3. Chapter 3
3
Chapter 3
Violet
Three weeks. It had been three weeks without Calum. Three weeks without leaving my room. I’d cried all I could cry. I’d solved every damn riddle book the servants brought me. I’d reread all of my favorite books from the library. I’d counted every star I could see out of my window.
Three weeks down. Only twenty-three weeks to go.
But I could not stand it any longer.
I had to go outside. I loved being outside. I used to lie in the grass for hours reading about new things while Calum attended meetings with his Advisors or traveled around the Mountain Realm making appearances, kissing faelings—or whatever he did.
Would Celine really hurt me? For all she knew, her son was in the Night Realm, falling in love with the one she picked.
That hurt to even think about.
But there was no way she’s thinking about me. I could just sneak outside and go past the horse stables. She would never go over there. It’s “beneath” her.
I was going to do it. If I stayed in my room any longer, I would go insane.
I held my breath as I unlocked the door and slowly pulled it open. What was I doing? Celine would never be down here.
Again, it was beneath her.
Literally.
I made my way to the staircase and began to climb, allowing my fingers to trace the banister on my way up. After reaching the main floor, I walked as quietly as I could to the nearest door. As I rounded the last corner before reaching the large double doors in the sitting room, the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me occurred: I ran straight into Celine.
“I am so sorry, Celine,” I said as I looked down. I was so afraid of what she was going to do. I didn’t listen to my father’s warning, and I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done. Run into Celine.
“It’s alright, Violet. Please just watch where you’re going from now on,” Celine said as she nodded and walked away.
You’ve got to be kidding me . Celine had never been anything but nasty to me but now that Calum wasn’t here, she’s almost . . . nice?
It must’ve been because she thought I was no longer a threat to her plan. She could believe all she wanted that Calum was going to marry the sister of the Sovereign of the Night Realm, but he’s coming back to me.
Since I was no longer afraid of Celine, I spent every waking moment for the next seven weeks outside. I would lie in the part of the forest that was deemed castle property because it was inside the castle walls and listen to the critters run around and the birds sing their beautiful songs as they flew tree to tree. Being outside made the days go by faster, but only a little.
After almost three months, I woke up one morning to a knock on my door. With Calum gone, I had nothing to do, no one to see, so I was just living on my own schedule. So it was weird that someone was at my door, and even weirder when I opened the door to Celine standing there. I didn’t think she had ever been on this low level of the castle.
“Calum’s fiancée has asked that I come spend the rest of their engagement with them in the Night Realm, and you’re coming with me.”
My heart sank at those last four words. I hadn’t left the castle walls since I moved here over fifty years ago, and now I was supposed to travel to the worst realm in the kingdom? That wasn’t the worst part though. I was expecting the next time I saw Calum to be in a few months when he was back here, rid of his fiance forever. Now I had to see him with her. Even if he wasn’t giving her a chance, I think it would have been better for me if I never had to see her.
“What? I . . . I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said as I shook my head.
“Well, I think you should go ahead and get to know the future lady of the castle. I mean you probably should befriend her if you plan to live here any longer. Once they are married, she may choose to throw you out of the castle. She may not be as nice as I am.”
“I—”
“Maybe she will let you be one of her ladies in waiting.” There was the Celine I knew. The snarky bitch was back. I don’t know where she was for the last seven weeks, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever.
“We are leaving tonight so pack your things. Make sure you pack something nice for their wedding. It’s only a few months away now.”
My insides were screaming at her, but she wouldn’t know from the look on my face. I gave her no emotion. She wasn’t worth it. And it’s not like I had any choice in the matter. I never had a choice.
I still didn’t understand why I was going to the Night Realm with Celine. She didn’t really give me a lot of time to process it. Her bullshit answer earlier was just because she was trying to get a response out of me.
I honestly didn’t understand why she was even going to the Night Realm so early in the engagement. Family usually only attended the wedding. Calum must’ve been ignoring his fiancée, and she thought bringing in his mother would fix things. This was good. This had to be it. Calum was doing what he told me he would do, and this was their last attempt to make the engagement work.
