Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

G old gleams all around me. It is speckled in the white marble floors, adorned as intricate carvings on the ceiling and bedpost. It is woven into the hem along the opulent gold velvet drapery that hangs along the spacious white bed. A bed large enough to fit a small Sidus family. The pile of white pillows, silken sheets, and thick, filled comforters are enough to keep them warm all through the harsh winters.

There is handcrafted furniture placed thoughtfully around the room, a small alcove with a desk and matching white wooden chairs that look too delicate to sit on, and small white flowers that are spread throughout the room, leaving a subtle floral smell that soothes something inside me.

The entire space speaks of grandeur, extravagance, and elegance. A room fit for a royal, and not someone like me. It only makes me wonder who my new friends really are.

I was too lost in my thoughts after the bridge and visit with Visha. The long day caught up with me, and my mind became blissfully blank.

A healer had come and gone after Kestral's relentless claim that my small cuts and bruises needed healing, and then sleep finally dragged me under.

But now that I am alone and fully rested, I get a good look at the room they have placed me in. A room that is somehow still filled with a natural light and warmth.

I thought I would be taken back to my cell. Or any cell. The guards hate me; the lieutenant even more so. It doesn't make sense for Kestral, Cyra, and Asra to hold this much influence over them, even if they are Caligo lords.

A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts as it opens, and a handful of the servants come in with a large tub. They place it on the other side of the room and pull a dressing screen across it as they finish preparing it.

From the corner of my eye, I see a servant move toward me. It takes me a minute to realize it is Isolde.

She rushes over to me and pulls me into a hug. I'm so shocked by her actions that I don't immediately wrap my arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not supposed to…" Isolde starts to pull away, but I finally snap out of my shock and pull her closer.

"I know you tried to save her," she whispers, making me freeze.

My shoulders drop when I finally speak. "I was too late," I tell her.

"It is not your fault," she says with vehemence in her voice.

"You don't know that. I…" I pull back to look at her, swallowing hard at the complete sadness in her eyes, knowing that I am the one who put it there.

"I am the one who brought it here," I tell her, dipping my head in shame and guilt as I wait for her wrath and rage. But all I am met with is silence. And after a moment, I glance up to find no anger, hate, or resentment, just sad eyes that hold nothing but compassion and understanding.

"I was there," she says, taking my hand in hers. "I was there when you killed it. In the room."

"Then you know," I whisper.

"I know." She gives me a look. "I know it was not your fault."

"But Isolde—" I start, but she stops me with a shake of her head.

"Many think the servants do not know what goes on around them. We are told to be quiet, to make ourselves invisible. They taught us to be unseen and unheard. But they became complacent and forgot about us completely. They forget when we're in the rooms and along the halls. And we hear things. Things about how the Sidus suffer and starve in a town full of darkness. Of creatures that seep in through the shield and kill."

Tears start to run down her face as she grasps my hand tighter. "Things about a Sidus competitor that was placed in a cell and beaten by the guards for their amusement."

I shake my head, but I don't know what to say to her. I do not want to lie to her anymore. But I also don't wish to cause her any more pain either. So I glance down at our clasped hands and wait for her to tell me what she needs from me.

"I do not blame you for her death," she says, and my head whips up to meet her eyes. "It is not the first time we have seen one of those dark creatures, and I fear it will not be the last."

"Isolde? What do you mean?"

She shakes her head. "There is an evil in this palace, and it is not the dark creatures but the guards and their leaders."

"Isolde?"

She shakes her head once more, not telling me any more. "I heard you are putting yourself in danger to try to save those missing women." She gives me a look that would rival Visha's meanest glower.

"I just want to help. I don't want any more people to lose a loved one," I tell her, and she gives me an expression full of sympathy and gratitude before shaking her head and clearing the tears from her face.

With a determined glint now in her eyes, she gets up and swipes a hand down her wrinkled clothes. "I will make sure your bath is warm and lay out some clothing for you."

"You don't have to?—"

She turns and gives me a sharp look. "Just say ‘Thank you, Isolde,' and let me take care of you."

Warmth fills me at her words.

"Thank you, Isolde," I whisper.

She nods her head and begins to turn but pauses. "Visha… Visha would not want you to be sad for her. She would want you to live."

