Chapter 22
22
CAT
A fter sending a message to Garrick letting him know to expect Damien later this evening, I counted down the minutes until I could escape to the beach house and see the third prince. I wanted to know whether Royal Prince Bai agreed to go undercover or not. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see Damien. Whenever he was around, I felt a thrill of excitement consume me that I just couldn’t explain.
“My lady?” Maeve called out as I paced the bedroom. “Lord Zacharia requests an audience in the grand hall.”
I froze and looked over at where she stood by the door. “Me? Why?” Arya’s father tended to leave me alone, and I sort of liked it that way. Looking at him reminded me too much of my own father and it hurt because I missed my father and wanted to hug this stranger like he was my own, but I knew he wasn’t.
“He did not say, my lady.” Maeve motioned to the door.
Lifting the skirt of my dress, I hurried out of the bedroom and followed her down the hall, then along the walkways of the outdoor courtyard that led to the grand hall. Each time I walked through the courtyard, I marveled at how all the rooms were connected by outdoor walkways and courtyards. It was a very interesting concept, but according to Maeve, many of the residences were designed this way.
When we reached the grand hall, the servants standing outside announced my name. I entered and saw Lord Zacharia waiting for me at the front of the room, sitting at the head chair.
“Father,” I called out. “You were looking for me?” I peered over my shoulder and noticed Maeve hadn’t followed me inside. Shit .
“Hm, yes. Come, have a seat.” He motioned to the seat opposite him.
When I sat down and he poured me a cup of tea, I fought to hide my grimace. That shit tasted so nasty. I was more of a coffee girl, but there was no coffee in this world. Which was a damn shame. If only I’d brought some coffee beans with me, I would have rocked these people’s world.
“Thank you,” I muttered without reaching for the teacup. Under the pretense of waiting for it to cool, I demurely folded my hands in my lap.
“I’ve noticed you’ve been very busy lately, although you haven’t been associating with the ladies you normally meet with. What have you been doing?” he asked carefully without looking at me.
I cleared my throat. “I’ve been painting,” I casually offered. “With all due respect, Father, I no longer find gossiping with the Northern District ladies enjoyable.”
He froze with his teacup midway to his mouth and peered over at me in surprise. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” I said calmly. “I’ve been splitting my time between the Art Academy and the beach house. I’ve also ventured to the Southern District, where the culture is more dynamic.” I blended the truth with a bit of lies. Mainly because if he was asking, it was because he already knew something. I had to carefully choose my words, but I couldn’t outright lie to him.
“Ever since your accident, you’ve changed, Arya. I just don’t know whether it’s a good or a bad thing.” He sipped his tea. “That brings me to why I called you in here. One of the court ministers visited me today in the palace. He mentioned seeing you at The Gilded Serpent.” Zacharia let the sentence hang, almost as if waiting for me to fill in the blank. Except I was pretty sure he already knew. The thing was, I’d been to The Gilded Serpent twice. Which time was he talking about?
I calmly lowered my gaze to my teacup and reached for it, lifting it to my lips and taking a sip. It was gross, but I congratulated myself when I didn’t grimace as I swallowed it. I stared Lord Zacharia in the eyes and smiled. “Yes. It’s true.”
He fisted his hands as if he was ready to flip over the table like an angry wrestler, which made me remember that Lady Arya had a temper of her own. Besides that, her father spoiled her rotten. I would use that to my advantage.
I haughtily raised a brow. “Is there a problem?”
His nostrils flared and his jaw ticked as he controlled his breathing with great effort. “ Arya . You are unwed. You are a lady. How can you go to such establishments alone?”
Alone was the keyword. Now I just needed to pull more information out of him to know which time he was talking about.
I shrugged. “I heard the women there are beautiful. I wanted to see for myself.” My tone was casual, as if it was no big deal. I looked down at my nails and started to pick at them, feigning boredom.
He huffed out in anger. “They saw you go into a private room, Arya. How do I explain that to others? People talk. Your reputation is on the line!”
Ah, so he was talking about the second time I went to the brothel. His ministers were a nosy bunch.