Even though that idea gave me a little relief, I still had a bad feeling about going with Celine. If the Sovereign or his sister knew what I was to Calum, I’m sure they would have me killed the second I entered the Night Realm.
The first Night Realm Sovereign was the most vicious in Queen Mother’s games. He played dirty, killed even when it wasn’t necessary, and made enemies with every other victor. This trait was passed down to every Night Realm Sovereign thereafter.
But the one ruling now . . . he made the others look like angels. He was born with the gift of wielding force fields—the gift all Night Realm Sovereigns had—but he also had other extraordinary powers, and a cold heart. He had no love for anyone or anything. He became Sovereign when he was still a teenager. He murdered his father and took control.
From the moment he killed his father, his powers amplified. They said that you could feel the surge of power radiate throughout the entire kingdom. His power was so strong that the shadows surrendered to him. They became an extension of him, and he could do anything through his shadows. They devoured his enemies without him having to lift a finger. His abilities were not like anything the kingdom had seen, so no one dared to try to stop him, not even the Queen Mother—which may be why she did nothing when he became Sovereign before he was of age.
I shuddered at the thought of what the shadow king would do if he found out about me and Calum. I just had to trust that Celine’s attempts to keep the news of our relationship within the castle walls worked. And trusting Celine was a scary thought.
It took us a few days to make it to the Night Realm. The one exciting part about going to the Night Realm was getting to see what the outside world looked like, but I was utterly disappointed. We had to travel through the Ice Realm and for as far as I could see, it was nothing but flat land covered in ice. We traveled through a part where there were no cities or villages, so we couldn’t find shelter to rest at night. We had to sleep in the carriage while Celine forced the guards to stay awake to continue our journey.
When we made it to the Night Realm, I expected to see what I saw in the drawings in the books I had read, which was darkness, dead trees, and no signs of life. Instead, we traveled on a green path with large firs lining both sides of the path. Oddly enough, it looked exactly like the Mountain Realm.
Celine was just as confused as I was. She had never been to the Night Realm before, but she knew what she saw wasn’t right. She said the Sovereign must’ve done this to welcome his new family.
I nodded in response, but I didn’t believe that could be the reason. Why would the shadow king care? He cared for no one.
Awe overcame me when we arrived at the gate of the castle. The walls were tall and made of black stone with wrought iron lining the top and battlements placed every so often, but it was nothing like I pictured. I expected spikes at the top of the walls with the heads of innocent faeries; instead, it all looked elegant and yet intimidating at the same time.
A long cobblestone road led us further into the land of the castle until we came to a stop in front of the castle itself. The castle was made from the same black stone as the walls, was taller than it was wide, and sat on a hill. Several turrets stood tall and added to the overall detailing of the castle.
I was surprised to see only what I would assume were a few servants, based on their attire, and a beautiful fae waiting for us at the castle entrance. I knew it wasn’t the Sovereign’s sister because this fae had long fiery red hair, whereas the sister had to have black hair, given her Night Realm blood. Where was Calum? I assumed he would at least be here for his mother’s arrival if anything else.
When the carriage stopped, Celine motioned for me to get out first. As I climbed out, a cool breeze hit me. It was warm when we left the Mountain Realm and freezing in the Ice Realm, but I knew that each realm was like its own little world, each different in so many ways.
I snapped out of the daze when Celine cleared her throat. I looked back to see she was still in the carriage but had her hand out. Was she seriously waiting for me to help her out?
I guessed since she couldn’t bring her ladies with her, she was using me as their replacement. I knew better than to object to her, so I played the part. As she stepped out of the carriage, she looked around with an offended look on her face.
“Where is my son and his fiancée?” she questioned the beautiful red head, obviously thinking the same thing I was.
The fae was taken aback by Celine’s snappy tone. I hadn’t even noticed it given that it seemed to be the only tone Celine had.
“They are actually on a short holiday. They will be here tomorrow. We didn’t let you know because we thought you might like to rest some before seeing them after your long trip,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, where is your Sovereign?” Celine responded as she crossed her arms. I shuddered at Celine’s question. “I would have expected him to be waiting to greet his future family.” Celine snarked.
The servants looked at each other nervously.
