Chapter 16 Soul Searching
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SOUL SEARCHING
The prince came to the rooms to spend time with Lilyanna in the morning, and I stood in my usual place beside Clement.
He was smart enough to know I was furious and smarter still to keep his thoughts to himself.
As he left, he shot me an apologetic smile, which had the irritating effect of thawing my frosty posture.
He then made an overly dramatic scene of closing the door without turning the key in the lock again. Such an ass.
Lilyanna and I played checkers and twiddled our thumbs, awaiting a summons for dinner or some other orchestrated activity. I gave it an hour before I left her reading by the window and slipped out.
I stalked toward the kitchens, still irritated at being locked in all night. I needed to find the missing woman, to find out what was really being done with her. She had enough magic that the prince didn’t release her with the others.
The castle ran with a skeletal staff. The only place I ever saw people was the kitchens, where baskets of goods were deposited, deals bartered for, and tailored clothes left. No one ever ventured further, so, if gossip were to be found, that would be where.
The slate floor in the kitchens had been swept and cleaned, a faint twang of polish masking the ever-present rose essence. The chef kneaded dough in the center, small flakes of flour spinning in the air around her.
I sidled up to the table. “Do you have any of those meat pies to spare? Lady Lilyanna would like to keep some close by so that I don’t have to keep shirking my other duties and running down here multiple times a day. They're her absolute favorite, she swears they’re the finest in the queendom.”
The chef continued to work the dough, slapping it upon the wooden table. Her brow beaded with sweat; her plump cheeks flushed. “You mean you don’t want to have to keep running down here bothering me, aye lassie.”
I ran my finger through a trail of flour leaving a deep slash. “You know me so well.”
She harumphed, flipping the dough and continuing her unbroken rhythm.
Nails scrabbled faintly across the ceiling, the hair on my arms rising as a chill whispered past. In the corner of the room, spots of ash dribbled down the walls and formed into a tumorous mound on the floor.
“She tells me they are a favorite of some of the locals,” I said. “But no one else can replicate them without using magic. Is there a lot of magic in town?”
“Tam!”
I froze, my spine erect, muscles seizing.
“If it isn’t you again.” The prince strode inside the kitchens, mimicking my position across the table with one hand resting on the wood. Only mine was clawed into a fist and his rested delicately in the white dregs of flour.
“Wants some of the small pies, Your Highness.” The chef kept her eyes on her work, the dough slapping and squelching as her knuckles drilled into it.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Tam. I should’ve told you,” the prince said.
Clement moved to stand by my shoulder, his hand resting featherlight upon the small of my back. His presence seeped into me, a foreign calm battling against the burning irritation. Didn’t either of them have better things to do?
The pile of ash in the corner dispersed as if it had never fallen.
“I’ve had to request that all my staff turn their attention to the upcoming wedding feast. So, there will be nothing going spare for the next week or so.” He dragged his forefinger through the flour dust and winked at me before licking the tip clean.
Clement’s hand pressed firmer against my back, but my nails unsheathed. Without warning the magic surged, unwilling to be placid any longer and latched onto my irritation.
“However, you are always welcome to dine with me.” The prince pushed off from the table and headed toward the corridor. “Alone, if you want.” His lips curved. Spots of white flour embedded into the cracks like pus.
“You’re breaking my table, lassie,” the chef chided. She swatted at me, and I declawed my hand, leaving behind deep gouges in the wood.
Clement shot me a look before he left. Did he know what I was looking for? He could have warned the prince and orchestrated this little coincidental trip. But no, he usually found me alone to keep his warnings private.
The castle might know. I eyed the corner which sparkled, ash-free in mockery.
But it wouldn’t stop me.
* * *
I couldn’t get out again until that evening.
I’d spent the remainder of the day watching the sun sink painfully slow and planning my next move.
I wanted to find out where the woman was being held.
If she had blood magic, even traces, I needed to know what they were doing with her and why.
Something or someone in this castle was involved and it wouldn’t be long before they came for me.
“Lilyanna, get your cloak. We're going for a nighttime stroll.”
