Chapter 10 The Third Floor
The Third Floor
Raewyn
For the next several days I only saw Pharis during our training sessions.
That left plenty of time for exploring his home, which I did as much as my healing legs would allow. Stormcrest was massive and utterly wonderful.
The morning room faced the ocean and featured silver-leaf wall panels to reflect the light pouring in through its copious windows.
I particularly loved its ceiling mural, painted to depict the four seasons, and thanks to the abundant live plants and potted trees, the air in the room always smelled fresh.
The formal dining room was breathtaking no matter how many evening meals I consumed in it.
I was frequently drawn to the upper and lower loggias on the castle’s ocean-facing side. The open air extensions of the living quarters were covered overhead but open on one side to admit sea breezes and provide stunning views of the Great Gray sea.
Both loggias had vaulted tile ceilings featuring mosaics created with thousands of tiny pieces of marble to form whimsical designs like frolicking dolphins, dancing waves, and colorful coral.
Despite all the grandeur, my favorite room remained the library. It was where I spent most of my time.
Its rich fabrics, leather furniture, dark, walnut-paneled walls, and perpetually burning fireplace made it feel like a cozy cocoon I could easily tuck into for hours at a time.
About a week after our training sessions had begun, I was curled up in one of the comfy leather chairs reading before the fireplace when I noticed Pharis pass the open doorway and glance inside.
A few minutes later, he walked past again. And again, he darted his eyes in my direction as he went by but said nothing and didn’t acknowledge our eye contact.
When it happened a third time, I sent him a mental message.
You can come in, you know.
He must have heard me because a moment later, his large frame filled the doorway.
“What did you say?”
“I said you can come in, you know. It is your library. There’s plenty of room in here for the both of us if you want to read. Or if it’s uncomfortable for you, I can leave.”
Pharis took a step inside, looking around. “That won’t be necessary. I’m too busy to read.”
“What is it that you do all day?” I asked. “When you’re not torturing me with training sessions that is. And why have you not come to dinner after that first night?”
“Why, do you miss me?” he asked in a teasing tone.
Without giving me a chance to respond, he said, “I have business to attend to. Planning a coup isn’t easy, you know.”
“Ha ha,” I said to his facetious response.
Just then a footman appeared at the library entrance.
“The carriage is here, My Prince.”
“Yes, thanks,” Pharis said. “I’ll be there shortly.”
A carriage? Did Pharis have a visitor?
Based on his response to the footman, he had been expecting the arrival. Was he making it public knowledge now that he’d survived the dragon attack, or was he sharing that information with only a select few?
And only wealthy people had carriages. Whoever his guest was had to be a person of means.
“Is it Stellon?” I asked in a near-frantic tone, giving voice to the first thought that had popped into my head.
Pharis and Stellon at different times had each told me how close they’d been growing up. Only once I’d arrived on the scene had they experienced a rift.
Perhaps Pharis had reached out secretly to his brother and let him know he was alive.
Perhaps he’d even told him about me?
Pharis turned away from the footman to level a scowl at me. “No, it’s not your ‘true love.’ And you still have some work to do controlling your thought projection.”
He took a deep breath and held it a moment before exhaling. His tone was less bitter but still stern.
“The carriage is empty. I just bought it so I can travel anonymously. I’ll be on the road for the next week or so, so we’ll have to suspend your training for the time being.”
Going to the library door, he turned back.
“And don’t bother asking the staff about my comings and goings. I might have allowed them to speak with you, but I won’t be merciful if any of them shares my private affairs. Just know that if any of your new friends can’t hold his or her tongue, they’ll lose it—and it’ll be your fault.”
As he left, I almost said, “Good riddance,” but it probably wasn’t necessary, as the silent shout I sent his way should have easily done the trick.
As he’d said, Pharis was away for a stretch of several days.
Which was a good thing.
Spending time with him day after day as we practiced mind-to-mind communication wasn’t ideal if I wanted to remain immune to his charms.
The fact was, villain or not, Pharis was charming. It was just who he was.
And it was good to have a break.
I filled my days with books and chats with Kem and the other girls and walks around the castle. I spent time outdoors as well, enjoying the changing colors of the leaves on the estate’s wide variety of tree species.
The first time I went out on the back terrace, there was an extremely obvious change in the view.
The tall hedge walls that used to enclose the two flower gardens and partially obscure the view of the ocean from the terrace had been removed.There wasn’t so much of a stump left to indicate they’d ever been there.
“The hedges are gone,” I said to Kem, who’d volunteered to go out for some fresh air with me.
She nodded. “The groundskeeper cut them down. Don’t know why. Maybe they were diseased. Or maybe the Prince grew bored of them.”
Or maybe someone had complained about them.
That had given me a moment of discomfort.
When Pharis did things like that, it reminded me far too much of the way he’d taken care of me and my family on the road to Havendor, going out of his way to keep us safe and comfortable, to amuse my sisters, and to get lifesaving help for my father.
I just didn’t understand him. He could be so kind in one moment and so cruel the next.
Perhaps that perplexing mixture was what compelled me to climb the stairs to the only area of the castle I had not yet explored.
The third floor.
It had to be where his private chambers were located.
The healer had said Pharis enjoyed a view from “high up.” I never saw him enter or leave any of the doors on the second floor where my room was located.
I knew the staff quarters were up on the third floor, but there weren’t that many of them, only about thirty or so.
Even if they all had their own rooms, there would still be plenty of space leftover for a master suite.
Climbing the two flights of stairs to the second story wasn’t too much of a challenge. I’d been doing it a few times a day lately. I did have to pause for a rest at the bottom of the third-story staircase.
Looking around first, I climbed those steps, tiptoeing so as not to be caught in the act by Pharis’ loyal servants.
They were friendly, but I doubted they’d approve of me snooping in the Prince’s personal rooms.
They’d probably even prevent it if they were aware of my intent.
No one saw me though, and I reached the third floor landing, pausing a moment to look one way down the hall and then the other.
In one direction there was a long corridor with numerous doors. In the other, the hallway walls were smooth, and at the end there was only a single door.
So that’s where I went.
Heart pounding and breaths shallow, I scurried down the hall and reached for the door handle.
Shaded stars. It was locked.
Of course it was. Pharis wouldn’t be likely to warn me about staying out of his chambers and then leave the castle with his door unlocked.
But I couldn’t let a small thing like a locked door stop me. The fact that it was locked made me want to get inside even more.
What could be in there? The question was too tantalizing to ignore.
This was my chance to quench my incessant curiosity, while Pharis was away from home. It might be the only one I would get, and who knew when he might return?
Going back down the hallway toward the servants’ quarters, I started trying doors.
The first one was unlocked, and I peeked quickly inside then shut the door again, moving down the hall in search of the housekeeper’s room.
All the staff were downstairs, but I was nervous anyway. I had no intention of snooping about in their belongings, I only wanted one thing. A key.
Finally at the end of the hall, I tried the last door.
Success. It was apparent by its contents that this was the housekeeper’s room. Going inside, I turned a full circle, hoping beyond hope she kept a spare set of keys in here.
There, on the far wall.
My heart tapped against my ribs as I spotted a large round ring hung from a peg. It contained what had to be a copy of every key in the castle.
I’d figure out which was the right one later. For now, I grabbed the heavy metal ring from the wall and hurried back down the hall to Pharis’ door.
Standing in front of it, I held up the ring and began sifting through the keys, hoping one would be larger or marked with an obvious P or somehow more significant than the rest.
Eventually I came to one with a jewel in the bow part at the top. That seemed promising.
Inserting the end of it into the lock on Pharis’ door, I turned it.
And it clicked.