Chapter 14 #2
Shocked, I watched as he stalked back toward the main door, only to open it and disappear into the hall.
I followed him right out of my room, down the short distance to his chambers, and then into his own suite that he entered from the hallway. He strode across his chambers, unlocked his adjoining door, and swung it open too.
Now, even with our main doors barred to the hallway, each of us would still have easy access to one another’s private spaces.
“Kole, what are you doing?”
“I told you. I’m leaving these doors open tonight.”
I tapped my foot. “I see that, but why? Why do our doors need to be open?”
“Because.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you think I deserve an explanation? This is incredibly intrusive on my privacy, and I haven’t done anything wrong, nor have I broken the law.”
He swung toward me, his eyes glittering, and the rage that he’d been carefully controlling exploded in his aura, yet despite that, his voice remained controlled.
He held true to his promise not to yell, but his fury filled each word.
“You defied my order when I told you to stay at the inn. You could have been killed because of that.”
My mouth snapped closed. “Well, yes, I know I defied you, but—”
“But what? What’s your excuse for that?”
That something overtook me. Something I can’t explain and certainly couldn’t ignore. Maybe it was the Stone. Maybe it was something else. Maybe I’ve simply gone entirely crazy in the blink of an eye.
Of course, I didn’t say that. Doing so risked me being committed to a healing infirmary, so I lifted my chin and said defiantly, “Why do I need an excuse?”
“Because you did defy me.”
“I didn’t realize it was said to me with authority,” I replied, my voice also rising.
“No? What part of ‘Prim, go inside the inn. Now.’ did you not understand?”
Fuming, I said through gritted teeth, “We’re getting off track. What in the realm does any of that have to do with our doors remaining open?”
“Because there could be another one of those things out there. That’s why.”
His icy reply had me momentarily speechless. When I was finally able to speak, I whispered, “There could be?”
“It’s hard to know for certain, but yes, it’s possible.”
“And you want our doors open to . . . protect me, should one come into the village again?”
He glanced away, his jaw ticking. “Yes.”
Warmth bloomed through me, but just as fast, my hands began to twist. “But then others could be at risk too. We need to warn them. We need to let the village know that—”
“They already know.”
“What?”
“They already know that it’s unsafe to be roaming the streets tonight. They’ve been ordered to stay inside by their local kingsfae.”
I thought back to what Nivinity had said below. “Everyone was notified?”
“Yes, Primelle.” He sighed, and for the first time, I could tell the events of the night were catching up with him too.
“The second I left you in that street, I contacted my superiors. Dillemsills were promptly sent out. While you were racing through the Wood, everyone else was being alerted to stay inside and shelter in place.”
“You contacted them that fast?” I furrowed my brow. He’d done that on the move. But before I could contemplate how he’d done such a thing, my eyes widened. “Does the entire village know? Including Nym, Jessip, and Felix? They don’t live here. What if—”
“They should know. Dillemsills were dispatched to all travelers, salopas, households, and farms in the surrounding area. Everyone was ordered to stay put until they were told otherwise.”
“Oh,” I said dumbly.
My thundering heartbeat began to slow, and for the first time, I felt like I genuinely understood why Kole was here.
It wasn’t because of the Stone. It wasn’t to keep the peace.
Not truly. That was just a cover. That creature was why Kole was here.
The Imperial Warriors had been tasked to track down and kill whatever those creatures were, and apparently, there were more of them.
“Now, if you would appease me, you need to stay in your chambers.” Kole placed his hand on my lower back, his heat searing me, and he guided me back to my room through our adjoining doors.
From there, he locked my door to the hallway again, then retreated back to his room, only stopping at the threshold of our adjoining chambers to address me one last time.
“I need to go back out. I have to check the Wood again to ensure there aren’t more of those things, before restrictions on movements are lifted. ”
Before I could comment, he was gone.
The fairy lights were doused in his room, and the sound of his door closing and locking rang through my ears.
A second later, a pulse of magic washed through his chambers and into mine. It took me a second to realize he’d just placed protection wards around the perimeter of both of our rooms, stronger ones than the inn offered.
And realizing he truly was worried enough about my safety to do such a thing, I listened to his request and didn’t follow him.
Instead, I changed into nightclothes and slipped under the sheets.
But despite the dark night, warm covers, my aching body, and tired magic, it still took forever to drift off to sleep. I kept thinking about Kole, that creature, and what was to come. And it struck me that he’d never told me what it was. Not really.
Regardless, tomorrow I was traveling north into the Wildland Mountains. Toward wherever the Wishing Stone had landed. Toward where that thing had come from.
And who was to say if another creature like that would be waiting for me along my path.