I shrugged. “It’s not like I had much of a reputation to begin with.”
He gasped. “Your virtue was never in doubt!”
I peered over at him, wondering if he really believed that or he was just that stupid. From what I heard, Arya was fucking the second prince. She had no virtue to speak of.
Red bloomed on Zacharia’s cheeks. “You know what our financial situation is like, Arya. I have no money to pay off this minister to keep him quiet! It won’t be long before news of your activities are made public!” he said angrily.
My mouth fell open. “You mean to tell me this minister is blackmailing you?”
He scoffed. “How do you think the world works, Arya? You cannot be so na?ve! I thought you , of all people, were smart enough to know that!”
I was. But I was still shocked. “How much is he asking for?” I asked softly.
Lord Zacharia frowned. “A hundred thousand gold coins.”
I nodded and took another sip of my tea. The damn beverage was growing on me. “Tell me where to send the money and I’ll handle it.”
His eyes widened. “Arya, how will you get this money?”
I smiled brightly. “How else? By painting.”
As I strode out of the grand hall, I asked Maeve to get the carriage ready to take me to the beach house.
“Are we leaving now?” she asked as we quickly walked down the walkway.
I shook my head. “Not we ,” I said. “ I am. You’re staying behind.”
She furrowed her brows. “Why? Are you upset with me?”
I stopped walking and turned to her, taking ahold of her hands. I smiled. “No, Maeve, I’m not. I could never. But I want you to stay behind to prepare for Arya’s brother’s arrival next week.”
Maeve’s eyes widened. “Oh, I forgot!”
I nodded. “His courtyard needs to be cleaned and organized, and he needs proper servants assigned to him. Do you think you can handle that while I’m gone?”
She beamed. “Of course, my lady!”
I knew how much she liked Jacob. I was manipulating her, and I hated it. But I couldn’t uncover the hidden money around her or else she would find out we have it. It was best she didn’t know about it. It was also best that she didn’t know I had to go to the palace to pay off a bribe. With everything going on, the less she had to worry about the better.
Lord Zacharia was sending a messenger pigeon to Minister Malachai, the slimeball who ratted me out, with instructions to meet me at the palace entrance so I wouldn’t have to go inside. That was where we’d be doing the exchange. According to Zacharia, our meeting wouldn’t be odd in the slightest and could easily be explained away since Minister Malachai controlled Elaria’s silkworm farms. This would appear as payment for silk and the many pretty dresses Lord Zacharia bought for his daughters.
When the carriage was ready, Maeve quickly bundled me up in my cloak and I headed outdoors. She helped me climb the steps up to the carriage and I climbed inside.
“Be careful, my lady. Send a messenger pigeon if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you, Maeve.”
The driver snapped the reins and we trundled down the road. I settled back against the seat and tried to enjoy the ride to the beach house.
After selecting a trunk full of coins, which Garrick suspiciously gave to me without question, the warlock helped load it in the carriage. I took the opportunity to remind him about Damien’s arrival this evening, just in case I didn’t make it back in time to see him after delivering the minister’s hush money.
I didn’t bother looking out the window as the carriage bounced along the road to Dragon Valley. Exhaustion weighed down my limbs and addled my mind. Recent events had siphoned the energy out of me and more than ever, I wanted to go home. And I meant my home in West Hollywood, not my fantasy home in the Ryder residence. If only I could figure out how.
Then, I had a lightbulb moment.
“I’m going to the palace,” I muttered, “and the seer is in the palace.”
Klaus told me the seer had the answers I sought. If I could sneak around and find him, maybe, just maybe I could get home by this weekend.
This was my only shot.
Although I’d planned to nap during the long trip to the palace, the excitement of potentially meeting the seer again had me wired. I practically vibrated in my seat until the carriage stopped in front of the palace gates.
Once again, I was awed by the spectacle. The palace walls shimmered with a scaly mosaic that reflected the sunlight in a thousand hues—reds, golds, and deep greens that shifted with the play of light on shadow. Massive archways loomed like the open jaws of a dragon. After a beat of stillness, the palace gates opened to reveal a courtyard paved with stones that sparkled with embedded gems.
