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CHAPTER25CALLIOPE

It was far colder away from my cozy hearth and blanket than I thought it’d be—but I was certain Beric’s room wasn’t far from mine, seeing as we worked so closely together. I was only assuming at this point. Hoping. I went down the hall, shining the candlelight on the wall, looking for a sign. A marker, like Albert had said there would be. Some sort of difference in the stone. But it was hard to notice differences only by candlelight.

Go back to your room, Cali. Wait until daylight.

But if I went back, what would I be? A prisoner in my own home, as Vi believed herself to be. I needed to get used to these halls so I might navigate them alone, if I ever had a need to. This was my home now, after all.

Finally, I saw it, at the end of the hall—a dark stone, slightly different in tone than the others, that seemed to indicate a right turn—and I turned down that passage.

Easy.

In the second hall, the indicating stone didn’t look quite the same as the first, but it was still different enough from the rest of the stone wall that it seemed correct. The third, not so much. This was, perhaps, not as simple as I thought.

There came an odd scraping sound, and I paused to listen, holding my breath. It sounded like … stone rubbing upon stone?

I yelped and stumbled as the wall moved beneath my hand. I backed into the wall behind me, my feet sliding along the floor as it pushed me forward.

The walls were moving.

The walls were moving?

The walls are moving, Cali! Run!

I rushed down the hall and into the next one, my heart dropping into my feet to see that there were no doorways down this hall, no escape. The wall behind me began to shift forward, and I raced ahead without thinking about it too hard, dropping my candle. Thankfully, the wall before me contained a window, so I followed the path of moonlight. If I didn’t hurry, I would be crushed within these wicked walls.

I tripped to my knees, turning to see that the hem of my chemise was caught in the moving wall. I tugged on it desperately, but the fabric wouldn’t budge.

Curse these well-made clothes!

But the wall was closing in on me, and I had no time to think. I pulled the fabric taut, humming the right tones that would tear it away from the wall’s grip. The force of the release sent me stumbling to the ground, rolling to a stop. I rubbed my bruised hip, then came back to my senses and put my hands on the ground to push myself up and—

Nothing. I heard nothing.

I looked around in the darkness, waiting. But the walls had stopped. I sat up to catch my breath, rubbing my hip, debating whether or not to waste energy healing it.

Now that I had a moment to think, I felt a little silly—it was all so obvious. The only explanation was that the king had a stonemage working for him. And a good one too—to shift hallways around without crumbling anything or disrupting rooms. Impressive. Definitely someone I’d like to meet, if only to ask them what pattern they would form the halls in next and when so I could stay on my toes.

It was a clever form of security that made complete sense, seeing as the life of the God King was at stake. Still, I wouldn’t feel at ease until I learned how to navigate it myself.

But the future was the least of my worries—at present, I wasn’t sure I could make it back to my room by myself, much less that I would be found by anyone until morning. Without my candle, all around me felt like a black mass pressing in. It was as if I was in The Dark once again, and I suddenly wished I had never left my room. The only light near me was just a sliver, clearly from beneath a door. A light meant someone was inside, thank God—someone who could point me in the right direction. I took a breath and crawled toward it—

I nearly jumped out of my skin as the door opened, a tall figure silhouetted in the golden light. He stepped aside to allow the light to reveal me—as well as himself—and my mortification only grew. Although, to be fair, I’d recognized those strong shoulders before he’d even said, “My lady?”

“Beric!” I scrambled to my feet. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your nightly routine.”

His eyes shifted down my body, and I blushed so hard I felt my heart pounding in my ears. Oh my God, I hadn’t put on my robe. I stood in my torn white nightgown, hugging myself in the frigid wee hours, looking like a nervous child.

But he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he removed his robe. I gasped, dropping my gaze to the floor. Even so, the image of his shirtless body remained in my mind. He was so dark and beautiful. I didn’t see when he stepped closer, only felt the warmth of his strong body as he covered my shivering shoulders with his thick, fur-lined robe. He tucked it around me and held it closed. It was heavy and soft against me. Comforting.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

“It’s still chilly in the hours before sunrise,” he said. “And I don’t know that it’s safe for you to be wandering alone.”

I smirked up at him. “Are there scoundrels roaming the palace I should know about?”

I didn’t know if he was blushing or it was the firelight gracing his skin with a rosy hue. He looked around quickly, locating and pulling on a shirt. It was strangely disappointing. “Did you need something, my lady?”

“I—” My tongue suddenly felt out of my control. I smoothed the fur of the robe to distract myself from my nerves. “I thought you’d like to know that my cousin has made an advantageous match at court, blessed by the king.”