The fae’s eyes narrowed at Celine. “He has more important things to handle than greeting Nathara’s new family.”
Nathara. That must be the Sovereign’s sister. She put an emphasis on her name insinuating that the Sovereign and his sister’s affairs were completely separate.
“Please, let me show you to your chambers so you can settle in for the night.” She motioned towards the castle.
Celine rolled her eyes before she began walking. I stayed back with the servants. I wasn’t sure of my place because I truly had no idea why I was even here.
The female turned around and said to me, “Well, aren’t you coming?”
As I opened my mouth to answer, Celine cut me off and said, “Oh no. She can stay wherever you board your servants.”
The fae looked confused as she looked at me and my clothes. The fabric of my dress showed I wasn’t a servant, but I wasn’t really sure what you would call me.
I didn’t think Calum’s lover would go over well here.
“Who are you?” the fae asked, taking a step towards me.
“I’m—”
“She’s our Commander’s daughter. She is fine to stay in the servants’ quarters,” Celine interrupted before I could answer for myself.
The fae looked at Celine with pure astonishment.
“Finnel,” she motioned at one of the Night Realm servants, “please show Calum’s mother to her chambers. I will escort our other guest, the Commander’s daughter, to her chambers.”
Celine was pissed that she was passed off to be escorted by a servant, but she knew her place. She wasn’t in her realm. She was a guest in the most dangerous realm of all. She hesitantly followed the servant.
“Well, she’s a real peach, isn’t she,” the fae said, bringing her glowing green eyes back to me.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“I am Bronwen. I am the Advisor of the Night Realm.”
My eyes widened. A female Advisor?
“The bitch is gone. You can speak now,” she said as she began walking to the castle doors.
“Oh sorry. I’m Violet.”
“No fucking way,” Bronwen said as she came to a stop and looked at me with wide eyes.
“What?” I asked as I took a step back from her.
“I mean I just love that name. So much , ” she said as she began walking again. “Anyways, I was going to place you in the upper floors of the west wing, in a chamber right next to, oh what’s her name . . . Cindy? Cinderella ?”
I giggled, fae are smart, and don’t forget things. She was just doing this to be funny. And it was working. I played along. “Celine.”
“Right! Celine! Anyways, if I were you, I’d want to be as far away from her as possible, so I’m placing you in the lower east wing. It’s actually only a few doors down from my chambers. So if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you . . . for being so kind.”
“I know how the Mountain Realm treats females. At least during your stay here, you’ll be treated a little better.”
I was so confused by the way Bronwen treated me. I’d lived in the Mountain Realm my entire life, and I was always told how much better our realm was than the other realms, especially the Night Realm. That I was lucky to be in the Mountain Realm, and even if I was treated more like an object than an equal, it was still better than the other realms.
But Bronwen was so nice to me. I’d never had a friendship with a female so her interaction was completely new to me.
Could we be friends? No. We will be back in Mountain Realm in a few months, tops. As soon as Calum got out of this engagement.
“Here’s your room.”
I didn’t even realize we had stopped walking until Bronwen spoke. I looked around to see us standing in a long, dark hall with only the chandeliers hanging high above emitting light.
I had been so infatuated by this beautiful redheaded fae that I didn’t know if I’d even be able to find my way back to the front door of the castle. I knew we made several turns to get here, but I never took my eyes off her.
“My room is right over there.” She pointed down the hall. “There is a bell you can ring right inside your door to call a servant. They can bring you anything you need. A servant will be here at eleven in the morning to escort you to breakfast.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving her a soft smile.
Bronwen nodded before she turned around and walked away.
I stepped into my room quickly and locked the door. A locked door. I didn’t really think that would keep any creature of the Night Realm out if they really wanted to get in here, but it still gave me a little piece of mind.
As I turned around, my heart warmed at the sight of my room. It was larger than my room back home with tall ceilings and a large four poster bed centered on the back wall. To my right, doors to the bathroom and the closet, and to the left, two large glass doors opening onto a balcony. A large desk sat at the front of the room with a sitting chair next to it.
Even with the dark stone walls and the minimal lighting, the room felt warm and inviting, and I knew it would be my safe haven for the days, or months, to come.