I swallow hard against the burn in the back of my throat. "I'll try," I tell her.

"And you will succeed," she commands with a look that makes me smile.

She turns and walks to the tub and starts moving about as normal, and as she does, something loosens in my chest, making me feel slightly lighter.

Once the tub is warmed, Isolde leaves me to enjoy it, demanding I take my time and try to relax.

I scrub every inch of my body and then lie back to let the warmth and soft floral scent seep into me.

Closing my eyes, I try to focus on the plan we came up with when I hear the door open as Isolde comes back in. She moves closer to the dressing screen, but once she's there, she starts pacing back and forth as if distressed. I open my mouth to ask her what is wrong.

"You don't have to do this," a familiar male voice insists.

I freeze. It's not Isolde, but Kestral.

My face grows hot as I glance down at myself, dragging my body farther under the water as he continues to pace beyond the screen.

"You don't have to put yourself in danger to prove anything," he insists.

I narrow my eyes at his words. That is not why I am doing this. I don't need to prove myself to anyone. Least of all him.

"I can take care of myself," I tell him, hoping he will leave soon so I can enjoy the bath while the water is still warm.

"It's too dangerous," he declares with the hint of a command beneath it.

"I wasn't asking your permission," I hiss. "Now get out so I can enjoy the rest of my bath in peace."

I hear and feel Kestral freeze, and it brings a wicked smirk to my lips.

"You…" He clears his throat. "You are?—"

I raise a brow. "Taking a bath? Yes." I splash a little bit of water to make my point.

"I…" He clears his throat again, making my smirk grow. He stays where he is until something snaps him out of his frozen state, and I hear him quickly move toward the door. But before he leaves, he pauses.

"The royals have agreed to help with the dark creatures and shield."

My body stiffens as my head whips in his direction. "They have?"

"Yes. You have their word." I hear the smile in his voice and find one spreading across my lips. The Sidus will not suffer by the dark creatures' hands. The royals will help. They will help .

My time here was not for nothing after all.

"Be careful," Kestral says.

I hear something clink onto a table before he leaves.

Quickly drying myself off, I throw on a robe that Isolde left me and check to see what it is.

There sitting on the small table is a gold dagger with rose carvings down the center of the blade. Most of the handle is white, apart from the gold trim. I pick it up with a smile teasing my lips.

The door opens and Isolde sees the dagger in my hand.

"I see you had a visitor. He is quite handsome, is he not?" She gives me a secret smile. "Come, I have a dress that will suit your needs."

Isolde helps me dress just like last time, curling my hair and leaving it down to fall around my shoulders.

Demanding I keep myself safe, she hugs me one last time before leaving me alone in the room.

Oryn arrives not too long after, freezing the moment he sees me.

"I… You look… I mean to say…" He stumbles over each word, his eyes dragging up and down my body.

"Oryn?" I snap and he looks to my face. "Spit it out."

He nods his head and takes a step closer. "I'm sorry, I just… I don't know if you should go ahead with this anymore. What if something happens to you? What if something goes wrong?"

"Then I will think on my feet and stay alive long enough for the big, strong men to come along and save me." I give him a deadpan look just as Asra and Veles arrive, walking into the room chuckling.

I give them both a smile before glancing back at Oryn. "I will figure a way out myself, fight if I have to, and kill if I must."

"Why don't you forget about everything else and come elope with me?" Asra says with a wicked smirk on his lips.

"And deny the line of women a chance at your fine breeding and modest nature? I wouldn't dare," I tease, raising a brow at him.

He shakes his head at me, his smirk firmly in place.

"Ignore the brute. Focus on what you need to do. You are more than capable. Just remember, stab first, ask questions later," Veles says, and it reminds me instead of my new little gift.

Taking my new dagger, I lift my leg and slide it into the strap on my thigh. A door opens and closes as I'm adjusting it.

"Enjoying the show, Your Highness?" Veles asks with a smirk.

I glance up to find Kestral standing frozen on the spot, but I ignore his expression to focus on Veles's last word.

"Highness?" I ask him.

Kestral quickly snaps out of his stunned expression and gives Veles a sharp look.

Veles smiles to himself but stays silent as he gives Kestral an expression full of amusement.

