Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Silently, Skye led him past a series of doors and alcoves.
“Thank you for convincing your father to let them bring Emily here,” Noah finally said, breaking the silence.
She nodded with a slight lift of her shoulders. “I wish I could do more.”
“You could,” Noah challenged. “If you’d tell me the truth about the portals.”
Whirling around, she faced him, her eyes flashing. “I have told you the truth. There are no portals here.” She enunciated the words slowly, as if he were slow to understand.
He stopped with his face mere inches from hers. He could feel her breath on his cheeks, but neither backed away. “Then how do you explain all the artifacts we saw on our way in this morning? Items that couldn’t possibly exist in this time.”
“My father travels extensively and trades with many distant merchants and communities,” she replied too quickly, almost as if she’d rehearsed her response. “A lot of rare and unusual items find their way here.”
“What merchant trades in objects centuries ahead of their time? Like timepieces that measure the temperature? And show you the stages of the moon?” Noah shook his head. “Those things don’t exist in this world, Skye. Or any community in it I’ve ever heard of.”
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Skye’s face before she masked it, turning away to move to a door twenty feet down the corridor. “You don’t know everything about this world.”
“No. I don’t,” Noah agreed, following her. “But I know enough to recognize when something doesn’t belong. And perhaps you know nothing of what exists within these walls.” He touched the collar of her jacket. “Like the origin, quality, and unique finish of this leather.”
Skye stiffened but didn’t respond. “What are you suggesting?”
“That your father might not have told you everything. That maybe he’s kept certain truths from you, for reasons of his own. Tell me you’ve never wondered,” Noah pressed, stepping closer. “Never questioned where those strange objects came from.”
“My father’s explanations have always satisfied me,” she stated, but there was the faintest tremor in her voice.
“Truly? Even now?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What makes you think anything has changed?”
“Because you’re helping us,” Noah replied, his voice low. “Despite your father’s wishes.”
Something vulnerable flickered across her face so quickly Noah almost missed it. A question? A tinge of doubt? Then it was gone, replaced by cool defiance. “I’m attempting to help a sick child. Nothing more.”
Noah studied her for a long moment, noting the tension in her shoulders, the careful way she held herself apart from him. “You didn’t answer me before. Am I a prisoner here, Skye? Or will you show me around while we wait for them to return with Emily?”
Surprise and suspicion widened her eyes. “Show you around?”
“The fortress. Your home,” Noah clarified. “I’d like to know more about this place. More about…you. Your life here.”
“Why?” she queried, clearly suspicious of his request.
“Nothing more than I’ve already stated. I’ve nearly a week to spend here before my family returns. I simply hoped I wouldn’t be confined to some dim corner to wait them out.”
She seemed to weigh his words. “I wouldn’t call you a prisoner, exactly. Let’s just say you’re a guest with limited access.” After several seconds, she continued. “But I suppose there’s no harm in allowing you to see some of the unrestricted areas.”
“I’d like that,” he smiled, admitting he would very much like to spend more time with her.
Besides having every intention of mapping this entire place, restrictions or not, he wanted to get to know her better.
So far, she’d been a bundle of contradictions, and he was looking forward to sorting them out.
Turning aside, she opened the door and gestured him inside. “This will be your chamber during your stay.” She nodded at his pack. “If you’d like to leave your things here, I’ll show you where Emily and the rest of your family will stay when they return.”
Noah lay in bed staring blankly at the high, timbered ceiling. One more night behind him with sleep crowded out by thoughts of Skye, her father, the portals, Emily, and the dangers his family faced bringing her back here.
Tossing back the coverings, he paced the stone floor of his chamber despite the cool air prickling his skin.
He paused by the window to look out at the mountains, struggling to pry visions of his family encountering The Others and other dangers from his mind and praying they would be safe. And most of all that Emily had enough strength for the journey.
He’d both enjoyed and resented the three days he’d been here.
Constantly trailed by Keir, with or without Skye’s presence, he’d been unable to penetrate any of the restricted areas, or to question the myriads of support staff who moved almost stealthily about the fortress.
Even those who brought his meals to his chamber were never alone, never approachable.
