Chapter Fourteen Riela
Chapter Fourteen
Riela
Garrick helped me put the mattress back on the bed—by hand. He scowled the entire time, but he did the job with care rather
than rushed impatience, and that told me far more about him than he probably would’ve liked.
We very deliberately did not talk about anything that had happened since we awoke. Once Garrick left, I would take a nice
long bath to work out my remaining physical reaction.
My thighs clenched at the memory of his hips between them.
I was going to need a very long bath.
Garrick returned the dagger to the wardrobe, then surveyed the room. If he was feeling the same effects I was, then he was
doing a better job concealing them. He moved to the door, and it opened easily for him. Just before he left, I asked, “Why
couldn’t I open the door last night?”
“Protection charm,” he grumbled, then disappeared into the hallway.
He’d been protecting himself as much as me, but that didn’t keep the warm feeling of fondness from growing in my heart. It
was unwise—perhaps lethally so—but for all of his standoffishness since I’d arrived, he hadn’t actually been mean, and that made all the difference.
If I’d been trapped in a forest for who knew how long, maybe I’d be grouchy, too. I supposed I was going to find out, assuming
Garrick was right and I couldn’t leave.
After a lovely bath and an even lovelier orgasm, I pulled on a pale gray dress that was made from an incredibly soft, finely
woven fabric. A pair of sturdy black slippers protected my feet from the cold floor.
I braided my damp hair away from my face, then asked the castle to take me to the kitchen. Maybe I’d be able to do it myself after I learned to control my magic more, but for now, the castle seemed willing to help. I stepped through the door and into the kitchen.
Neither Grim nor Garrick was in the room, so I didn’t have an audience as I failed to produce breakfast nearly a dozen times.
I was sweating with effort by the time I finally succeeded in creating a simple bowl of porridge.
Hopefully I’d be able to make more things as my control grew, because porridge was fine, but it wouldn’t be my first choice
for breakfast every single day. If I couldn’t create more complicated dishes with magic, maybe I could produce the ingredients
and make them myself, assuming I could find or build a hearth.
I finished the meal, but I still didn’t know how to disappear the dishes, so I just washed the spoon and bowl in the sink,
then set them out to dry on one of the rags the castle had produced yesterday.
Before I left the kitchen, I spent twenty minutes working to produce a sticky bun on a plate. I left it in the center of the
table for Garrick. I hoped it would make him smile, even if I wasn’t around to see it.
The Etheri king had promised to take me to the forest’s edge, but he hadn’t specified when. I figured he would want to wait until his magic had replenished, so it likely wasn’t going to be today. I could try to pester
him for magic lessons instead, but he would be even scowlier than usual with his magic exhausted, so I decided to explore
the castle.
If it also gave me time to forget how fantastic he had felt with his hips nestled between my legs, then that could only be considered
a bonus.
I took a few wrong turns, but eventually I found my way back to the front entrance. The tall, black doors were just as imposing
from this side. I turned and faced into the castle and pretended I was an arriving guest.
On my left was a dining room. An undisturbed layer of dust covered the longest dining table I’d ever seen. Two dozen tall, intricately carved chairs were arranged around a tabletop that looked like someone had taken a slice out of one of the giant trees in the forest.
On my right was a similarly sized room filled with chairs and couches. The furniture was arranged in small groupings that
would’ve been cozy if they weren’t also covered in dust. From what I could see, all of the furnishings were of the highest quality, so why would Garrick just let
them go to waste?
I moved deeper into the castle. The entrance hall led to an enormous room that was completely empty. The stone walls led up
to an intricately sculpted stone ceiling, and like the exterior of the castle, the entire room appeared to have been carved
from a single piece of stone. I didn’t know the room’s purpose, but glass-paneled doors revealed the greenery of an inner
courtyard.
The vast scope of the room became clear as I approached one of the doors. It was twice my height and had no visible handle
or latch.
“Could you open this for me?” I asked the castle.
The door cracked open. I carefully swung it wider, moving slowly. The hinges were good, but the door was heavy, and I didn’t
want to have to explain to Garrick why he was the proud owner of a lot of broken glass.
An overgrown gravel path led deeper into the greenery. The cool air was thick with the smell of flowers and good, loamy soil.
The path curved a few steps in, blocking the doors from view.
Wonder lightened my heart at the colorful riot of flowers, many of which I’d never seen before. Even the few flowers I recognized
shouldn’t have been blooming right now.
A vine on my left dripped with violet blossoms as big as my outstretched hand. It clung to a wooden trellis and draped over
a narrow stone bench. Ahead, hundreds of delicate orange flowers bloomed on a short tree with dark, glossy gray leaves.
I followed the path deeper into the garden, and every bend revealed some new delight. I stopped at a small pond and watched
silver, pink, and blue fish dart through strangely clear water.
Power hummed against my skin. I raised my own magic and everything around me glowed faintly silver. The courtyard was steeped in magic. No wonder everything looked a little otherworldly.
I kept moving until I found myself in an open glade in the center of the courtyard. I could see the castle walls over the
trees, but they seemed farther away than they should’ve been.
