Chapter 6
My heart still thundered after that harrowing incident as I paced in front of the unconscious man lying on my floor. The unbelievably handsome man. Auburn curls covered his head, framing his angled cheekbones. His nose was strong and straight, his skin golden. Jaw square and strong. And his eyes. They were closed now, but after he’d pulled me through the window, they seared into me, blue as the pictures of the sapphire Dark Seas that Gran had shown me. A brown fur-lined jacket stretched across his broad shoulders, a tan tunic tucked into brown trousers that stretched over his long legs. And a sword, sheathed at his side. My stomach twisted at the sight of the weapon.
The flowerpot I’d used to hit him over the head lay shattered on the floor next to him, a mess of soil and roots and flower petals scattered over the stones.
He’d yanked me from the tower, and I’d been so sure that was my end, but then he’d saved me. Then he’d tried to kiss me. Spirits below, I didn’t know how to process it all.
I snorted.
Gran might’ve prepared me for a lot of things in life but not for a situation like this. I didn’t know what to do. Leave him here? Wait for him to wake up? Kill him while he was still unconscious?
I’d never killed anyone, and I had no desire to.
Besides, I didn’t have my knife anymore. It had fallen when this stranger had pulled me from the window. My head still throbbed from the violence of it, the way my hair had almost been separated from my scalp. I touched it just to make sure it was still intact.
The man lay so still now, yet even unconscious, he was formidable with his broad chest, thick arms and legs, tall form.
I had no idea what he could possibly want with me. Unless... I peered at him. Unless he was somehow connected to whoever had taken my gran. The hairs on the back of my neck stood. In that case, it might be better to keep him alive. Question him, and if I didn’t like his answers, then I could decide if he deserved to live.
“Hello?” A voice floated through the window.
My head snapped to it, and I stalked toward the opening in my tower. In all the chaos, I’d forgotten about the voices. The people down below who had been yelling up to the man. The ones who had helped him get into my tower.
“Who are you?” I shouted down at the person, unable to see anyone through the dense fog.
“Driscoll,” the person shouted back, a man, though his voice wasn’t as deep as this one’s was. “From the earth court.”
My brows furrowed together. From the maps Gran had shown me, I knew the earth court was a long way from here.
“And I’m Leoni,” a female voice shouted. “From the water court.”
Also a long way from here.
I bit the inside of my cheek, not even knowing if they’d be honest with their answers.
“Trust no one.”
Gran might not have been here, but it seemed her voice would stay with me always.
“Uh,” Driscoll said, “is there a strong, ridiculously handsome man up there with you? Perfect auburn curls that just effortlessly shine? A symmetrical face that defies reality? Blue eyes that pierce your soul? Skin golden like?—”
“I think she gets it,” the other person—Leoni—said.
“I’m trying to be as specific as possible,” I thought I heard him say, though it was hard with the wind.
“Yes, he’s up here,” I shouted, “and I’ll warn you, I’ve knocked him unconscious and...I’m holding a knife to his throat.”
Silence.
“You can’t kill him,” Leoni said, voice frantic.
“I don’t see why not,” I yelled back, the threat tasting sticky and sour in my throat.
Whispers erupted between the two, growing louder and more tense, until Driscoll finally burst out, “He’s the prince—of Apolis, that is. We’re trusting you don’t want to kill the prince and bring war down upon you?”
I stilled, then sank against the stone wall, staring at the man. The prince. Of the water court. Oh, spirits below. This was bad. I’d knocked a prince, an actual prince, unconscious.
I chewed on a nail. Unless they weren’t telling the truth. But if they were...
Gran had never spoken highly of the rulers of the courts. She’d believed they were cowards, that they didn’t have the strength or courage to face threats, so they ignored them, shoved them away like old boots in a wardrobe. And because of this, she viewed them as weak and unworthy to rule. Whenever she’d mentioned them, it was with a hatred that ran deep in her soul. As I got older, I realized her hatred pricked the surface of something deeper—it was more than not agreeing with the way these rulers led their courts. Something else had happened, something personal. But I could never get Gran to open up about it, about what these rulers had done to her that made her so angry with them.
I knew of the rift between the shadow court and the other courts of Arathia. The other courts hadn’t agreed with the way the shadow elementals had used their magic. Didn’t like when they used their powers to rip away others’ shadows. The rift had been so deep, it had led to a war. I’d always assumed that war was what ultimately made Gran dislike the rulers, though I didn’t know the specifics of what had happened.
I picked at my nails, turning my attention from the past back to the present. Why would a prince of the water court come here, to the sky court—to my tower? What could he want with me?
“Hello?” Leoni called. “Did you hear us?”
“Please don’t kill him,” Driscoll said, a whine to his voice. “We’ll be in a lot of trouble if he gets killed—and we’ll also miss him. Even if he doesn’t seem to like us very much.” I heard a grunt like he’d been elbowed or hit. “Probably too much information,” he shouted.
I didn’t know what to make of these people.
The man stirred on the ground, groaning and stretching out. I shot to my feet and grabbed a jagged piece of the flowerpot, ready to slice him open if he tried anything.
His eyes blinked, heavy, and he slowly sat up. “Well, that’s a first.” He rubbed his head where I’d hit him, drawing his hand away, fingertips coated in crimson.
“A first for what?” I asked hesitantly, raising the jagged piece threateningly.
He heaved a sigh. “The first time a woman hit me in response to me trying to kiss her.”
My face flushed. “I don’t even know you.”
A wolfish grin spread across his face. “Well, you could get to know me.”
I shot him a look.
