Chapter 24
“We should search the garden while we’re here,” I murmured, not wanting to break this peace I’d found in his arms but knowing my responsibilities would demand it now more than ever. Eleanor was suspicious. I needed to get her away from here before she did something reckless.
Shade cupped my face again, tilting it back until my gaze met his. The rough pad of his thumb brushed away a stray tear, smearing it across my cheek. “We’ll get out, Adelia. We’ll get both of you out.”
I nodded, believing his words in that moment, no matter how far-fetched they seemed.
Nathanial was waiting outside the greenhouse door with a curious expression on his face. Hidden in my skirts, Shade’s fingers tangled with my own, and I drew strength from his touch.
We walked farther into the garden, my guard trailing behind us.
We passed an expansive croquet field, several young men and women playing a lively game.
My eyes narrowed on them; most were close to Eleanor’s age.
Perhaps they were the ones causing issues in her classes.
They paused to watch us pass, many eyeing Shade with an undercurrent of fear.
The garden was filled with a variety of sculptures, and I subtly reached out to touch each one we passed, checking for any indication it was a trigger, which was difficult to do under Nathanial’s watchful gaze.
We passed under a stone arch decorated with carvings of flowers and thorny vines, to find a magnificent water fountain.
A statue of a dancing woman was at its center, water pouring from her outstretched hands.
Her stone torso was stained green from prolonged exposure to water, making it appear as though she wore a moss dress.
Weeds rose through the cracked pavers surrounding the fountain while large trees towered over it in a spacious circle, the still-green canopy hiding the sun and darkening the space.
Behind the trees, a vine-covered wall enclosed the circle, reminding me of a hedge maze, only wilder.
It was every bit as overgrown and neglected as the rest of the garden was manicured and watered, and by far, my favorite place I’d seen since we arrived at Prallues.
Nathanial waited at the archway. It was obviously a dead end, but it gave us a little privacy.
We strolled around the fountain, taking our time and basking in each other’s silent company.
When we reached the opposite side to the arch, movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention.
I squinted, struggling to see anything in the dim space, then an achingly familiar swirling in the shadows became clear.
“Have you been doing that the whole time?” I murmured to Shade still at my side.
He nodded almost imperceptibly. “The shadows can hide them, and I can manipulate them to check areas we can’t reach.”
Warmth filled my chest, and I gripped his fingers tighter. Even under close watch, he had found a way to search for a way out, subtly using his smoke tendrils.
Voices rose from the archway and the swirling stopped. Shade’s smoke retreated to his body when we reached Nathanial and the gardener who spoke to him.
“It’s time to go back inside, miss,” Nathanial said.
I sighed heavily and stared at the sky, the sun rising ever higher. Our first search of the garden had been as fruitful as all the searches in the library—not at all. We still had a few weeks before I would be forced down the aisle, I just hoped we’d find one of the tunnels in time.
“I suppose it is,” I muttered, and we headed back the way we came.
Those few weeks flew by in a blur of monotonous days. Wake up. Breakfast with Eleanor. Search the garden. Search the library. Dinner with King Terym. Repeat.
Eleanor never revisited our argument, even if at times I could feel her eyes on me, questions unasked between us.
The conflict within me only worsened. Shade’s words made me rethink every decision, so much so I didn’t know what to do.
I came close a few times to blurting it out over our morning meal, but I stopped myself every time, guilt ridden.
My favorite part of the day was when Shade and I were alone after dinner.
We would talk late into the night. He would regale me with stories of his youth and childhood, though never anything more about how he came to be in the lamp.
He didn’t mention his family, immediately changing the subject if I questioned him.
It frustrated me beyond reason, but I understood trauma, and his response to my questions made me think it was what stopped him.
I wanted to know absolutely everything there was to know about him.
He intrigued me in a way no other ever had, always calm and certain in his beliefs.
His stories were entertaining and often had me laughing until my stomach hurt.
He showed general interest in my life, so I told him of my childhood and my struggles in raising Eleanor.
There was never any pity when I spoke of my parents’ deaths, only compassion and understanding—something entirely refreshing.
