Chapter 6 Devora
Devora
Crash.
I shot up from my bed, mind foggy and heart pounding. I squinted in the dark for the sudden sound. Half of me hoped to see shadows curling around my body, finally showing themselves after months of silence.
No such luck. Just a bundle of twisted sheets, a frame knocked off the armoire, and an empty room.
But when my gaze slipped further down, a four-legged shadow stretched across the floor. It was unnaturally long in the moonlight. It crept forward inch by inch, its silhouette clawing toward me in silence.
I held my breath, pulse racing.
A small, tan and black-speckled head peeked its way around the corner of my bed.
“Holy Fa—how do you keep getting in here, girl?” I clutched my hand to my chest. The cat rubbed against the leg of the bed and flicked her tail in greeting.
She kept showing up, even when I knew the door was locked tight. Trust me. I’d tried it countless times, hoping to catch that pesky force field unaware.
“Did you come back to see me, little friend?” I cooed. I held out a hand, and she jumped onto the bed. Sliding her soft head under my fingers, she arched her back and purred louder. I chuckled as it vibrated up my arm. “My only friend, it seems.”
Her first visit was a week after I’d arrived.
Those glowing yellow eyes staring from the dark had nearly stopped my heart.
Since then, she came and went, sometimes vanishing behind the tapestry by the bathing room.
I’d examined the wall, but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. It was simply a solid wall.
But I knew better than to trust anything in this magical empire. In Mysthelm, it might’ve been just a wall. Here…it was probably an invisible door that could only be revealed by the blood of a virgin on a full moon.
“You sure do like scaring me, Jaggy.” I ran my hand through the silky fur of her neck. I called her that because she looked like a miniature jaguar I’d seen in picture books. I thought she approved. “You knocked over the—”
A click sounded from the door, stopping me mid-sentence.
I tossed the sheets aside and threw my legs over the bed, slowly padding across the floor. A small sliver of candlelight came from beneath the cracked door.
My eyes widened. I pulled on the handle and cautiously held out my palm to the empty space, waiting for the shock of magic to punch me back inside.
My arm fell straight through, and I stumbled into the hallway.
A laugh of surprise burst from my chest. He’d actually done it. Nox had gotten that Alchemist to lift the barrier.
“Jaggy, look—” I whirled back to my nighttime visitor, but she was gone.
I grabbed my glasses off the bedside table and barreled out the door, not even caring that I was still in my nightgown and slippers.
The floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I ventured further, the single sconce on the wall casting shadows across the ground.
A shiver of anticipation went through me.
At the end of the hall was a set of narrow stairs. They groaned as I hurried down them, spiraling for at least five floors before they finally leveled out onto solid ground.
Several silver chandeliers lit the space, much warmer and cheerier than my isolated floor. This must be where Nox allowed his real guests.
A long navy-and-green rug stretched across the polished floor.
Decorating the walls were enormous mirrors and oil paintings of the sea and mountains.
I took a few tentative steps forward, taking in the tall, arched doorways running down the length of the hall, and tugged on the handle of the nearest one.
I was surprised to find it give way beneath my touch.
When it opened, my jaw dropped in delight.
It was a library. But not just any library. I worked for nobles of Mysthelm—I’d been in plenty of those rich people’s libraries, with mountains of leather-bound books resting on gilded shelves, so delicate that if you so much as sneezed on them, you could be arrested.
This was not like that.
This library was well-loved, bursting with personality.
Piles of books with broken spines were haphazardly stacked on shelves that reached to the ceiling.
Potted plants that had grown unruly in their dwellings crept along the floor, with vines twining their way up the shelves.
But what was most intriguing were the tables at the center of it all.
My brow furrowed at the pieces of paper strewn on top of one of them. Colorful paints swirled along the parchment, everything from small handprints to little flower doodles.
As I glanced around the room, I saw more and more signs that made me wonder where in the world I’d ended up.
The books here weren’t the kind of history texts I’d been stuck with.
Sure, there were plenty of those, but there was a whole wealth of other genres.
Shelves full of adventure novels, children’s books, guides on reading and arithmetic, coloring books, cookbooks, and even a small section of romance novels way up at the very top.
I climbed up a rolling ladder resting against the wall.
Squinting, I read the spines and snagged one that looked interesting.
The front featured a shirtless man with a short-cropped beard and abs that made my eyebrows hitch.
I tucked it under my arm and carefully jumped off the ladder, continuing down the rows of books.
My finger glided over creased spines and weathered covers.
I’d spent the last three months in the near silence of my room, but for some reason, I didn’t mind the quiet as much out here.
For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt a small amount of comfort.
I could pretend I was a normal girl in a normal house, perusing books I’d seen a million times in a home full of people that welcomed me with open arms.
I found a clock that showed it was ten minutes past eleven. With a sigh, I made my way back to the entrance and shut the door as quietly as I could, surprised I hadn’t run into anybody yet.
I looked down the empty hallway and bit my lip. Well, if there wasn’t anyone to stop me…
For the next half hour, I explored the lower floors. The one right beneath the library was some sort of guest wing. One of the doors was cracked, and when I peeked my head in, I saw a wall lined with bunk beds. Before I could investigate further, a female voice called out, “Get back to bed, Tilly!”
