Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
EMORY
“ Y ou can have the bath first.” Annalee gestured to the open bath chamber off to the side of the room. My gaze swept around the small room, a bed pushed against one wall that was big enough for two people. A wardrobe sat against the opposite wall, the wood knotted and twisted, woven with such craftsmanship it looked exactly like a few of the trees we’d encountered in the Wilds. The walls gleamed silver, the floor that pristine glassy material that gave the illusion of standing on a frozen lake. The ceiling, which had three big glass skylights that gave a view of the twilight sky.
“Thank you,” I said to Annalee, giving her an unsure smile. “I haven’t had a proper bath in days.”
I walked across the floor into the bath chamber and gasped. A tub sat, water already filling it, a stream of water pouring from a chute that jutted from the wall.
I approached the water, holding out my hand, feeling the warmth of it slide against my skin. I’d read about these famous baths in various texts and books. The chutes were made from a type of wood that was always warm, heating the water automatically and depositing it into the tub. The chute connected to a network of pipes that were inside the walls of the castle. Only the very rich in the star court could afford something like this.
A drain sat at the bottom of the tub. Water swirled into it, flowing through pipes and back out to the lake outside the castle. Bacteria-eating fish cleaned the water before it was filtered back to the chutes. It was a magnificent system, and I’d always wanted to see it in person.
I shed my clothes and lowered myself into the tub, groaning as the water soothed my aches and pains.
“How is it?” Annalee called from the other room.
“Glorious,” I said. “I promise I won’t take too long.”
I reached up and grabbed a bottle of purple liquid off a shelf, popping open the cork. The scent of lavender filled the air, and I took a deep inhale of it before pouring the liquid in my hand and massaging it into my hair.
“So you’re the white rabbit, huh?” Annalee said.
I jolted in the tub, and water sloshed over the sides, spilling onto the gleaming tile floor. “Maverick told you that?”
“Of course not,” Annalee said. “He hasn’t even told me he’s the bone collector.”
My mouth dropped open, and it took me several seconds to regain my composure. “Then how did youfind out?”
I moved directly under the cascading water and tipped my head back, letting it wash away the soap. Maybe we hadn’t been as careful as we thought with our secret identities.
“He was kind of obvious about it.” Her giggle floated through the air.
I lathered the soap in my palms and spread it over my body. “What do you mean?”
She paused. “Before all this bone collector business, Maverick was always so focused on the Academy of Scholars & Historians. Probably because of my father. It was drilled into Maverick that he had to get into an academy, get an honorable profession, not disappoint my father. Especially when it became clear what a disappointment I was. It was all my father cared about. But Mav had a seriousness about him. A severity, like he was doing a duty more than living out a passion. ”
A heavy silence filled the air, and I chewed the inside of my cheek, waiting for her to continue.
Her voice wobbled with her next words. “Sometimes, I think Maverick saw how my father treated me, and so he worked even harder to become better, to do better, in an attempt to make my father happy. He never said this out loud, but I know he thought that he could shield me from my father’s wrath if he did enough. If he was enough.” She snorted. “My father is an asshole. No amount of achievements is going to change that.”
I slumped back in the tub until the water came up to my chin. Maverick had told me enough about his father that I already hated the man, but I’d never stopped to actually think about why Maverick put his work above all else. He did it to try and protect his sister, and maybe along the way, he lost sight of how to do anything else.
“One day, at the Academy of Ladies, I’d overheard a few girls talking about the bone collector, who’d they’d heard about from their parents—friends of the frost queen. It was curious, but I didn’t think too much of it. Then my brother visited, and he was so full of life. He had this energy about him like nothing I’d ever seen before. He’d always loved history, but never like this. Now it was like he was actually enjoying his profession, not just going through the motions.”
I swallowed, watching the water fall from the chute and pool into the tub.
“I didn’t tell him my suspicions,” she continued. “He was so happy, and I was afraid I’d ruin it. That he’d get it into his head that if I knew, our father could find out, others could find out as well. Of course, I didn’t know who the white rabbit was, not until I saw you and Maverick together today. It was fairly easy to piece it together from there.”
“You’re very clever,” I said. “I’m impressed.”
“He loves you, you know,” she said softly.
I stiffened at that. The word sat like a stone in my gut. Love. “I’m not trying to hurt him,” I said. “You must hate me.”
“I don’t,” she said quickly. “I know you’re not trying to hurt him. You’re trying to protect yourself from being hurt. Mav told me a little about your past. I don’t exactly know why you’re so sure he’s going to trap you like you were trapped before, but I can tell you with certainty he won’t.”
“And how do you know that?” I asked.