Pierce alternated between following us around and being assigned to Eleanor during her classes.
His days made it easiest to search, because he tended to give us a bit more freedom.
He was our guard the day before my wedding, and I found myself drawn to the dancing fountain again.
Something about the cool darkness of the space offered me a comfort I sorely needed.
I sat on the fountain’s edge, dipping my hand into the cold water and letting it rush through my fingers. If we didn’t find anything, I would be forced to marry the king tomorrow. My determination had dwindled more with each day unearthing nothing—no sign or hidden door.
No way out.
Shade pulled my hand from the water, cupping it in the warmth of his. “Do not give up, my Solis.”
That name again, the one he hadn’t used since the first time, the day after Terym’s proposal. What did it mean?
I opened my mouth, ready to ask that very question, and a breeze brushed over us. What caught my attention was the fact it hadn’t come from the sole entrance to this cove, but rather a section of the vine-covered wall.
Or at least, what I had assumed was a wall.
I rose and walked toward it, staring intently. The leaves fluttered, and the vines swayed in a gentle rhythm.
“Adelia?” Shade asked, voice filled with confusion.
“I think there’s a gap in the wall here.”
He followed my gaze, and when I pushed against the thick foliage, it gave way slightly. I repeated the movement farther along the wall and met resistance, stone underneath.
I rolled back and forth on my feet, meeting Shade’s gaze. This could be it, the secret entrance, our escape. “There’s definitely a gap in the stone.”
His eyes reflected the same anticipation building in my chest. We pulled against the tough vines, making a gap big enough to peak through.
“There’s definitely something on the other side,” I said when I caught sight of the dimness beyond the thick brush.
We pulled again, leaves and long vines showering us from the top of the archway.
Shade’s smoke joined in, the thin tendrils stronger than I thought possible as they tugged the foliage enough to make an opening we could fit past. We forced our way through, the vines falling back into place behind us.
We stood inside a stone pergola, and unlike the one in Ferveem Forest, it was entirely overgrown.
The weeds poking through stone were worse than around the fountain, and vines draped the space like a blanket, dirt smeared along the stone and hiding it from view.
In the center sat a small bench, only large enough to seat one.
It faced an alcove built into the wall, a carving in a slab of vertical stone depicting a king and his queen, most of the details worn away with age.
“This has to be it,” I breathed, taking it all in.
“I agree,” Shade said, stalking forward and brushing away the dirt and debris covering the bench, searching for the trigger.
I inched closer to the alcove and the carving inside. The king gazed down at the woman at his side, and even in its aged state, the devotion on his face was breathtaking. This king had cared for his queen enough to ensure she had an escape from the castle if they were invaded.
I pulled at the vines covering the stone, clearing enough to see the queen holding a hand aloft, a bird resting against her palm. It was different to the rest of the stone, its edges more refined.
The vision was so similar to the window in my room that flashbacks assaulted me, my chest constricted, an attack threatening. I counted, as my father had taught me, forcing my mind to focus on the present.
One. Two. Three.
“I can’t find anything,” Shade said, dragging me from the fog of my impending spiral. I stared at the bird again, digging my nails into my palm to ground me further.
“Here,” I murmured, my heart pumping adrenaline through my veins as I reached out to the small carving.
Shade hovered behind me, his warm breath dusting over my neck building the anticipation even more. I pressed against the small bird, and with enough force, it gave way. There was a muffled click from behind the stone, then it shifted back.
“We found it.” Tears pricked my eyes and relief flooded my body like a torrent of cool rain. “We actually found it.”
I turned to Shade, and he hauled me into his arms, smothering me in his warm embrace. “You found it, Adelia. It was all you.”
I beamed up at him through watery eyes. We could escape. I wouldn’t have to marry the king. Eleanor would be safe.
“We should check the tunnel to make sure its passable, then come back tonight with Eleanor,” he said, and I nodded, wiping away the tears spilling onto my cheeks.
Together, we pushed against the stone, and the slab swung open. The area beyond was dark, but the doorway allowed enough light to filter through to see it was indeed a tunnel.