The carriage came to a stop and the driver stepped down, then quickly dislodged the steps and helped me out of the carriage. I looked up to see a tall, older gentleman with salt and pepper, shoulder-length hair briskly walking toward me. He wore a royal blue robe lined with gold, with tanned, wrinkled skin and a broad smile.
“Lady Arya!” he greeted.
I bowed, assuming this was the odious man for whom I’d brought the trunk of coins. “Minister Malachai.”
“What a lovely surprise seeing you here!” he simpered, lightly gripping my elbows like a long-lost uncle. “I expected your father, but when he told me you were coming instead, I was delighted. It’s so wonderful to see you! My daughter told me it’s been ages since she’s seen you,” he added with a knowing look.
I narrowed my gaze on him and sighed as I walked past him with my head held high and my nose in the air. “I’ve been busy, but I’m sure you’re aware of that,” I said casually. The last thing I wanted to do was give credence to his claims of seeing me in the brothel, no matter how true they were.
He laughed awkwardly and had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “Right… I mentioned to your father how I’d seen you in rather…compromising establishments lately. You certainly have been busy,” he said tightly.
“Yes, I have.” I spun on my heels to face him and smirked. “I just never realized that the emperor’s ministers gossiped far more than the ladies of the Northern District.”
His eyes widened and his gray gaze snapped to me. “Pardon?”
I laughed and threw my head back. “Minister Malachai, please don’t make me repeat myself. It’s tedious.” I gave a bored sigh and inspected my fingernails. I was getting good at acting like a bitch. Lady Arya would be proud.
“You—!” He took a menacing step towards me, but I halted him with a raised hand.
“Minister, I’m sure you want your coin, and I have it. Let’s not complicate matters by saying words you’ll regret later.” I peered up at him. “If I hear even a whispered rumor about me in regard to what you think you saw, I’ll come for you. And if you don’t think I have the means, I would reconsider that notion. I have the means and the funds. I’m a very resourceful lady.”
Minister Malachai huffed, straightening his robe and fixing me with a murderous glare.
I snapped my fingers at the driver of the carriage and motioned for him to transfer the chest of coin to the troublemaker before me. “Take it like a good boy, Lord Malachai, and let’s hope we don’t have to meet like this again in the future.” I grinned as he bent down to retrieve the chest.
Without another word, the minister angrily stormed back into the palace, struggling with the weight of the trunk. With my back ramrod straight and muscles coiled, ready for anything, I watched him leave. I didn’t relax until he was long gone.
“Thank you, baby Jesus,” I muttered to myself. It took a lot to pretend to be confident in a world where I felt woefully out of place. Without knowing if Minister Malachai was supernatural or not, I was playing with fire by baiting him the way I had. He obviously wasn’t a vampire, but he could have been any other brand of freaky that was out there. I needed to be careful.
Now, I just needed to find a way inside the palace and try to secure an audience with the seer… maybe by seeking out the second prince. Although, come to think of it, after how we left things the last time I was there, that probably wasn’t such a good idea. But desperate times called for desperate measures. That little asshole might be my only hope.
“Fuck it.” I’d just started walking toward the palace doors when I heard a man’s raspy voice.
“Looking for me?”
I spun around with wide eyes and looked across the courtyard to see the hooded figure I sought.
The seer .
A long, heather gray cloak shrouded his body. The hood was pulled low over his face, effectively masking his features. His voice was deep and gravelly but sounded young at the same time. This man didn’t appear to be older than thirty-five, but I’d already learned outward appearances were often deceiving in Elaria.
“Are you… are you the seer?” I ventured.
His lips, which were the only thing visible under the hood, quirked at the corner in a smirk. “Yes,” he casually replied. “And you’re not Lady Arya.”
My eyes widened. “You… you know ?”
He laughed. “I know many things, young lady. I was hoping to run into you soon. At least before this coming weekend.”
I frowned. “This weekend? Why before then?”
Does he know about my involvement with the vampires?
