Chapter 20 #2
I don’t, but I won’t tell him that. Silas has always flirted and has been very open about his affection toward me. That man wouldn’t know what to do with someone like me though, so I’ve ignored it and pushed it aside as playful banter. I’d rather remain blissfully unaware than break his heart.
“How would you even be able to tell, anyway?”
“Because he reeks with it. I can smell it,” he says, insinuating that his sense of smell can detect such a thing. “Plus, it’s the way he looks at you. He wants you—he’s infatuated.”
I huff because Silas has always just been there for me late at night. Someone to talk to when I’m lonely. I feel nothing for the human other than the friendly conversation I offer him.
Tucking a strand of hair back behind my ear, I study Rydian a moment longer. He flicks an invisible piece of dust off his cloak and lifts his eyes, meeting my stare.
“You can’t tell just by a look, Rydian.”
“Trust me, I can.”
“How?” I challenge him.
“Because I’m familiar with it, that’s how,” he mumbles and holds my gaze just long enough before walking past me. His boots thud, then crunch against the straw as he peeks out the back, scanning the area from side to side.
“Are you sweet on some lady back in Aurelia?” My tone is taunting, mocking him as he eyes me.
“Something like that,” he mutters, and my stomach drops. I’m unable to stop myself from the stab of jealousy simmering up my spine. Ugh, what is wrong with me? Why did I even ask?
Rydian peeks out the back of the stables again and then gestures for me to follow, like he’s the one who lives at the castle. I roll my eyes, following him out and veering to the right.
We walk a few steps before he disappears into the Veil again once we hit the corner of the stables.
I continue forward, looking to my right to find Silas still near the gate, and pretend that I’m headed to my room as usual.
I make it to my stairwell, but just as I’m about to ascend the steps, Rydian clears his throat.
I halt, my foot halfway raised to the first step when I turn back around to face nothing but air. Right, because he’s still in the Veil.
With a huff, I peek around the corner to check Silas’s position, tucking myself into the shadows so he doesn’t see me, and drop my voice to a whisper.
“How does this… permission thing work?”
“Orin gave me a few different options when he looked into it,” he says in a way that leaves me to believe he’s not exactly sure it’s going to work.
“You should know how to get in, right?” I ask.
Silence lingers. “I’ve never been invited to Castle Alvonia, so no. Just… grab my hand. Orin mentioned something about a resident letting you in that way, but you need to grant them access by speaking the words.”
“Fine,” I say with a sigh, thrusting my hand into the space where I assume he’s standing. Only a quiet grunt of pain reaches my ears. I blink, tilting my head. “Did I just—”
“You hit me,” he groans. “Right in my groin.”
My lips twitch, but I somehow manage to maintain my composure.
“Oh,” I say casually, though the corners of my lips threaten to betray me as they begin to quirk up in amusement. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t stand there.”
He mutters something too quiet for me to hear—I’m assuming it was a curse—as I extend my hand out again, higher this time. He grips my hand. I suddenly give him a hard yank, and the ward flares to life. A bright blue glow ripples out as Rydian slams into the invisible barrier with a hard smack.
No access granted.
He groans again, and this time, a quiet chuckle escapes me before I can stop it.
“Really?” he snaps, his whisper sharp. “Do you think this is funny?”
I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle the laughter bubbling up. “It’s a little funny.”
I shrug and then sneak a glance around the corner. Silas still sits just outside the gate, warming his hands over the fire and seemingly oblivious to what’s going at the end of the castle.
“I said you have to grant me access by speaking it,” Rydian hisses. “You can’t just fling me through the ward like a sack of salt.”
“Alright, alright,” I say calmly, holding my hands up in surrender. “No need to be dramatic.”
His voice drops an octave. “Would you like for me to show you what dramatic looks like when I finally get inside that room, little fawn?”
His words hang in the air, and for a moment, I can’t tell if he’s talking about the ward or something else entirely. My face warms, the double meaning sinking in before I can stop my thoughts from going in a dangerous direction.
“Howler got your tongue?” Rydian asks, his tone light. “Now are you going to let me in? Because I don’t have all night.”
I glare. “Yes, okay. Just… give me your hand.” I flex my outstretched fingers to encourage him to grab it.
“If I smack into that ward again, I might actually kill you,” he warns.
“Hush and give me your hand.”
He finally places his hand in mine, giving me a gentle but tight squeeze when I tuck my chin, wrapping my other hand around his. I hesitate, unsure how to begin.
“Just state your name and who you’re allowing inside the walls of Castle Alvonia. Orin said to do that first,” he says.
“We don’t even know if it’s going to work.”
“Just do it,” he snaps, though the tension in his voice says even he’s uncertain. He adds more softly, “Please.”
I sigh and give it a shot, but our hope is fleeting as we spend the next thirty minutes voicing different ways to access the castle, leaving us both frustrated.
He strides forward again—for the fifteenth time—only for the invisible wall to glow a bright blue, denying access.
When he finally steps out of the Veil, his jaw is clenched tight.
I rub my hands together for warmth, the frigid chill seeping into my bones. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow and we can try again? It’s too cold to stand out here all night.”
“You’re doing it wrong,” he says, releasing a frustrated exhale as my eyes narrow. “Focus. State your name and who you’re letting in.”
“We already did that,” I clip. Yet there’s one way we haven’t tried yet. We haven’t stated where we’re letting access—perhaps that’s what we’re missing. Just as he steps back to leave, I snap my hand out to grip his. “Wait. Let me try one more time.”
His brows draw close together before he cranes his neck, checking Silas’s location one last time, then facing me with a nod.
I focus my eyes on the invisible wall, hoping that it works because if it doesn’t, we’re going to have to do this on another day. Or I’m going to end up doing this whole thing myself without help.
I quickly mutter the words, and with a gentle tug, pull him to me and hold my breath. He finally steps through as the ward of Castle Alvonia shimmers gold, rippling around his frame.
A grin lights up my face as I look up at him.
He’s in.