Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
BELLAMY
I walked back and forth in front of my bed. Kairoth had been gone for three days. Three miserable days of me pacing in my room, irritating my ankle, while the staff refused to let me leave. I was a prisoner under Kairoth’s orders. He’d told Jerome that if anyone let me leave my room before he returned, he’d have their heads.
My boredom—and anger—were growing exponentially by the day. I’d visited all my brothers at this point, still not able to figure out how in the world I’d gotten them all together in the same dream. I’d gone straight to Jorah first, the eldest of my brothers, and had the same conversation with him that I’d had with Soloman.
Luckily, I think I’d convinced him to hold off a little longer, to let me try and break this curse as long as I promised I wouldn’t do anything stupid.
Leoni and Driscoll brought botany and herbal books every day from the library, and we pored over them, trying to find any kind of plant or herb that could possibly draw out the poison from the nettle weed.
But I was getting fed up. I needed out of this castle. I needed to explore the grounds, the jungle surrounding the castle. There was no point in asking the pixies for help. They were loyal to their master.
I had to get more nettle weed. I didn’t know how much time was left before my brothers lost themselves entirely.
The sun shone in the sky, streaming through my windows and bouncing off the shiny black floors. My brothers wouldn’t be sleeping now so I couldn’t visit their dreams. Not that visiting would help.
I loved seeing them, but I was itchy, anxious, jittery. I wanted to be harvesting and knitting right now so I could see them for real, not just in their dreams. I eyed the two sweaters in the corner of my room. If it came down to it, would I be able to pick two brothers to save? Would that even work? Or did it have to be all of them?
I didn’t have the answers to those questions.
I was feeling better now. My fever was gone, my hands were looking more like actual hands. I had my strength back.
But because Kairoth thought he owned me, I had to stay in this room. It was driving me mad. I thought of the prisoner down below the castle. What it might be like to be trapped in darkness with no visitors all day every day.
I hadn’t thought of the prisoner in a few weeks. I’d been busy, preoccupied with others things, but now I felt empathy toward her. If I could visit her, I wondered if she might have any information. Based on the two conversations we had, I gathered she was from the shadow court. She, more than anyone else, might have the information I was seeking.
It would be risky. I would have to visit her dreams so I could speak with her, ask what I needed to. It would enrage Kairoth if he found out. It would be a betrayal to him. I continued pacing, chewing the inside of my cheek.
But I was getting desperate. No one could tell me where Kairoth went or how long he’d be gone. It stung that he hadn’t visited me, told me why he was leaving, but I didn’t want to think about that.
I could be here for days. Days where I would be stuck without any answers or ideas.
It was worth a try.
Leoni and Driscoll visited me, but I didn’t dare tell them about my plan.
I knew they would protest, might even tell the pixies, and I couldn’t have that. So I did my best to act normal in front of them while the entire time my stomach twisted into tight knots.
Finally they left, and I waited until the first sign of stars glimmered in the sky, then I strode out onto the balcony and sat, summoning my powers. It wasn’t hard to find her or to slip into her mind.
I kept the prison setting in her dream, kept her chained, but I did make one small tweak. Sconces lit the area around us as I stood and faced her. I wore a hood and a cloak to mask some of my identity, but at this point, I didn’t see why it would matter if she knew who I was. I was a nobody. Not anyone she would recognize, even if she had a face and a name to put to me.
She startled, blinking rapidly as she took in what was happening. Her hair was long, blonde, voluminous. It almost looked white in the light. Her eyes were pale and glittering. She wore a simple silver dress that I put her in.
This was just how I imagined her, so it was how she appeared to me, but of course, it wasn’t how she actually looked in real life. In order to know that, I’d need to see her. Dreams were an illusion, one I created when in control.
“Well, this is a surprise,” she said. “You’re my mystery visitor,” she guessed. “And you have star magic.”
I nodded. She sounded confused, which made sense. Star magic wasn’t supposed to exist anymore, not since what Kairoth had done when he escaped his tomb.
“You haven’t visited in a while. I thought maybe he got to you.”
He had, but I wouldn’t admit that. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
And I didn’t. At this point, after everything Kairoth had shared with me, I wanted to give him a chance to explain before I heard anything else from this prisoner. That was why I hadn’t visited her again. I owed him that, at least, after he’d saved my life. Even if he’d left without a word.
“Okay,” she said, eyes sparking with interest. “Then what do you want to talk about?”
“Nettle weed.”
She stilled. “What do you want to know about the briars?”
Right. I forgot that was what they called it here. So my suspicions were right and she was likely from the shadow court. She had to be if she called it what the locals did.
“Do you know where it might grow on the island?” I asked. “Other than in the castle gardens?”
My heart thumped as I waited for her response. She didn’t speak for a long time, and my heart sank. She likely didn’t know. I’d known this would be a long shot, but it hadn’t stopped hope from blossoming.
A slow smile spread across her face. “I can tell you exactly where to find the briar, but I need something from you in return.”
Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.
“If you’re going to ask me to free you, you’re wasting your time,” I said.
I wouldn’t betray Kairoth like that. The more I’d gotten to know him, the more I started to realize how impossible it was that he would ever do any of the things she was accusing him of. I didn’t know the whole story, but I needed to get it. And I would. As soon as he returned. If she was imprisoned, it was for a good reason, and Kairoth deserved the chance to tell me about it himself.
She laughed. “I wasn’t going to ask for that. I’m not that naive.”
“Okay,” I said warily. “Then what do you want?”
She sighed, looking upward at the wall. “I just want to see the sky. It’s been so long that I’ve been trapped in the dark. I know you won’t set me free, and it’s clear you’re loyal to him.”
I winced, but it was true. I was loyal.
“I’ll respect your wishes. I won’t talk about him,” the woman said. “I won’t ask your name, and I won’t tell you mine. All I want is to see the sky.” She lifted her hands. “I’m chained. I can’t escape or I already would have. But I can’t stand being in the dark all the time. If I could just look at the blue sky, the clouds, the stars...”
I thought about it. How badly I wanted to know where that nettle weed was. What she was asking seemed harmless enough. Besides, she had iron chains keeping her prisoner. Even if she wasn’t from the shadow court like I suspected and had sky magic or earth magic, she was constrained by iron chains. She couldn’t use her magic no matter the circumstance.
“Okay,” I said. “Now tell me what I want to know.”