Chapter 20
twenty
I told Lyall I was tired, that I wasn’t feeling very well an hour into dinner.
I ate and I was full, and that I wasn’t feeling well was the truth—I wanted to be alone so I could figure out a way to get to Rune.
I didn’t care much about food—or anything at all right now—because he was here somewhere, Rune, in this very place, and I needed to find him. I needed to talk to him right now.
Lyall was a bit disappointed if the way his smile dropped was anything to go by, but he didn’t insist. Said he had a big day planned for us for tomorrow, that he would see me very soon.
Meanwhile, I had no idea if I would even be here tomorrow, but, of course, I kept that thought to myself.
The guards escorted me up the stairs and to the room Lyall called mine. I immediately went out to that gazebo to try to find the part of the palace behind which was what the prince had called the forges. That’s where Rune would be because his job was to make weapons.
Unfortunately for me, the side of the palace I was in didn’t look out on the forges, only the gardens and the sea, which was an even more magical view under the dark sky and the soft glow of the small moon.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try to find him all night if I had to.
They’d taken away the clothes I’d stolen—a worker’s uniform, apparently, because I’d seen people in the hallways wearing the same green velvets threaded with silver.
Now that I knew that they hid their things in walls, it was easy enough to find the built-in wardrobe near the vanity table.
The wall opened with a touch of my hand, without even a click, and it revealed to me clothes—underwear and dresses and cloaks and shoes, all in different colors, and all in my size (which was weird as hell).
I exchanged the blue dress I’d worn for a pair of dark red pants that fit me just right, and a loose white silk shirt.
I tied my hair in a braid over my shoulder to keep it out of the way, but I couldn’t find a band, so by the time I convinced myself to open the door and tell the guards I wanted to go out for a walk, it was completely loose.
I was a mess of nerves. My hands were ice-cold even though my heart was hammering and my blood was rushing. As I looked at the guards stationed against the walls right outside the doors, I thought I was going to pass the fuck out.
Instead, I screamed at myself in my head, straightened my shoulders, and said, “I want to go out in the gardens for a walk.”
By some miracle my voice worked as it should. It didn’t shake, didn’t waver, and the guards were silent for a good moment after. They just looked ahead, or maybe at each other, and said nothing.
The thing was that I was going to get out of this palace tonight no matter what I had to do. I’d jump off the fucking gazebo if necessary—but I was going to get out of there.
So, I closed the door behind me and faked confidence I didn’t have. “Lead the way,” I said, like I did this on the regular.
The guards moved.
Holy fuck, they moved, and two of them started ahead down the hallway, and one followed after me. I didn’t allow myself to feel excited or relieved or anything at all, just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping my eyes on the backs of the guards.
My room was on the sixth floor, all right, but the floors in this place were much higher than back home, so by the time we made it to the bottom of the main stairway, my quads were fucking burning.
I didn’t complain, though. We were on the ground floor, and more fae workers wearing all kinds of uniforms walked around me, and barely a few glanced my way as the guards led me behind the staircase, through doors made of polished wood and glass—and finally, outside.
The gardens stretched out before me like a dream made real—row upon row of trees full of golden blooms, their petals drifting down every now and again like silent rain.
Moonlight caught on the fountains scattered throughout the greenery, giving the water an even more magical feel.
Paths of pale stone curved between hedges and vines, and white marble benches were everywhere.
My God, what a view. It was too perfect, too polished, and for a moment, all I could think about was how easily a person could disappear among these flowers—and how badly I needed to.
The guards had stopped walking, and they didn’t follow when I went near a patch of gorgeous irises and brushed my fingers over the soft petals—just to convince myself that they existed, that all of this was real.
It was.
When I turned to the guards again, I did my best to keep my face soft and neutral. “Would you mind giving me a moment?” I whispered. “I just need a moment of privacy. Please. ”
At that point I’d get on my knees and beg because I was sure the guards wouldn’t buy it. And they hesitated at first, exchanged a quick look among one another, but by some miracle, the one in the middle gave me a curt nod.
A nod—to say yes. To say okay. They would let me have a moment, after all.