The glade was carpeted with wildflowers and a round pale white dais sat perfectly in the center. The stone dais was knee-high,
with two steps up from the gravel path. As I approached, I saw that the surface was carved with lines and glyphs inlaid with
silver. They were beautiful, but I didn’t understand their meaning.
I raised my magic again, to see if the dais glowed as much as the garden, then nearly jumped out of my skin as Garrick demanded,
“What are you doing?” from directly behind me.
I clutched my chest and whirled around. “Fucking saints, make some noise when you move!”
Garrick glowered at me. “What are you doing?” he repeated, his suspicion clear.
My pulse was hammering in my ears, so my voice came out sharp. “I’m exploring.”
“How did you get out here?” he asked as his silver eyes bored into me. Moonlit magic roiled around him like threatening storm
clouds. Apparently my concern that he needed time to recover his power had been unfounded.
I held up my hands to ward off his accusation, though I wasn’t exactly sure what he was accusing me of. “I asked the castle to open one of the glass doors in that big empty room.” When his frown deepened, I tentatively offered,
“I wanted to see the plants. I’ve never seen some of them before.”
“Why were you getting ready to use your magic?”
I laughed. “The only thing I can use my magic for is to see other magic. I wanted to see if the dais glowed like the rest
of the garden.” I glanced at it over my shoulder. “It’s pretty.”
That was the wrong answer. By the time I turned back to him, Garrick’s face had hardened into granite, and his eyes were flat and cold. “You are not allowed to be here.”
“Is it dangerous? Are the plants poisonous?” I looked at my hands in alarm. I hadn’t touched anything, had I? I didn’t think
so, but I swiped my palms against my dress, just in case.
“The plants aren’t poisonous,” he admitted begrudgingly, but his expression didn’t soften.
I stopped wiping my hands and frowned back at him. “Then can I stay?”
“No.”
I straightened my spine. “This castle is on a rocky island in the middle of a lake, and the forest is unsafe, which means
this”—I waved an arm around—“is my only chance of enjoying some greenery. I’m staying.”
Garrick’s eyes flashed. “You’re not.”
He was positively looming now, and my courage almost failed. But this wasn’t an argument I was going to lose. I loved flowers, and being around them soothed something in my soul. I would not give that up without a fight.
I crossed my arms, planted my feet more firmly on the ground, and raised my chin in challenge.
Garrick stepped closer, his eyes blazing and magic swirling around him. “Do you think this is a battle you can win, little
mage?”
I rolled my eyes and laughed to cover my increasing nervousness. Goading an Etheri king was entirely stupid, but I wouldn’t
give up without at least trying. And I didn’t think he would hurt me, not really.
Probably.
Hopefully.
“I’m hardly little,” I scoffed, “but yes, I’m going to win.”
Garrick stopped just a handbreadth away, and I was once again struck by his height. Perhaps I was little when compared to him. “Do tell,” he murmured.
I shivered as the low, intimate rumble of his voice washed over me, but now was not the time to get distracted.
I tipped my chin higher and met his gaze.
“I refuse to be cut off from nature. So if you lock me out of this courtyard, then I’ll have to brave the forest. The dangerous forest. It would be easier for both of us if you just let me stay here where it’s safe. ”
One eyebrow slowly lifted. “Would it?” he mused. “Or would it be easier to bar you from entering the forest and the courtyard?”
The man who’d stared at me with heat in his gaze this morning was completely gone, and in his place was an Etheri sovereign
who was used to being obeyed. I squeezed my arms tighter against my chest as I tried to hide the tremble of fear. He’d already
proven that he could prevent me from crossing the bridge, and it would be just as easy to prevent me from entering the courtyard.
What would I do if he tried? What could I do?
Nothing. Not without knowing how to harness my magic. Frustrated tears bit at my eyes, but I blinked them back. “So I’m to
be a prisoner after all?”
He stared at me for an endless moment, his eyes fathomless, then he slowly shook his head. “You are not a prisoner. If I let you use the courtyard, you must obey my rules.”
I nodded in agreement so quickly I made myself dizzy.
Garrick sighed and muttered something in that foreign language he seemed to revert to when he was frustrated. Before I could
ask what it meant, he said, “You may use the courtyard from sunrise to sunset only. And you must not touch the dais or use
your magic around it. Swear to me.”
I glanced at the silver lines arcing over the dais’s surface. “What is it?”
“Nothing that concerns you. Give me your word or leave.”
“I swear I won’t touch it or use my magic around it,” I murmured even as curiosity rose. “Is it dangerous?”
“It will be if you break your oath—and I will know the moment you do. Do not test me.”
My hackles rose at the insinuation. “I’m no oath breaker.”
Garrick pointed at the sky. “Leave before sunset.” Then he turned and disappeared down the path.
Once I was sure he was gone, I blew out a slow breath and uncrossed my arms. My short nails had dug furrows into my palms,
and all of the leftover adrenaline left me feeling shaky. But I’d stood up to an Etheri king and survived.
And I could still use the courtyard.
It was a minor victory, but I’d take every one I could get.