Kestral's eyes narrow on him but then light up as if he recalls something. "Did Veles tell you that he is now bound to help you until his death—the blood bond ensures it—and that he also cannot lie to you?"

I freeze and straighten up before turning to Veles. "Is this true?"

He nods with an exaggerated sigh. "I have a life of servitude, and all you had to do was steal a bottle of wine."

He sulks, making me roll my eyes as I find the shoes Isolde left me. I find a flat pair and silently thank her for her thoughtfulness.

"I had to scale the side of the palace with broken ribs and a bruised and battered body to get that bottle of wine. I have earned your help." I slide on the shoes and stand up, only to find everyone in the room silent and stiff as a stone.

" Why were your ribs broken and body battered and bruised?" Kestral grits out, the fury and anger in his voice ready to boil over.

"It doesn't matter," I tell him, cursing my stupidity for even mentioning it.

"Tell me?—"

"I heard whispers from the servants…" Veles starts, his face full of rage. "That I thought were not true. When I met you, you were…" He sighs, shaking his head. "They said a Sidus was placed in a cell and met with the guards regularly."

A torrent of violence spears through the room, promising bloodshed and chaos.

"You were in a cell? This entire time? Why didn't you tell me?" Oryn steps forward, wearing a distressed expression.

"It's not important. Can we focus on the missing women?" I ask, hoping to move away from this topic swiftly.

"They also mentioned gold bracelets that were placed upon the prisoner to cut off their Sidus powers," Veles continues, and four pairs of eyes draw straight to my wrists.

I've gotten away with it for so long, most people assuming they were an accessory, but I guess that time is now up.

"I need to… I forgot I need to do something," Oryn mumbles before leaving the room without a backward glance.

The others don't seem to notice his absence as they share a ruthless, vicious look between them.

"Let's hunt them down. One by one," Asra says to the others before looking to me. "I'll bring you each head as a souvenir."

Kestral steps in front of me and takes my wrists in his hands. I attempt to pull them away when he stops me with a sharp look.

I stare into his eyes and find nothing but clouds of swirling gray. I'm so lost in them that I jolt when the bracelets unlock and drop to the ground with a clank.

"You should have told me," he hisses.

I rub my wrists, feeling my Sidus powers return, but unlike last time, the warmth settles inside me instead of flowing out of me in rage.

"How was I to know you were able to remove them?" I reply, and he tenses up as if just realizing that too.

"You're not a Caligo, are you?" I ask him before glancing around at the others.

"No," Kestral answers, watching me warily.

"You're both like Veles?" I ask, and Kestral and Asra turn to Veles, giving him a narrowed look, one he ignores.

"Yes," Kestral says as he looks back to me, his body growing more and more tense.

But I need an answer to the question that has been on my mind since I woke up in this room.

"Are you the royals?" I ask them. I have had my suspicions. The way they can easily command the guards and lieutenant at will, the way they can move about the palace without question, and the luxurious rooms they are in.

They couldn't just be Caligo lords; they have to be more.

My question is met by silence, with no one willing to answer it. So I look to Veles, knowing that he will have no other choice, thanks to Kestral's little reveal.

"Veles? Are they the royals?" I ask.

He sighs at the glares from both Asra and Kestral. "You both know I cannot lie to her." His gaze then zeroes in on Kestral. " You are the one who made sure she knew that little fact," he says before looking back at me.

"Yes, they are," he tells me.

Before I get the chance to call them out on it, Cyra steps into the room, dragging the guard from the bridge beside him.

"He has been told what he must do," he tells us. "We must leave now if we want this plan to move ahead."

"We will talk about this later," I tell them all before making a move toward the door. But Kestral beats me to it.

"I will meet you there. I have something I must do first," he grits out.

Cyra frowns at the thick tension in the room. "What has happened?"

"Let's get this over with," I tell him with a weary sigh.

Once the guard is thoroughly aware of what will happen to him should he attempt to betray us, he covers my eyes and brings me to the new location he was told.

I pretend to sleep as my body is carried and moved from one place to another.

Time drags on and just as I think we have finally reached our destination, a sharp sting slices against the side of my neck, and a moment later, darkness pulls me under.