And no matter what tactic he’d tried, he’d been met with a firm denial every time he asked to see The Keeper.
And prisoner or no, a guard had been posted outside his door every night.
There’d been no need to post one outside his window.
The sheer three-story drop to the jagged rocks below was enough to deter any thought of escape by that means.
As he dressed, he considered the unexpected routine he and Skye had begun to establish.
Each of the last three mornings she’d appeared at his chamber door, and together they’d explored another section of the vast stronghold.
After, he’d come back and sketch a bit more on the map he was building into the back of a book Skye had loaned him, suggesting it might help him pass the time.
To mask his search for the portals, he continued to express a great deal of interest in the inner workings of the fortress, stating his desire to take any processes and improvements he observed back to the people in Havenwood.
He smiled, thinking of how her lovely face lit up when she spoke of something from one of her beloved books, and how her hand would occasionally brush his when they walked side-by-side through some of the narrow passageways in the fortress.
But what most consumed his mind, what tore at his conscience, was admitting his growing fascination with her despite every instinct warning him against it.
It had to stop. He had one goal. Save Emily. Nothing else, no one else, could matter.
He finished dressing, determined to focus on nothing but learning the location of the portals in the short time he had left.
When they parted last evening, Skye had promised a surprise this morning. He hardly dared hope it was to see The Keeper, despite her repeated assertion that it wouldn’t happen. Not today, or any other day. So much so, he’d begun to wonder if the man was even in residence.
Her now-familiar tap sounded on the door. “Planning to sleep the day away?” Muffled as her voice was by the thick panel of wood, he still detected her teasing tone.
“And miss a day exploring with you?” he grinned, swinging the door open.
One look at her stopped him cold. If this was the surprise she’d promised, she’d outdone herself.
Unlike her hunting leathers or the simple attire she’d worn the last two days, today she wore a pale green gown made of fabric unfamiliar to him.
Soft and flowing, she’d snugged it to her tiny waist with beaded cords.
But it was her hair he found most captivating.
She’d abandoned her long braid and let the dark mass fall in thick waves to her waist.
He curled his fingers into his palms to keep from reaching out to touch it. “You look…lovely.” It wasn’t even close to the word that had instantly come to mind, but it was the safest. Especially with the ever-present Keir looking on.
“Is today an occasion of some sort?” He looked down at his own well-worn clothing. The soft, tanned leathers Aiesha had used to make his shirt and trousers had seen far better days. “I’m sorry I don’t have something more suitable.”
Her laugh, as light and soft as the fabric she wore, drifted past him as a faint pink blush stained her cheeks. “No. No occasion. But we won’t be peeking into dusty corners or evaluating construction methods today. I’m taking you to my favorite spot.”
It was hard to tear his eyes from her, but Keir’s not-so-subtle cough did its intended job. “I’m honored,” he finally said, stepping into the corridor to close the door.
On an insane impulse, he held out his arm and waited for her to take it. When she tucked her hand beneath his elbow and smiled up at him, he had the strangest sensation, as if something inside him had been jarred apart and only now found its rightful place.
But the growing pleasure he found in Skye’s company battled with his nagging conscience over failing his duty to his family.
They were all counting on him. Emily’s survival depended on his finding the portal.
So far, all he’d discovered was a growing attraction to a woman he must turn his back on as soon as he could possibly manage.
Allowing himself to indulge his feelings, or to encourage hers, could serve no purpose.
Over the past few days, as they’d walked through the fortress, Noah couldn’t help but notice how the guards and servants deferred to Skye with a mixture of respect and wariness.
She led him through the stone corridors with the ease and authority of someone who had spent a lifetime learning every nook and cranny of her home and was completely confident of her place in it.
“Have you always lived here?”
“As long as I can remember. Though my father says I was born elsewhere.”
“Really? Where?”
She shrugged dismissively. “Just ‘elsewhere’. A place he said was too dangerous to return to.”
“But you’ve traveled to other places? Been beyond these mountains?”
Beyond this world?
“Perhaps someday. Right now, my father says the world outside the boundaries of the fortress is too…unpredictable.”