7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
I wait until after nightfall, when the moon is high in the sky and the castle has gone deathly silent.
Launching myself out of bed, I make for the wardrobe and pull out a riding dress and boots. Quickly, I step into it and secure it to my body. I nearly stab myself sticking the hair pins into my braid much faster than I should have, but I don’t have any time to spare.
Once my boots are on, I drape my wool cloak over my shoulders. I remember to take a candelabra with me from my bedside before stepping into the dark hallway. The dim light of the candles lights my path without drawing too much attention.
Good.
I’m still not sure where the dungeons are, but my common sense tells me they’re somewhere below us. So, that’s where I go.
I make my way down the main staircase and turn right when I get to the bottom. Sidestepping into a narrow opening in the wall meant for archers, I press my body flat to the stone and wait for the guards on patrol to pass by before advancing.
As I move through the corridor, I peek behind the doors. Some are locked. It’s hard to see in the dark, but the closer I get to the kitchens, more and more of the ones I can open seem to be storage closets or pantries.
I continue farther down the hall until I reach the end. There’s a heavy-looking door to my right, with a large steel handle.
Holding up the candelabra to get a better look, I reach out to open it. As I expected, one tug on the handle tells me it’s locked.
Plucking the hair pin from my head, I slip it into the lock, grateful that I thought to bring it. The motion brings me back to a time when Loren and I were children, and we snuck into the nearby bakery to steal some sweets. We made it out of the bakery without being caught, thank the gods, but Father was there waiting for me when I returned home, my little arms full of pastries. I remember how angry he was, at first. But like always, Father couldn’t stay upset with me for long.
Narrowing my eyes, I renew my focus. The days of stealing sweets are long gone. And if I get caught, the stakes are so much higher now. I could be imprisoned, like Loren is at the moment. Or, if the Crown Prince grows tired of my defiance, I could be killed.
Imagining that it’s a dagger in Viridian’s chest, I drive the hair pin deeper, until I face some resistance from the lock’s mechanism. Then, keeping a firm grip on it, I turn it counterclockwise.
A click sounds.
On high alert, I glance over my shoulder to make sure there’s no one around. The guards on patrol seem to have passed this area of the castle, but I don’t want to stay here for long, in case they circle back this way. Placing my palms on the door, I push it open, careful not to make much noise. A set of long, stone stairs waits before me, descending into gods know what.
Sucking in a breath, I creep down the steps. I find myself in a long hallway, lined with thick, reinforced steel bars. The ones closest to me are empty, and my feet carry me forward. As I do, I desperately search for Loren, anxious to find him.
I hear him before I see him.
“Cryssa?” He whispers, loud enough for me to hear. The dungeons are so quiet that any sound seems much louder than it should be.
“Loren,” I breathe, breaking into a light jog. When I reach Loren’s cell, I wrap my fingers around the bars. Clutching them so hard, my knuckles go white.
“Cryssa,” Loren says again, cupping my cheek through a gap in the steel. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.” I nod and my lower lip quivers without my permission.
Viridian’s threat from dinner, the night I held the butter knife to his throat, rises to the forefront of my mind.
“If you ever try to cross me again, I will personally see to it that your lover pays the price.”
I remember how angry he was. How his eyes blazed.
“Has he hurt you?” I ask Loren, frantically scanning him for injuries. “The Crown Prince?”
“No,” he assures me, brushing his thumb back and forth against my cheek. “I haven’t seen him since that first day.”
I sigh in relief, and the tension in my shoulders lessens.
“We have to go,” I tell him. Dropping to my knees, I inspect the metal bars, looking for the lock.
“We can’t.” Loren’s words hang over me, heavy with the sting of defeat.
“What do you mean, we can’t?” I look up at him, eyes wide. “We can’t stay here.”
“Believe me, I know—I don’t want to stay here. I…” His voice slows. “I want a quiet life with you, in Slyfell. Maybe a farm, children, I don’t know.”
I drop my gaze from his .
A quiet life in Slyfell. A safe life. The life I always thought I would have.
“You don’t… You don’t want more than that?” I ask. I know this isn’t the time to have this conversation, but I can’t seem to stop the question from leaving my lips.
Loren crouches, so he’s at my level. “What more is there to want?”
“I don’t know,” I murmur, shaking my head a little. “ Something .”
There’s so much out there—so much to see, so much to do. The whole world waits at our fingertips. There has to be something else.
Something more.
Right?
But Loren only chuckles softly, looking at me as if I’ve said something adorable. I don’t like it.
“The cell,” I say, my voice grainy as I direct his attention back to the steel that cages him. Anything to make him stop looking at me like that—like wanting more out of life is so unfathomable. “We need to open this door.”
“We can’t, Cryssa. There’s no lock.”
“No lock?” My words come out fast and garbled. “How can there not be—”
“Magic,” Loren cuts in. “It’s magically secured.” His expression lifts slightly, as if he’s remembering the bakery incident, too. “There’s no lock for you to pick this time. Trust me, I wish there were. ”
“Then we’ll find another way out,” I say, rising to my feet. “We’ll think of something, we can—”
Loren’s entire body goes rigid. He holds up his palm, and the motion silences me immediately.
Cocking his head, he flicks his eyes toward the dungeons’ entrance and then back to me. Clearing my mind, I strain to listen.
Voices.
There are voices coming from the top of the staircase leading down here.