“Don’t you want to go home?”
The air sucked out of my lungs. “What?” I stumbled forward, nearly tripping over my feet in surprise. “What did you say?”
He took a tentative step forward, but still maintained a distance. “I said, don’t you want to go home?”
All the moisture in my mouth evaporated. I swallowed multiple times and tried to reclaim my earlier confidence. “You know how?”
He nodded. “The river is the entrance.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not. I already tried that.”
He smirked again. “It’s not always open,” he said calmly. “Only at certain times, like this weekend.”
I furrowed my brows. “What do you mean?”
“Young lady, what do you remember about the night you arrived in Elaria?” He tilted his head to the side robotically.
I frowned. “I-I don’t know. I was on a boat. It was nighttime. I was on a river.”
His voice sharpened. “ Think, young lady.”
I replayed that night again and it hit me. “It was raining.”
He grinned. “Precisely. There was a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm opens the portal to your world. Without it, River Elara is just that – a river.”
I exhaled and stumbled backward. Fuck . If I’d only known … I didn’t remember if there had been any thunderstorms after that night. “And you know for certain there will be one this weekend?”
He nodded, his face still shadowed in the ominous folds of his hood. “Saturday night, to be precise. The portal to your world will open and you can leave.”
“What about the real Lady Arya?” I asked. I promised Maeve I’d bring her back, and I had no desire to break that promise.
“According to my vision, the storm will rage for six hours. You’ll have six hours to find the real Lady Arya and send her back here. If not, she will be stuck in your world forever,” the seer casually declared.
My eyes widened. “What? Why forever?”
“The portal can only be opened on our side, not through yours.”
The only way I could find Arya in six hours was if she was pretending to be me. If she’d gone off on her own instead, she would never return home. Suspicion crept into my mind. The seer was being awfully chatty. I knew better than to believe he would volunteer this information for free, out of the kindness of his heart.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
He sighed heavily. “Does it matter?”
“Yes, it does. Nothing comes for free, not even in my world. That much I know,” I replied dryly. “What do you get out of this?”
He chuckled. “Nothing, except the comfort of knowing that balance was kept.” He shifted and crossed his arms, the long sleeves of his robe dangling. “You do not belong here. Your continued presence in Elaria will throw our world into chaos. That much I know.”
I frowned but kept quiet. Did he know about the mark on my arm? Did that have anything to do with why he wanted me to leave? Maybe I was reading too much into it, because I found it hard to believe I could be the cause of that much trouble. But whatever. I wasn’t going to argue with him.
I shrugged. “If you say so. Can I ask you a question?”
His lips twitched into a wry smile. “You’ll ask it anyway, so go ahead.”
I snorted. “How did you know I wasn’t Arya? Did you see it in a vision or something?”
He laughed. “No, nothing that mystical. You gave yourself away when you came to the luncheon. You did not speak like you were from our world. I realized then that your accident on the river wasn’t an accident.”
“Oh,” I mumbled. I guess I wasn’t as crafty about hiding my identity as I thought I was if he pegged me in our first encounter.
“Saturday night, the storm will begin at nine. I suggest you get to the river on time and try not to get distracted by… other things.”
Distracted by other things? Like Damien and our vampire investigation. Shit! Does the seer know what we’re planning?
I peered over at him, but I couldn’t get a read because he was seriously keeping up his cryptic vibe by keeping his face shrouded. He stood stoic and still, leaving only his lips and chin visible. If he knew what we were up to, he wasn’t going to tip his hand and frankly, neither was I. But this put me in quite a pickle.
This was my best chance to get home, but I promised Maeve I’d solve Arya’s vampire issue before I left. How could I handle both things?
“You should go,” the seer said, breaking the stillness. “You’ve been here long enough.”
I snapped out of my daze, aware that his warning held more than one meaning. “Oh, right. “T-Thank you for the information.”
He nodded. “I wish you the best of luck on your trip home, and I hope you enjoyed your time here in Elaria.”
He walked toward me, and I held my breath as he approached and passed by with a whisper of fabric. In seconds, he entered the palace and disappeared.