Freed from Gravity (Bound and Freed #2)

Chapter 17

Seventeen

ALLETTE

NOW

Dusty floorboards groan under my boots as I duck beneath the cobwebs clinging to the exposed wooden beams. More webs straddle the rungs of a rocking chair missing an arm.

There’s enough broken furniture in Mae’s attic to furnish another cottage. It’s a variable treasure trove of antiques up here.

The wind wails against the rooftop, singing a haunting and lonely song.

It’s difficult to say how long I’ve been up here. Enough time to go through three trunks of old sheets and quilts and moth-eaten gowns. None of them are salvageable, which is a pity. It would have been nice to find something new to bring back with me.

I’ve just opened the fourth trunk when the unmistakable sound of footsteps drifts from below. I hunker behind a stack of old books covered in dead flies and listen.

Aeron’s deep voice pierces the silence. “Allette?”

My stomach sinks all the way to my toes.

He’s not supposed to call me that. Does this mean something happened to Senan? Did Aeron bring him to the castle and hand him over to Boris? Did he even bother bringing him to Kumulus at all? Maybe he murdered my love in the forest and has spent the last hour burying his?—

“Allette Vale!”

I stand too quickly, thumping my head against one of the low-hanging beams. Ouch . “I’m up here!” I call back, rubbing my sore skull as I pick my way between two chairs and a bedside table.

I kick open the trap door and ease the ladder through the gap. Aeron appears on the floor below, frowning up at me.

“Is Senan all right?” I ask, carefully lowering myself down the ladder to where he waits. With my boots on solid ground, I take a moment to brush the dust from my skirts. Too bad I don’t have a clean dress to change into.

“For now,” he says, stomping down the stairs to the dark living room.

“What does that mean?” I have to take the stairs two at a time to keep up.

He catches the front door and throws it aside. A terrible wind screams through the gap, stealing my breath. “It means we need to get that antidote. So, if you would kindly hurry up, that would be wonderful.”

What an ass. Would it kill him to be kind for once?

I thought perhaps he’d been in a sour mood the night I met him in the castle. Apparently, misery runs through his veins.

I collect my pack and cloak and step into the dark night where the empty trunk awaits. I hate that my first instinct is to search inside for signs of blood. There aren’t any, thank goodness. “Is the trunk really necessary?” I wouldn’t call myself claustrophobic, per se, but I’ve never been a lover of tight spaces.

“Get in, Allette.”

Fine .

I shove my pack into his chest and then step inside. How did Senan fit into this cramped box? Even with folding myself as small as possible, I still barely fit.

Aeron knocks the lid closed without a warning, enveloping me in musty darkness.

I’m coming, Senan. Hold on a little longer.

I’ll be there soon.

The trunk bobbles as he lifts me up. “Hold on.”

Hold on to what? There’s nothing in this bloody trunk but me?—

The intensity of his takeoff plasters me to the bottom of the box. I force my breaths in through my nose and out my mouth, doing my best to forget where I am and where I’m going. That if the king finds out we survived, the poison will be the least of our worries.

Senan is all that matters.

I’m doing this for him .

To save him. To be with him. To reclaim the life that was stolen from us.

The higher we fly, the louder the wind blows, howling like a feral beast. “Hold your breath!” Aeron bellows.

I take a deep breath right as black liquid starts to gush through the keyhole. I press my hand to the lock to stem the flow.

Outside the trunk there’s an ear-splitting crack .

My body slams into the lid. My stomach drops to my toes.

It no longer feels like I’m flying…

It feels like I’m falling.

Inky starlight gushes through the lock. I try to cover it but there’s too much and it’s too slippery and?—

It’s not just coming from the lock. By my feet is a giant, gaping hole.

Starlight floods around me. Reaching my knees. My chest.

“Aeron! Hurry!” I bang my fist against the trunk as starlight closes around my neck. “Aeron!”

Why can’t he hear me? I have to get out of here; otherwise, it’s going to swallow me whole.

I maneuver my body so that my legs are pressing against the lid. I kick and kick and kick. Hoping and praying and cursing and?—

The lid flies open.

My eyes burn as I blink into nothingness, blackness pressing me from all sides, sliding like oil over my sink. I throw out my hands and start kicking for the surface but there’s no telling which way is up?—

Something clasps my ankle, dragging me in the opposite direction.