“Thank you,” I said, a bit breathless.
The next moment I was walking alone, faster the deeper into the maze of trees and hedges I went. I still had no idea where Rune or the forges were, but by God, I was going to find him. And when the guards could no longer see me through the hedges, I began to run.
The thought that they might have alarms here, or animals, or anything else that would be able to track me or set off some kind of notice when I started running occurred to me, but my legs didn’t stop.
I went all around the maze of hedges, sure I’d find the edge of the gardens eventually.
I’d seen it from the gazebo—and I could see the gazebo from here as well, when I looked up.
It looked so strange, like it was floating on air, the narrow bridge that connected it to the side of the palace barely visible in the dark.
Then I reached a dead end.
A small cottage type of building was on the right, the lights off, and a big concrete wall on its side that seemed to stretch all around the hedges to where I couldn’t see.
I hadn’t noticed this from the gazebo, but I walked along it anyway, trying not to panic.
Trying to tell myself that this place was big, huge, and it was going to take a little while to get out of the garden before I found my way to the other side of the palace.
But I didn’t get to walk more than another few minutes before I heard the footsteps coming from the other side.
My limbs froze instantly. The image of the guards coming for me, grabbing me and dragging me back inside the palace took over my mind. My heart pounded in my ears and the voices in my head screamed at me to run .
Except I couldn’t move my fucking feet at all until the footsteps were right around the corner, and…
Two women dressed in the same dresses as the three chambermaids who’d been in my room earlier appeared in front of me.
Holy fuck, how am I still standing?
They, too, froze when they saw me, their wide golden eyes scrolling down my body, their lips turning into frowns.
Breathe, Nilah, breathe!
“H-hello.”
Sweat on my shaking hands. I swallowed hard and pushed back my shoulders, and thought of Betty, my best friend. She could switch personalities within a heartbeat like nobody’s business when needed, and if I pretended to be her, maybe I could, too.
“Who are you, girl? And where did you get those clothes?” the woman on the right said and raised a hand that glowed a second before a ball of golden light chased away the dark around us.
“I’m…I-I-I’m looking for Poppy,” I blurted. “For Poppy and Pippa and Pera. They told me to meet them at the forges, but I’m afraid I’m lost. It’s my first day in the palace.”
The lie flowed easily, maybe because I knew that this was my only chance. I wasn’t going to attack anyone here where I had no clue exactly who could see me, and what would happen to me if they witnessed me doing magic. No—lying was my only chance.
“An apprentice?” said the one on the left.
Yes, yes, apprentice! But…
“Wearing high-born clothes?” The ball of light in the other woman’s hand grew bigger as she inspected me, her suspicion as bright as her magic.
“Please, I’m not supposed to be late,” I said, desperate now for real, because if those soldiers found me… “Just tell me where the forges are. I could lose my job.”
“You poor thing,” said the one on the left.
“Poor thief, you mean,” the other muttered.
“Oh, let her go, Edith. Can’t you see she’s scared?” said her friend with a wave of her hand. “Go find Poppy, girl. Just go through the east garden”—she pointed to her left—“and past the old stables and the servant’s wing. From there, just follow the smoke and you’ll find the field.”
Stables, servant’s wing, smoke. “Thank you so much! ” I said and did the most senseless thing—went and kissed her on the cheek.
The woman laughed while her friend muttered curse words under her breath, but neither stopped me when I picked up running toward where they’d come from.
Rune was so close I could feel him now, and electricity charged under my skin, and I hadn’t run faster since I was with Maera in the woods, being chased by those sorcerers.
When I finally made it past the garden, the palace was right there in the corner of my eye, and I could have sworn it was a sentient being for a moment, watching me, knowing exactly where I was going.
I didn’t even turn to look, terrified that I’d find the guards coming for me.
I just kept on running until I found what could only be the old stables the fae woman told me about.
The long, low structure looked weathered but intact. The walls were made of stone, and the wooden doors hung slightly ajar as if to show me that all the stalls were empty. The scent of old hay and leather lingered in the air, and not a soul in sight anywhere near it.