“Because he’s already shown you that he’d put everything on the line for you—including his job. He became the bone collector. Do you know what a risk that is to his reputation, to his career? And why would he even be the bone collector? His adventures as Maverick Von Lucas are proof enough that he never needed to be the bone collector to do what he loved, to feel alive. So what was the one thing that kept him in that role?”
Me.
The answer was obvious. Maverick had admitted as much. Of course that was why he’d continued our little game, continued doing dangerous stunts under the guise of the bone collector. Because as Maverick Von Lucas, he couldn’t have had anything to do with the white rabbit.
Tears pricked my eyes.
“I don’t know as much about the white rabbit, I’ll admit. But I’m guessing you served as somewhat of an inspiration for my brother,” Annalee continued. “I’m guessing you two had quite a few run-ins, got to know each other over the years.”
“Yes,” I whispered, tears spilling down my cheeks as I thought about all our adventures.
She was right. Clever, clever girl. Yet it didn’t change what I saw in the lake. What I knew to be our path should Maverick and I ever choose a life together.
I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around my waist. My skin felt wrinkly and clean. Now all I needed was a long, long nap and maybe I’d feel just a fraction better. When I emerged from the bath chamber, a freshly laundered dress lay on the bed. Red, yellow, and pink roses were embroidered across the bottom of the skirt. The fabric was a nude color with a black lace overlay, and the sleeves were thin straps that I assumed would hang around my biceps. It was beautiful.
Annalee shrugged. “Found it in the wardrobe if you want something clean.” Her eyes gleamed .
She was still scheming, but I didn’t know exactly what she had planned. If she hoped I’d put on the dress, and Maverick would see me, then we’d fall into each other’s arms, she was going to be sorely disappointed. It would take more than a pretty dress to fix the issues that lay between us.
“Go talk to him.” She gazed up at me with wide copper eyes, so full of hope.
“Annalee,” I started, but she stood from the bed, rushing forward and taking my hands.
“Fine, don’t go talk to him, but I heard his door click open while you were bathing, and if I know my brother, he went exploring, probably hoping to root out some secrets from this place. Discover new artifacts, unveil hidden histories. You wouldn’t want him to have all the fun, would you?”
She’d poked at my competitive spirit, and damnit, it had worked. Maverick and I hadn’t gotten to play our game in almost two years, and I missed it. I snatched the dress from the bed as Annalee squealed and clapped her hands.
I shoved it over my head, then pointed at her. “Don’t get too excited. I’m just going to explore a little. I might not even run into him.”
She widened her eyes innocently. “Of course.”
My gaze caught on the pocket watch laying on the bed, still counting backward, a little past the eleven now, close and closer to the twelve. Annalee trailed a finger down it. “Not long until the opening closes again. Maybe two, three days, at most.”
I stilled. “You know what this watch is counting down to?”
Her gaze bounced back and forth. “Don’t you?”
“No,” I cried, rushing forward and picking it up by the chain. It dangled between us. “We’ve been trying to figure it out this whole time.”
“Oh.” Annalee frowned. “I learned about it from one of my friends. A caterpillar, actually.”
I didn’t even want to know.
She studied it. “There is a way out of the Wilds. The same place where I got in. A hole in the border. But it only opens every few months. The clock counts down to when it’ll open again. ”
Holy fucking spirits below. I looped it around my neck. “We have to tell the others.” And come up with a plan to leave. I gazed at the bath chamber longingly. Which meant no more hot baths and nice, comfy beds. We’d be back out in the Wilds before I knew it.
Annalee nodded, lips pursed. “Maybe at dinner tonight?” She bit her lip. “My brother is going to want me to leave with you guys. I don’t know if I want to.”
I knew what it felt like to be pushed into something that you didn’t want for yourself. “Annalee?” I grabbed her hands.
She watched me, a wariness passing over her face.
“I can’t pretend I know what you’ve been through with your father, but I do understand what it’s like to feel like no one cares about what you want for yourself, like no one has faith in you or your dreams.” I paused. “Figurative and literal. You’re beyond brave for forging your own path, for coming here, doing something most wouldn’t dare. You’re kind, and I can tell you have a special bond with the creatures here. A way with them that I suspect no one else has. No matter what happens moving forward, don’t let anyone take that from you. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you to follow your heart. It’s gotten you this far.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “I think we have more in common than I realized.”
I winked. “I think you’re right.”
She slipped her hand from mine. “Now get out of here. Before Aron comes by and has a chance to stop you. I’m going to enjoy a nice, warm bath.”
I nodded and shoved my feet in bright red slippers that sat by the door. Time to go explore... and try to avoid the bone collector in the process.