I emerge from the portal with a gasp, flopping onto the hard cobblestones and staring up at Aeron’s face as he chokes, starlight weeping down his face and wings.

What in heaven’s name just happened? “Did you drop me?”

“Not on purpose. The fucking handle broke,” he rasps.

So that was the crack I heard. Stars above… I press my hand to my heaving chest, willing my heart to slow. “I nearly drowned.”

Rolling his eyes, he holds out his hand. “But you didn’t, did you?”

No, thank you, asshole . I smack his hand away and push to my feet. There’s no longer any sign of the liquid starlight.

Aeron straightens. “If you’re finished being dramatic, we should go.”

Since when is almost dying being dramatic? The sooner Aeron returns to his own kingdom, the better.

The ignorant prince takes off for one of the alleys, not bothering to check if I’m following. I do, of course, because I have no clue where we’re going or how to get there. Two minutes later, he comes to a sudden halt in front of a short gray building with a black door barely clinging to its hinges.

I could’ve sworn Aeron said he was bringing Senan to an inn. This doesn’t look like an inn. The windows are nothing but rotting boards and broken glass.

He twists the handle, easing the door open with an ominous creak. There isn’t any furniture in the room inside, and the floor is nearly as dusty as the attic I left behind.

“What are we doing here?”

“Waiting.”

I thought time was of the essence. We need to find Jeston. “For what? What have you done with Senan?”

“Don’t worry. My brother is safe.”

“Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.” The words barely leave my lips when the door opens once more, and a man in silver leathers prowls into the room.

My lungs seize, and I’m drowning all over again; not in starlight, but in terror.

Eason?

No… No…

How could Aeron bring me to him? Senan was right. We never should have trusted his brother.

The man stalks closer, stepping into a shaft of light breaking through the wooden slats. He can’t be Eason because Eason is dead.

My relief is like a gasp of fresh air. “ Bilson ?”

Senan’s former guard inclines his head. “Hello, Allette.”

Aeron clears his throat. “Enough pleasantries. Bilson, I need you to bring Allette to the inn I told you about. You remember the one?”

“Yes, Sire.”

Hold on. That wasn’t part of the plan. “Why can’t you bring me?”

Aeron’s jaw works, like he’s chewing on his disdain for this world and everyone in it. “This may come as a shock to you, but your wellbeing isn’t my top priority. Right now, I need to return to the castle and sort out this shite with Jeston.”

Bilson turns toward the prince. “You mean the new House Master? What do you want with him?”

“He has something I need.”

Bilson’s chestnut hair falls across his brow when he shakes his head. “But, Sire, Jeston isn’t at the castle.”

“Where is he?”

“If the rumors are to be believed, someone in his family passed away. All I know for certain is that he’s been given three weeks of personal leave and an interim House Master has been appointed.”

“Dammit.” Aeron rakes his hands through his hair. “Can’t one fucking thing go right?”

Now he knows how I feel.

He blows out a breath before stalking toward me. “Do you know where Jeston lives?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“We don’t have time for this. If we cannot find him, all hope is lost.”

How can he think I don’t understand the gravity of the situation? I have been living this nightmare ever since Senan told me the truth of his fate.

The fact of the matter is, we are pinning all our hopes on a chance.

Even if we do find Jeston, he might not know what happened to the princess. He might not be able to get more antidote.

All of this could have been for nothing .

Not that I say as much aloud.

Is there anything at all that I can remember about Jeston? He has two uncles, but I already told him that. Let’s see… Braith thought his neck smelled good.

Wait! That’s it!

“I have a friend; her name is Braith. She and Jeston were close. If anyone would know where he is, it’s her.” At least I hope so.

“Wonderful. Do you know where your friend lives, or am I going to have to hunt her down too?”

Would it kill Aeron to use a kinder tone? We’re all at the end of our tethers; that doesn’t give him the right to treat everyone like shite. “She lives in the caverns beneath the castle. She’s one of the servants. We were both hired at the same time. I trust her with my life.”

“Good for you,” he mutters. “Bilson, bring Allette to the inn, and I’ll speak to the servant.”

“Her name is Braith.”

Aeron bares his teeth. “I’ll speak to Braith .”

“I’d watch your tone if you expect her to cooperate. She doesn’t like most Scathians, and she likes them even less when they’re self-important pricks.” I turn my back on him and start for the door.

I’ve had enough of this prince and his rotten attitude.