At the end of the hall, double doors opened onto a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard. From here, I could see the damage from the battle more clearly. The Priestess stood besideme and looked over the courtyard as if admiring a garden after a storm.
“They fought well,” she said.
“They always do.”
“Because of you?” the Priestess asked.
“Because of hope.”
She glanced at me and folded her arms over her chest. “You give power away too easily. You don’t value what you’ve already commanded from those people who came here.”
“Those people are kind, loyal, and wish for a better way,” I said softly. “I’m not giving away power because it’s not mine to offer.”
I wrapped my arms around myself and kept looking out over the dark grounds.
Somewhere beyond the walls, Keegan was taking Celeste home.
My mom was alive.
My dad had her.
Twobble gave me something for when the time was right.
And in the meantime, I would learn every inch of this place.
Every door. Every sound. Every lie she told and every truth she accidentally let slip.
Then I would go home.
The Priestess rested her hands on the balcony rail and looked out over Shadowick.
“Tomorrow,” she said, “you’ll see the village.”
I kept my gaze on the open gate.
“And tonight?”
“Tonight, you rest.”
I almost smiled, knowing there was no way in any realm I would sleep under her roof.
But I nodded anyway, because sometimes survival looked like obedience from a distance.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
My quarters weren’t quite what I expected. I guess there was a part of me that assumed there would be gothic red drapes and a black mahogany four-poster bed that would swallow me up when I lay on it. Instead, the room was less assuming. Ivory filigree drapes covered a small window that looked over rolling hills. A small, corner fireplace would have kept the chill off most people, but I couldn’t shake the fact that I was in the heart of the Priestess’ compound.
I reached for the pouch Twobble had handed me and dumped out the contents to see several tiny pebbles. I shoved them in my pocket and warmed them in my palm as I squeezed my fist together and thought about Celeste. She was safe with everyone in Stonewick, and so was my mom.
Everything would be okay.
There was a small bookshelf with only a few large tomes tilted against each other. I walked over and slid the first from the shelf. The deep blue cover felt warm and soft under my fingertips, and a large, starburst-shaped symbol with curling smoke around it centered the cover.
I took it over to the small bed in the corner that was dressed in a cream duvet cover.
When I opened the book, something slipped out of the pages, and I let out a little gasp. My mom must have been here too and left me something. I quickly glanced around and drew a deep breath as my hand felt for whatever had fallen out of the pages and onto the comforter.
My fingers brushed something smooth and cold.
