Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

I was a failure, and yet, I refused to let myself wallow in self-pity. That would not help my brothers, would not appease my mother, and would do nothing to punish the Coward Prince.

I had a job to do, and I would not get it done if I was drowning in doubt and distracted by Tallon and his mystery.

"Do not fret about your work," he said, startling me out of my thoughts by voicing them aloud. Perhaps he could. Perhaps the walls whispered my thoughts to him. I wondered what work he was speaking of. "I'll ensure it's taken care of."

I laced my hands behind my back and dug my thumb into the center of my palm before I spoke. It centered me, despite feeling one of the neat stitches tear from my flesh and blood ooze into the bandage. I clasped my hands tighter. "That's very generous of you."

He nodded towards my door. "You should get some rest. Welcome to the castle, Odyssa."

I entered my room without replying, closing the door behind me and leaning back against it. There would be no rest for me tonight.

As soon as his footsteps faded down the halls, I opened the door again. I needed to return to the hallway and inspect the walls. I couldn't have imagined them closing in on me, or the new wall appearing behind me to block my path. I couldn't have imagined the stone tearing open like paper to allow the Soulshades to pour out.

Could I?

At this point, I was far from confident that what had happened wasn't in my own mind. The Soulshades had never tried to attack me before, and I'd never seen them coming from the walls. They'd always just appeared, flickering in and out of existence and accompanied by the acrid taste of ash and smoke.

Every sound had me jumping out of my skin as I wound through the halls and back down towards the cellar level, retracing the path as best I could.

If I had any hopes of leaving this castle alive, I needed to understand what I was facing. Zaharya had said the walls were hungry, but I was hungry too. I would find out what was happening in this castle, and I would ensure the last of my family survived.

Someone was playing games in the castle, and whether it was magic, an illusion, or medicine, it was not a game I was keen on continuing.

Finally back in the hallway, I stooped at the crossing, letting my fingers trace over the stone where I knew without a doubt there had been a pool of wine and broken glass before, but they were smooth and dry, no longer sticky with drying wine and blood. Not even a stain darkened their facade.

Tallon had something to do with this, but I doubted I would get answers from him. He was too good at deflecting my questions with comments that he knew would draw me in. Was he the one controlling the walls? The Soulshades? He'd certainly been the one creating my nightmare illusions, for whatever reason. I vowed to confront him the next time he threw those visions at me.

The others had me wavering, thinking he would strike me for impudence. Perhaps he would. There were worse things in life than physical pain, though.

My examination took me to the walls themselves next. Rough stone pulled at the bandage around my wounded hand, but no seams were revealed. No trace of anything to hint at how the Soulshades had appeared or how the walls had moved.

Footsteps echoed down the right branch of the hall, and I froze.

"…must ensure they do not…" a male voice sounded, just this side of too faint to be certain of the words. "…too much work to do…must learn more about…"

The voices and the footsteps grew louder. "Yes, of course, Your Majesty. I will see it handled."

My blood ran cold. That was Tallon's voice, talking to the prince. While luck had been on my side in my battle against the blood plague, I had run out of it steadily since being locked inside this tomb. Who were they talking about, and what work needed to be done? I wanted to listen more, but their footsteps grew even closer and if I stayed here, I would be spotted.

Picking up the ends of my dress, I ran as quietly as I could back to safety before making my way back to my room.

Finally, I was safe back inside. I turned the locks and pressed my shaking hands to my chest as I tried to slow my breathing.

Tallon was the prince's right hand, it seemed.

I held up my own hand, the hand he had just bandaged. His kindness could be nothing but a manipulation, and I refused to be manipulated by these abhorrent people. Gritting my teeth, I dug my thumb into the center of the wound again, pressing deeply until I was gasping in pain rather than from shortness of breath.

The stinging would remind me.

"Where did you go?" Maricara demanded, lunging in front of me to meet me toe-to-toe as soon as I walked into the dressing room. Her eyes were lit like fire, and her lip curled up in a snarl.

I stumbled back a step before I could suppress my shock at the vitriol on her face. The vein in my forehead throbbed as I realized that Tallon had decidedly not taken care of things before he'd left me in my room. Another reminder that he was not an ally and never would be. He'd wanted this, to separate me from the others. It was part of his manipulation, to whatever end, and I despised it.

I'd planned on keeping my wound as hidden as possible, but if Tallon had wanted them to hate me, I had to earn their civility back. Their trust and their friendship were both things I cared little for, but even the perception they did not despise me would work to my advantage. So I held my hand up, showing them the bandage. "I had to go to the infirmary. By the time they were finished and let me go, you'd all gone."

Talyssa gasped, coming over to grasp my hand. Her touch was gentle as she peered beneath the bandage. "What happened? That looks very deep. Are you okay?"

Her concern almost seemed genuine. Almost, but something in her eyes betrayed her distrust.

I pulled my hand back, rolling the words on my tongue before speaking. I could not tell them the truth, that I'd broken the wine bottles defending myself from a Soulshade. But it needed to be as close to the truth as possible, without pitting them against me further. "There was broken glass in the cellar, and I tried to clean it up and cut myself."

They were all silent for a moment, all of them staring at me. I refused to shift under their collective gaze, to fill the silence with more words. I did not lie often, but I knew how to, and I knew that if I gave into the discomfort, it would give me away. I caught Zaharya's eye and held it.

"Well," she said, clasping her hands together. "We are glad you got it tended to. Let's all try to make it through the entire night tonight, hmm?"

I inclined my head, taking the words as dismissal. "What is tonight's theme?"

"Green." She turned her back to me and settled back into her station.