I yanked my head away and rushed back down the hall. Who in the Fates was Tilly?
The next set of stairs took me to the ground floor. These corridors were just as ornate, but mixed among the paintings and detailed moldings were strange drawings, leaves and sticks glued to paper, flowers made out of cloth, and a whole host of other…unconventional home decor.
What was this place?
I stumbled upon a narrow hallway in one of the back wings with a ceiling made entirely of glass. The scent of dirt and florals wrapped around me as I walked further down the path until it opened up into a beautiful greenhouse.
Rows and rows of pots filled with herbs and flowers lined the space, with vines crisscrossed at the ceiling and snaking down the walls.
I remembered from books I read in my tower that Alchemists relied on the power of nature to source their spells and potions.
Herbs, stones, plants, bones…anything derived from the world around them.
I wondered if this was an Alchemist’s greenhouse.
Nox had mentioned having an Alchemist and an apprentice. What kinds of people worked here? Why would Nox need an Alchemist?
Retracing my steps, I reentered the main floor of the mansion, wondering what other hidden treasures I could find. But as I neared the stairwell, voices caught my attention.
I scanned the hall but didn’t see an open room, or even a door. Curiosity piqued, I followed the sound of voices, growing more and more intense by the second. Turning a corner, I saw a small iron door, so similar in color to the stone walls that I almost glanced right over it.
Hiding in plain sight.
I definitely shouldn’t be here.
I turned the knob, waiting a moment to make sure nobody charged out to stab me, then pushed it open.
It was empty.
I opened it wider and took in the small room. It appeared to be a study, with a couple of desks and stacks of books toppling over the floor. Across from where I stood was a large tapestry and several maps of the empire hanging next to it.
I could hear the voices clearly now, as if we were in the same room. But where were they coming from? There wasn’t anywhere else to go. No chambers, no doorways. No—
I raised an eyebrow at the floor-to-ceiling tapestry of a burning scroll with ashes swirling in the flames. Slowly, I reached out to move the fabric aside.
Behind the tapestry was a small hallway, barely large enough to walk through. I forced myself into the tight space and shimmied down until I came to the back of another tapestry, with shadows of moving figures on the other side.
“—that Emberfell will feel this loss. He was more than their leader; he was a symbol,” a clipped, measured male voice was saying.
A female voice scoffed. “Yeah, well, everyone knows Scarven always gets what he wants, and he wanted their leader gone. Symbols don’t last long against people like him.”
“Evidently, that’s the only thing I’m good for. Making people disappear.” Nox’s familiar drawl made me freeze. It was different than when he was with me—lighter and more sincere, void of the contempt I knew so well.
There was a pause, and then another male voice, this one quieter, said, “You did what you had to do, Nox. Scarven watches you too closely. You couldn’t risk the truth getting out.”
“Yes,” the first voice said, his tone rich like honey. “He trusts you. That’s what makes this work.”
I tried to puzzle the small bits of conversation together. It sounded like they were saying someone important had died, and that Nox had something to do with it. I had no clue who this Scarven person was, but he and Nox must be working together.
The same female voice cut in again. “Anyway, we’ve got bigger issues than the Lightbenders. Mysthelm’s next shipment has been confirmed—tomorrow night, east port.”
Mysthelm. My heartbeat quickened at the name of my old kingdom.
“Same contact as last time?” Nox asked.
“No, someone new. Last guy apparently pissed off the wrong person and got his head detached from his body.”
Nox hummed, the sound vibrating through the air. “That’ll ruin your day.”
“Tessa, did this informant have any more insight into what, exactly, this shipment contains?” the first man asked.
“Nope,” Tessa said, popping the “p.” “All I’ve got is a place and time. We’ll be going in blind, again.”
A new voice, a deep and husky male’s, said, “At least we have an entire day to get ready this time. I swear to the Fates, Nox, if you try to barge up to the docks without a plan again, I’ll—”
“Everett, you wound me,” Nox said dramatically. “I always have a plan.”
“You never have a plan,” the first man countered. “I have the plans.”
“Yes, and that is my plan. We all have our strengths, Kieran.”
Tessa interjected, “All I know is, if Scarven wants it, we want it more. This might finally be our chance to beat him to the punch.”
Okay, there was that Scarven name again. So they weren’t working for him? I rubbed my temples, trying to keep up with the conversation. Maybe all of this had to do with the danger Nox wanted to keep me away from.
A familiar, broad-shouldered shadow suddenly appeared on the other side of the tapestry. I sucked in a breath, backing away as Nox said, “We’ll meet back here in the morning to go over details. It’s been a long day. You all should get some sleep.”
“And what of you, Nox?” one of the men from before asked. “Will you be resting tonight?”
A pause. “Eventually. I’ll be fine, Silas.”
The group murmured their goodnights, and their footsteps faded as they left. I used the opportunity to sneak back the way I’d come before someone discovered me.
As I scurried down the short, narrow hall, fabric rustled against stone. I nearly screamed when a rough hand closed around my wrist.
“Leaving so soon, Shadow Wielder?”