Chapter 32 #2
The Guardian's response to the event was almost impossibly fast…not even Atlas had known the details of the event before they were announced. How could a remedy have been prepared and delivered to Mara so quickly?
The Guardian must have had a spy in the castle who already knew the test.
I could have dissected Mara’s note for hours, but my thoughts were interrupted when one of the guards decided he’d had enough of Brisa’s pestering.
“Why don’t we take the contestants inside while we wait for Princess Ciara’s arrival? We can go ahead and send the scores to be tallied since we know she’ll be scoring in last place.” The guard waved us inside, no one arguing as the gates split open for us to enter.
I looked back at the end of the bridge one last time, my stomach dropping as I remembered what Avalyn had said about Ciara.
I hope she never has to walk over that bridge again.
The warmth of the castle was euphoric as all the contestants let out a collective sigh.
We were brought to some sort of parlor to wait for the event to officially end.
I wasn’t sure if everyone was taking pity on us for having gone through such a horrible trial, or if having the princes with us gave us special attention, but the servants didn’t hesitate to bring out pots of hot tea and trays of sandwiches, biscuits, and even warm soup.
I had to force myself to take it slow, having had plenty of practice nursing my body back to health after extended periods of fasting.
Everyone ate until they were satisfied, but even after the plates were cleared and the teapots were emptied, no one came to send us back to our suites or update us on the scores.
Sleep claimed Mara first, followed shortly by Beckham, Cedric, and Avalyn.
Sybil stubbornly remained awake, but even Brisa and Lochlan started nodding off as the hours grew longer.
I was tempted to nuzzle into Atlas’s side and fall asleep, but cozying up to the prince in front of the other competitors wouldn’t be wise.
They didn’t need to know all of my alliances, and I didn’t need Lochlan taking notes on the things his brothers cared about.
“Everyone up, time to return to your rooms.” A guard’s deep voice jolted everyone awake. “You’ll be sent word of your rankings later.”
“But what about Ciara?” Brisa asked, scrunching her runny nose. “Has she still not returned? Will her poor ranking affect the scoring numbers for everyone else?”
“As I said, you’ll be updated later,” the guard said stiffly, summoning a lineup of guards through the door to escort each competitor.
No further arguments were held, and I followed silently back to my suite until the doors were sealed behind me and I had collapsed into my bed.
The soft mattress felt unreal compared to the cold ground I’d rested on in the forest. My face lay inches away from the deep tear that had been ripped into the mattress by the attacker’s blade, reminding me of the deathly moment.
Despite my deep desire to curl up and sleep for a year, I forced myself out of bed to change out of my damp dress and into the softest nightgown I could find.
I checked myself in the mirror after I’d changed, unsurprised to see that my cheeks were still bright red with fever.
The hot meal and rest had helped me improve, but three bottles of poison were not easily shaken off.
I crawled back into bed, leery of the servants’ door and the tear in my mattress as my eyes refused to fall shut. My illness and exhaustion made me such an easy target right now. Was Septimus relying on that?
I wasn’t in a freezing cave anymore, but I felt far from safe now that I was on my own. I rolled over on my side, staring at my echo ring as I found myself longing for Atlas’s company. It had been so easy to sleep with him watching over me…
I tapped the ring, just once, a spark running through my arm when a response followed.
“Awake?” He replied, no doubt avoiding his own much-needed rest.
“Yes,” I replied. “Can’t sleep.”
I curled my fingers, relieved to find the movement easy now that my hands had thawed. I pressed my ring to my chest, holding it close to my heart while trying to imagine Atlas’s warmth pressed against me again.
There was no response for a while after that, and I wondered if sleep had finally snuck up on him. I rolled over, staring at the bed’s canopy while wishing I could convince my stress to lessen enough to let me sleep.
Voices echoed outside my door, destroying any chance of relaxing as I sprang up from my bed. I watched the door carefully, my heart racing as I prepared for the guards to burst through and drag me before the king or into another event.
Or worse… Maybe they’d found Ciara.
I clutched the bedspread, anxiously waiting for the door to open, but it never happened. The voices died down and the quiet resumed, allowing me to loosen my grip on the covers.
“Here,” Atlas tapped against the ring, startling me more than I’d like to admit.
“What?” I replied. Was that him causing all that racket?
“Can’t enter,” he said. “Guard says no.”
My eyes locked on the door, my fear of sleep eclipsed by the soft buzzing in my finger. He’d come all this way, just to wait outside my door?
“Sleep,” he said, the tapping slow, like he was trying to calm me. “I’ll keep watch.”
I sank back into the pillows, my lips pressed tightly as I hugged the ring against my heart and rolled over to face the door my prince was waiting behind. Was this what it felt like not to be surrounded by enemies?
“Thank you,” I tapped out, my eyes drifting closed.