“You need to leave,” Loren tells me, his words firm. “Now.”
“Like hell I’m leaving you.” He’s here because of me. The thought of leaving him here alone has guilt twisting in my stomach.
“Yes, you are,” he says, more forcefully this time. “If you get caught down here, Cryssa… Fated or not, I can’t let myself think of what he’ll do to you.”
The Crown Prince.
My nostrils flare, brows pinched together. Even when he’s not here, he infuriates me.
“That gods-damned bastard.” I hate him for putting us in this situation.
“You can give him hell later,” Loren says, as if he can read my mind.
I open my mouth to protest.
“Please, Cryssa,” he begs. “Go. ”
I stare at him for a moment, unblinking.
“Fine,” I grind out at last. “But I’m coming back for you, and you can’t stop me.”
Loren flashes me that toothy grin. “Of course not.”
I reach through the bars to give his upper arm a squeeze before backing away. Once he’s no longer in my line of sight, I quicken my pace, staying close to the stone walls.
Lowering my body, I climb the stairs. My thighs burn, begging for release, but I don’t rise to my full height until I’m back upstairs.
Poking my head out, my eyes sweep the surrounding area.
Whoever was here a moment ago is gone. But I know they can’t be far.
Tiptoeing back into the main floor of the castle, I push the door closed behind me. Hair pin in hand, I quickly turn around to lock it, so there’s no evidence of me being here.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a deep voice says behind me.
Panic rises in my chest. I whirl around.
Viridian stands before me. His pants hang low on his waist, and his thin, white shirt does little to hide his muscular frame. The top of his shirt is untied, revealing the smooth planes of his chest. His shaggy black hair is mussed with sleep, falling in front of his calculating amber eyes.
“How long have you been standing there?” I snap, forcing myself to take my eyes off his physique .
Fear claws at my throat. Does he know I was in the dungeons?
“Long enough.” Viridian’s gaze narrows. The way he says it makes me think that he wants me to believe that he’s been trailing me for longer than he actually has. “I asked you a question, Little Fawn. Where do you think you’re going?”
“To the kitchens,” I lie, leveling my expression. If there’s a chance that he doesn’t know what I’ve been up to, then I can’t slip up now. “I’m feeling a bit hungry.”
“You’re hungry? At this hour?”
“Yes. I’m hungry.”
“You passed the kitchens.”
“Did I?” I ask. “How silly of me.”
Unconvinced, Viridian takes the candelabra from me.
“You may be a good liar,” he says and steps closer, cornering me until my back is pressed to the wall. His chest is like an impenetrable barrier before me, keeping me pinned here, under his intense stare. “But I’m not fool enough to fall for it.”
My body betrays me. Heat rises to my cheeks and gathers in my core. I exhale, forcing myself to breathe through the sensation.
He tilts his head down, close enough that I can feel his warm breath on my neck. It sends chills dancing down my skin, and I can’t help but shudder.
“I know what you were attempting. ”
“Do you now?” I stick out my chin in defiance. His words only confirm my suspicions—he thinks he caught me before I made it into the dungeons.
Relief loosens some of the panic constricting my lungs. But only some.
“Yes. It doesn’t take much to put the pieces together.” His eyes burn like hot coals. Still, the way they’re focused on me makes me want to buck my hips against his.
“Arrogant male. You think much too highly of yourself, Your Highness .”
That gets a rise out of him. “Oh, really? We’re going to play this game, then, aren’t we?”
“Game?” I sneer, wrinkling my nose. I lean my head back against the wall, eager to put some distance between us, though I’m unsuccessful. “Unlike you, I’m not here to play games.”
“You just can’t admit defeat, can you?” He lets out a laugh, and it’s a raw, bitter sound. It’s warm on my face. “This is the second time I’ve caught you red-handed. You wouldn’t be sneaking around in a cloak if you just wanted something to eat .” He bares his teeth. “I told you, Little Fawn. You’re not so hard to read.”
That lights a spark in my stomach. My anger simmers and bubbles over, overpowering the hint of desire I feel.
“Fuck you.” I touch my palms to his chest and shove him.
Hard .
Viridian’s eyes flare, though he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. I can see the way he looks at me—with that familiar, self-righteous, noble fae disgust.
Even though he’s doing nothing but stand there, watching me, the mere sight of him only makes my blood boil even more.
“What is it now?” I blurt out, gritting my teeth.
Those amber eyes go cold, though they still burn like embers. “You’re a fool if you think I’m going to just walk away after catching you trying to escape.”
“Don’t even think about following me back to my room,” I demand, not caring to undercut the harshness of my tone. “I can get there perfectly fine on my own.”
To my surprise, he listens.
“Fine.” Holding up his hands in surrender, he backs away from me.
Despite the triumph I feel having won this battle, part of me is disappointed that he doesn’t protest.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Still, he watches me closely, as if I were a wild animal. Tendrils of his hair fall in front of his eyes. “It’s in your best interest that you don’t get into any more trouble tonight.”
The way he says it is so icy, I can practically feel the chill on my skin. It only makes my face hotter, my skin heated by my rage.
But that does little to stifle my craving to grab him by the collar and taste those soft lips .
“Gods- damn you,” I curse.
I hate him. I’m furious with him. I shouldn’t be so attracted to this male.
Frustrated with him, and with myself, I storm to my chambers and slam the door.