She clutched the thick woolen material to her chest and grimaced. “Why?”
I groaned and took the cloak from her, flapping it around her shoulders and cinching it tight.
“The prince mentioned something about seeing the stars. He said it’s rarely clear here in winter and tonight there are no clouds.
” I pushed her toward the door. “And something about wishing on a star, or equally stupid, I wasn’t really listening. ”
“The wishing star!” She bounced out the door immediately peppy. “Tam, you know what that means, right?”
A flutter of guilt skimmed through my veins. “No, tell me.”
She looped her arm through mine. “Oh, I will.”
I steered her down the corridor, surreptitiously scanning for any movement or noises. I never saw any staff in the corridors, except for Clement, and this was the only time I was thankful for the eerie vacancy.
“The Plough is most visible at this time of year. The different points, as I’m sure you know, represent wisdom, strength, and protection. The cup at the end is the portal through which people are known to pass into the spirit world after death and...”
The floor sloped gently downwards, the already dark windows squeezing more and more light from the corridor.
I was so used to feeling my skin prickle from the eyes always on me that I couldn’t help the flood of gooseflesh when I realized the castle was not watching tonight. It was peaceful, slumbering. Dead.
“...then on crystal clear nights, the wishing star can be seen bisecting the entire plough. It shoots directly through the center and if you’re lucky enough to witness it and attach your wish, it fires straight through to the afterlife, directly to the Goddess.”
Maybe the castle was exhausted after using all its energy for another task, like watching me. I studied the ceiling—no ash, no scratching. I shivered.
Our feet passed onto the boards of the old castle, the rough wood groaning beneath us. I dislocated a sconce from the wall and held it out, forcing a way through the shroud of darkness that had fallen.
Lilyanna went silent. She pressed closer, her nails digging into my arm. A plain door appeared at the end of the corridor just within reach of the torchlight.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
I clamped my lips together.
“Tam?” She halted, folding her arms and planting her feet.
“Okay, fine.” I moved behind her and pushed her toward the lone wooden door. “We’re not going to see the stupid stars. It’s cloudy. It’s always bloody cloudy here.” She opened her mouth to argue, and I cut her off. “I’ll find you something else to wish on.”
“No, I’m not going back in there.” She grabbed the door frame, blocking me with her body.
I reached under her arm and twisted the knob. The door swung open with a groan as stale air and rot strongly laced with blood gushed out.
“Look. You can go back to the room by yourself and stare at that Goddessdamned hearth by yourself or come with me.”
She ground her teeth. “This is not what I signed up for. You were supposed—”
“I didn’t sign up for this either,” I snapped. I slid the dagger from my holster and shoved it at her. “Here.”
She stared at it for a second before rocking it back and forth in her palm, weighing it, familiarizing herself with the heavy hilt. A flush of warmth forced away the chills. I bet she was more adept at wielding that thing than I was.
“What about you?” she asked.
I stopped and grabbed my small blade from my boot. “Don’t worry, I have more where that came from.” I threw the knife in the air and caught it, unable to stop my grin.
She snorted. “What are we doing?”
I moved her to the side and entered the circular chamber we’d been in just yesterday. “We’re going to free that woman.” She looked at me blankly. “The one from the trial. I saw the men being released, but they kept the woman and when I tried to find out why, Clement locked me in my room.”
“Clement did?” Her eyes narrowed and even in the gloom I could see her suspicion.
“He had nothing to do with it. With the woman, I mean. He said the prince detected magic on her after we left, and she wanted to stay at the castle to atone rather than being sent South.”
She pressed her lips together.
“Oh, just leave it, it’s not him.” Heat prickled my chest and itched its way up my neck.
“Something links these murdered women, and the prince’s ex-fiancées, you of all people should want to find out what it is.
And if it is blood magic, they shouldn’t be killed for something they have no choice in. ”
“Blood magic has been hunted since the dawn of time,” she replied. “Only recently have the queens outlawed it. And, I agree, it’s not fair, but when have the royals ever done anything not directly for themselves? Except for the prince, he’s generous and forgiving and”
I elbowed her. “Focus.”