“In fact, this version of the castle is built atop the previous fortress. Below what we consider the basement are ruins and tunnels, the original uses now lost to the centuries. There are even rumors of caves below the ruins.”
We finally reached the top of the spiral stairs, and entered the circular turret, with eight arched openings in the wall that would have been windows had they been set with glass but instead were open to the elements. I leaned against one of them, the bottom of the opening hitting me at chest-height. The view was certainly worth the climb, even with the wind buffeting us, whipping my hair around. The sky was a clear blue, the air with that crispness that only came with autumn. I could see the Mistrael Mountains, jagged and curving around us in the distance, their snow-capped tips almost blinding in the sun. Finn pointed out two peaks: Kaelthorne, the tallest mountain in the range, and Faelmont, the mountain closest to us. Finn was right—compared to that majesty, we were on a rocky outcrop.
Everything in Valdris was a concentric circle. The castle. The ramparts. The city, laid out below us in a spiral, the sun glinting off the cedar roofs, shining brighter on the newer shingles, the others worn and faded. Ramparts extended beyond the castle walls and down throughout the city, the stones colored from age and surviving the seasons. Turrets and outlooks jutted out every few feet, leftover defenses from a time when the city needed to protect its own. Ivy climbed some walls, adding a splash of green to an otherwise brown-, gray-, and yellow-stone landscape. Chimneys littered the uneven rooflines, soft clouds of smoke puffing up into the sky.
Finn pointed out several landmarks, including the massive river, Avoneitha, heading down from the Mistrael Mountains, splitting in two as it passed by Valdris, then rejoining on the other side, and stretching the length of Serentyn. When the river was high, it could spread out and surround the floodplain below the city, forming a natural moat. I could barely make out the maze of bridges thatcrossed the river, some large enough for wagons and horses, some pedestrian only.
I heard footsteps behind us and somehow knew it was Griff approaching. He was back.
I turned to him as he climbed to the top of the turret, surprised to see a slight smile on his face. He shared a look with Finn that spoke volumes, only I had no idea what those volumes were about. Probably me, if I had to guess.
Griff came to my side, leaning on the ledge. “Princess,” he murmured in greeting, sweeping hair out of his eyes.
“Champion.”
Finn rolled his eyes.
“I have good news for you,” Griff said, his arm brushing mine. “See that road over there, near the forests?” I followed where his arm was pointing. “We get to go there tomorrow.”
“Are you telling me I’m leaving this fortress?” I was practically vibrating with excitement.
His eyes crinkled at my enthusiasm, and it made something flutter in my chest. Including Finn in the conversation, he said, “Deirdre got back to you. She’s free to train her tomorrow.” As an explanation to me, he added, “Deirdre is a powerful earth channeler, but she refuses to leave her plants. So we’ll have to go to her.”
“Can we just go now?” I asked.
I surprised a chuckle out of him. “No, but I’ll make a deal with you. Meet me bright and early, and we can see a bit more of the kingdom before your appointment with her.”
“That sounds wonderful.” I turned back to take one last look at the view. The sun was starting to set, painting the mountains in shades of purple. “I could stay up here forever.”
“Unfortunately, forever will have to wait.” Finn’s voice startled me. I had almost forgotten he was there. “It’s dinnertime,” he said before starting down the stairwell.
I took one last look at the open sky as Griff gestured for me to precede him.
Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter
Nine
The Veil protects us, they say. But what they don’t say is that it also traps us. Forever stuck in this kingdom.
—From the journal of Violet Andrever
There may have been a slight skip in my step as I left the castle doors and saw Griff waiting for me, leaning against a stone wall. Except for my first night here when we went to the woods, I had been kept sheltered inside the ramparts. Back home, I had always been in nature, and I had definitely started feeling twitchy here, staring at stone walls all day, every day.
One side of his mouth curved up, a crinkle in his eyes, a private smile just for me that deepened as I fully skipped the rest of the way to him. He captured my hand with his and tucked it under his arm, making that now-familiar jolt run through me. As we headed out of the castle gates, he asked, “Anywhere in particular you’d like to see before we go there?”
“I’d like to see one of the other provinces. But since I haven’t been anywhere, I leave it up to you as to where to start.”
We stood arm in arm as he thought for a moment, before releasing me, only to wrap his arms around me. I barely had time to tuck my head under his chin before we were spinning through the ether.
We landed in another forest. Just as the last time I was in a forest here, the colors were particularly vibrant. The path stretching in front of us was carpeted with fallen leaves of yellow, gold, red, and orange. Branches arched over the path, the remaining foliage creating a tunnel of amber and crimson, filtering the sunlight into dappled patches of gold on the forest floor.
As we started down the path, the leaves crunching under our feet, the distant call of birds echoed the peace settling through my body—a peace I hadn’t felt since coming to Serentyn. A gentle breeze stirred the canopy above us, a few leaves spiraling down. Through gaps in the branches, I could see the bright-blue sky, but sheltered here, surrounded by nature, the crisp fall air made me feel more like myself than I had in a long time.
Beyond my joy of being in nature again, it was comfortable walking next to Griff. His sheer size and the controlled way he carried himself—always aware, always ready—exuded protection, but there was more to it than that. Things feltrightas I walked under the fall leaves. Like I was where I was supposed to be.As though before coming here, there had been an absence in my life. Only now—in the presence of someone who was still a near-stranger—did I realize there had been something missing.
Must be insight from that soul channel Finn kept talking about.
