d perfected the art of moving unnoticed through the castle. I’d learned which parts of the stone floors squeaked, which servants noticed shadows, and which demons could sense others.
They’d gone up the stairs, and as I reached the top, I heard the lion’s growl. I made it to the open library door just as the lion took a thick tome to his head. Nico was on a high bookshelf, and despite his size, he could move the books that weighed more than him.
The lion shifted with a curse and reached for Nico, batting away another thick book the squirrel hurled at his head. If he climbed onto the bottom shelf, he’d have Nico in his clutches, and I couldn’t let that happen. I’d been watching Nico since his arrival with Sammy. Something about him called to me, something beyond the obvious power that surrounded the princess.
I stepped inside, my stomach clenching with each forward movement. Without thinking, I grabbed a heavy metal statue from a nearby table. I swung it with all my strength, connecting with the demon’s skull.
The sickening crunch and the blood pooling beneath his head as he collapsed to the floor made me want to vomit.
I dropped my invisibility and looked over my shoulder at the open door. I was suddenly aware I was putting myself in grave danger. “Are y-y-you okay?”
Nico jumped from his hiding place, landing on my shoulder. I tensed, the unfamiliar weight of another being sendingpanic through my system. I grabbed him by the scruff and gently placed him on the ground.
He sniffed toward the hall, then shifted. “They’re headed up the stairs.”
I quickly shut the door and locked it. “Th-th-they’re going to g-give you t-t-to Edmund to f-f-feed on.”
He reached inside his pocket and popped a nut into his mouth. “He will die if he does.”
My eyes widened. I thought his nuts were more of a comfort, like my rag was to me, not weapons. “What w-will we do?”
“Our priority is Sammy. Are they taking her to the dungeon?” He went to the window and opened it as I nodded. “There’s a secret passage in the forest on the other side of Kingsmore. Meet me at the signpost past the inn.”
Before I could argue or make a suggestion that didn’t require me to leave the castle, he shifted and was out the window.
I looked out the window after him and bit down hard on my inner cheek. The pinch of pain momentarily distracted me from the approaching danger. I went invisible as the guards burst into the room.
“Where did he go?” one barked, scanning the space.
“Check the grounds. He can’t have gotten far,” another ordered, moving to the window.
I slipped past them, my form passing through the solid wall as easily as stepping through mist. I quickly went to Nico’s room farther down the hall and grabbed his pouch of nuts.
I walked through the walls and made my way through the castle, my hands shaking and my breath heavy.
Nico wanted me to go to Kingsmore, and I felt like I was going to vomit. Had I known I would be forced to leave the safe walls of the castle so soon, I wouldn’t have tied myself tohim. He had seemed like a safe bet since he was a mate of the princess.
Now, I wasn’t so sure.
I really needed to get over the fear I had. Not everyone was bad. Nico wasn’t bad. Sammy wasn’t bad. The jury was still out on Amari and Val, though.
I didn’t trust them. Their families were not supporters of my kind.
But neither was Sammy’s.
For so long, I had hated being able to go invisible. Centuries ago, before I was born, Sammy’s father had decided he didn’t like our invisibility. House mages had been killed or escaped within an inch of their lives.
Many other demons didn’t like us either, even though we took care of their homes and did the work they otherwise abhorred. We didn’t need food or water, just a good night of cleaning while our home’s residents slept. It was our life energy, and since there was always something to clean, we had an infinite source of power.
We were a threat.
I paused near the massive entrance, my breathing shallow and rapid.
You can do it. You’ve got this. You’re invisible. You’ll be fine.
The mental mantra did little to slow my racing heart as I forced myself through the doors. I breathed in and then slowly exhaled. I did it again and then started forward.