Taking up a swath of forest green fabric that was draped over the back of the couch, I settled into what had been assigned as my vanity station. As I twisted my long waves back away from my face and into a low bun, I watched the others in the mirror. The darted glances and hushed conversations meant they were watching me, too, but no one was going to admit to anything.

Their cowardice would be my advantage here. They did not trust me, and I did not need them to, but they would not confront me either. And so long as they did not confront me, I could continue to get information out of them.

"Does everyone in the castle attend every party?" I asked. The mirror showed Talyssa flinching at my voice as it broke the silence of the room.

"What else is there for them to do?" Elena snorted. "Yes, of course they do. It's the only respite as we all await our fates."

"How long has everyone been locked in here?" I swallowed and ensured the surprise in my tone was clear. "And no one has gotten tired of these parties?"

A hairbrush slammed down on the vanity. In the mirror, I watched as Maricara stood and stalked over to stand behind me. Our eyes locked in the glass. "You may have wanted to come here, but the rest of us are just trying to survive. Stop meddling or you will get us all killed."

Before I knew what I was doing, I'd stood and faced her. I clenched my fists as images of my mother's bloodless body filled my eyes. Every plan to endear myself back into their graces vanished like smoke on the wind. "Let us get one thing perfectly clear. I did not want to come here."

"You still volunteered," she sneered, tilting her chin to keep my gaze. "You still chose to come here. And now you are faced with the consequences of your choice. We do not care that you are scared and want to go home. You are stuck here now, and it's time you accept it."

"I've told you why I volunteered. Volunteering for a job or watching my younger brothers starve to death is hardly a choice. Could you have been so selfless, or would you have let your family die with you?" My voice was barely higher than a whisper and I could feel my pulse pounding in my neck. This anger seeping from me was not a raging inferno, not a roaring fire. It was an icy blade, cutting sharply and freezing out the air in the room.

Her eyes hardened and the twitch of the muscle in her neck was the only warning I had before her hand was flying at my face, palm open. I kept myself from flinching, but the blow never landed.

Pulsing from my body was a black shadow, tendrils pushing from the Death marks and wrapping around her wrist. Her eyes widened and she struggled, but the shadow held firm to her. And then, it was gone. Her hand fell and she stumbled back, clutching it to her chest. My knees felt weak and my heart sped, but I fought to keep calm. Better they think I could control it.

"What did you just do to me?" she spat. In my periphery, I could see the others hovering, tense and coiled, ready to jump in if they needed to separate us.

Though I was still reeling inside, I kept my voice steady and calm. "You should keep your hands to yourself."

"That's enough, both of you," Zaharya said. She hadn't risen from her vanity chair but was turned around to face us, her eyes wide at the shadows that still hovered around me. "Get ready for the party and stay out of each other's way. We cannot afford any mistakes. We've been lucky so far, and you are doing well, Odyssa, despite last night. But that luck will run out eventually. It always does."

Maricara and I stared off for another moment before she sniffed and went back to her own vanity. Taking a deep breath, I rolled my neck before allowing myself to do the same as the shadows retreated.

"What the hells was that?" Zaharya hissed. "Did you know you could do that?"

I shook my head. I had no idea where the shadow had come from, or what it was. It had emerged from my Death marks and I could feel it, as surely as if it had been my own hand wrapped around Maricara's wrist to stop her blow. My chest felt tight, and I forced more deep breaths. Looking down at the hairpins on the vanity, and then at my shaking hands in my lap, I knew it would be fruitless to attempt to finish my hair.

"That is not normal, Odyssa," she breathed, looking over her shoulder at the others. "I don't think I need to tell you to keep that hidden from the prince and from Tallon."

"Will the others tell?"

"No." She seemed certain; her answer was quick and firm. As much as I shouldn't, I took her word for it.

With a nod, we settled into silence. I pulled at the pins that had already started holding the style and let the waves fall in a curtain over my shoulders and down my back. The energy in the room was odd, and instead of smoke or ash, the taste of something sickeningly sweet, so cloyingly disgusting, was settled over my tongue instead. I wanted to scratch at it to remove the feeling, the layer of something that had taken up residence inside.

Tears stung at the back of my nose, but I would not cry. I would not falter and I would not fail. These girls had shown their hand, and I would be damned if I showed mine. My marks had set me apart since they first appeared on my skin. And from the moment I'd seen them, stark against the unnatural pallor of my skin following a week-long battle with the plague, I'd known they would not make my life easier.

Once again, I found myself wishing the bloody curse had taken me instead of my mother. But I would not wish this hell upon her either.

Cold brushed against my calf and I closed my eyes, feeling my heartbeat slow slightly. The cat was objectively terrifying, but I couldn't deny the icy coldness was comforting. Knowing that another being, whatever it was, was there. I didn't know what the cat was, or why it was following me. My eyes flew open at a realization. This was another of Tallon's manipulations, almost certainly.

I chanced a look down at it, and for a moment, the yellow eyes staring back at me flashed gray. A familiar gray, so unmistakable for anything else.

"Get away," I hissed, kicking my leg. The comfort the cat had brought was gone. At best, it was a spy for Tallon, and at worst… I knew those eyes, and after what I'd seen in the cellar halls and again in his bedroom, I was not willing to dismiss anything regarding him anymore.

I needed to get out of here, to breathe fresh air and let myself think for a moment without the heavy gazes of the others. Without the heavy gazes of these damned castle walls. Was I seeing things? Was this castle making me insane? The room felt like it was closing in, but the others did not shift or move, not even as the walls seemed to shift closer and closer.

Standing abruptly, I barely heard it when my chair clattered to the floor behind me. I clutched the green shroud to my chest. "I'm going to finish getting ready in my room. I will meet you in the kitchens when the bells toll."

I left before any of them could object.