“Sorry, I’m not used to this. People not liking me.” He gestured between me and him.
I eyed him warily. “What does that mean?”
“I’m Lochlan Aster.”
My eyes bugged as he confirmed what the others had just said. The eldest prince of the water court, according to Gran’s lessons. Oh, blood and skies. I gripped the jagged piece tighter. “How do I know you’re not lying?”
He gave me an odd look. “Why would I lie about that? It would be a pretty easy thing to disprove.” He gestured around him. “Well, once we get you out of this tower.”
“Why do you want me out of this tower?” I shook my head. “How did you find me? I’ve been trapped here...” I swallowed, not sure how much information I should give him. “For a long time.”
“This might be a ridiculous question, but why don’t you just fly out?” He tipped his head toward my wings.
My face flushed. “I don’t know how,” I said.
“Hello?” Driscoll shouted from below. “What’s going on up there?”
His eyes shifted, and he cleared his throat. “Can we maybe have this conversation down there?” He gestured out the window. “And without you holding a sharp piece of pottery aimed at my throat?” He tilted his head. “It’s a very nice throat, and I’d rather it not be sliced open.”
I jabbed it at him. “You still haven’t answered a single one of my questions.”
“Prince Lochlan!” Leoni shouted.
He held up a finger. “Can I just talk to them for a minute? They will keep shouting. They’re very persistent.”
I gestured to the window with my weapon, and he strode over, leaning out. “I’m alright. Give me a moment to figure things out, and we’ll be down shortly.”
We. Like we were a team. “There’s no ‘we’ until you explain what’s going on.”
He sighed heavily and dropped into the rocking chair by the hearth. “The thing is, when I tell you the truth, you’re going to think I’m crazy.”
I cocked a brow. “I’ve been living in this tower my entire life. I know crazy. Try me.”
He shot me a lopsided grin that was far too charming.
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Here it goes: I’ve been dreaming of you. For months now.”
My mouth dropped open. Whatever I’d expected him to say—it wasn’t this. “Dreaming of me?”
He nodded, keeping my gaze, no detection of a lie in his eyes or on his face. “It’s a specific dream. One I’ve had almost every night for three months.”
Three months. I stilled. Gran disappeared three months ago. Surely this couldn’t be connected.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re in this tower, in the window, screaming for someone to help you. You’re yelling about a magic bean, about losing it, about being trapped.” He frowned. “‘Help me! Someone help me! They’ve taken her, and the magic bean is down there. I can’t leave. I’m trapped. Someone has to help me!’”
His words siphoned all the air from the room. Those had been my exact words. Right after Gran had been taken.
“How—” I stumbled back against the wall, voice faltering. The piece of vase fell from my hand and crashed to the floor. “How did you know that? How could you? Are you using some kind of dark magic?”
His eyes flashed with a sorrow I didn’t understand. “No, it’s nothing like that. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know why I dream of you, of that moment. All I know is that it led me here, to you. I think I was meant to come find you, to help you out of this tower.”
At that, I crossed my arms. “I don’t need your help. You’re too late. I already found a way out. By myself.” I gestured to the rope that was still attached to that iron hook in the hearth, coiled on the floor.
“Well, I did come all this way.” He tilted his head. “Might as well let me at least play hero a little bit.”
Play. Like this was some game. My anger flared. “This is my life. Not some joke.”
He flinched. “Look, I don’t know if that rope is going to hold both of us.”
I crossed my arms. “It wasn’t designed to. And do you have a better idea?” I gestured out the window. “In case you didn’t notice, you are as stuck as I am right now. Not exactly doing much rescuing. In fact, you almost killed me.” I lifted my braid. “Almost pulled my hair right from my scalp.”
He winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that. I thought it was a rope.” He mumbled the last words.
“A . . . rope?”
“Your hair is long and brown and I was about to fall to my death. I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.”
I huffed.
He stood, and it suddenly occurred to me how tall he was, how he towered over me. I might’ve been determined, tough, but he could overpower me if he wanted to. I banished the thought. I wouldn’t let him get close enough to do such a thing.
“In my dream, you said she was taken,” he said. “Who is she?”
My gaze flicked to Gran’s dismantled bed, and even though I didn’t trust this stranger, I hadn’t been able to tell a single soul about this, hadn’t been able to share my pain with anyone. “My gran,” I said softly. “She was kidnapped, and I need to leave this tower so I can find her.”
He straightened, eyes going wide. “Then I’ll help you.”
“What?” I asked.
“I was led to you for a reason,” he said, stepping up to me. I flattened my back against the wall, wings spreading behind me. “Let me help you. You said you’ve lived in this tower your entire life. I know this continent, I have a lot of connections as a prince. So let me use them.”
It made no sense. I had nothing to give him in return. “And if I say no?” I asked, pulse hammering.
His voice dropped low, his eyes dipping down over my body. “Well, I am known to be very persuasive.”
There was that charm again, infiltrating my good sense.
His brows drew together. “If you say no, then it’s a no,” he said simply. “At least meet my friends.” He stroked his clean-shaven jaw. “Well, not friends, exactly. Companions. They’re a little annoying, and they bicker quite a lot.”
I eyed him warily, mind racing with his offer.
“Just meet them and hear us out. If you don’t want our help, then we can escort you out of the forest and part ways.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe he was right. Maybe his dream had meant something. He couldn’t be lying, couldn’t have known that was what I’d said unless he really had dreamt about me. Or used dark magic, but I had the sense he was telling the truth. “Okay,” I said, then picked up the end of the rope and threw it out the window. I turned to the prince. “You first?”