Chapter 22
Reign
“Reign, wait! What’s wrong?” Artemus shouts as he chases behind me down the front castle steps lined with skulls.
“He’s dead. My father is dead, and Ryder’s known this whole time. Why does everyone keep lying to me?” The question comes out as a cry, and I hate that I can’t stop the tears from falling.
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.” He cautiously wraps me in a hug, and I melt into him. When I finally start to catch my breath again, he wipes away the last of my tears. “There, there.”
“I need to get away from here,” I say as I remove myself from his embrace.
“Of course,” he responds with a soft smile like he understands. “I have just the thing to cheer you up.”
“Oh, yeah? What is it?” I ask, still trying to collect myself.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he replies with a cheeky grin that makes me feel slightly better.
Artemus takes us to the entryway that leads back underground. He shows me how to open the ground up and explains that there are many different hidden entryways throughout the Shadow Lands, but this one is the most used as its closest to the castle they call Grimstone.
He leads me back through the living quarters, taking me to the fourth floor.
Though he gave me a tour of them earlier, it’s nice to actually get my bearings this time.
I’m not the best when it comes to directions, but the living quarters seem to be fairly easy to navigate.
It helps having the cluster of massive crystals as a center point.
“Here we are,” Artemus says, turning towards a door. “Care to do the honors?” He holds up a thin leather string with a key dangling from it.
When I turn the key and push the door open, the room is pitch black. It’s not until we step inside that dim lights outlining the ceiling begin to illuminate the space.
“It’s all yours,” Artemus says from behind me.
I spin around to look at him. “Wait. This is my room?”
“Sure is! Ryder made sure to keep your friends close. Amaya is just next door and Emeric is four doors down across the hall next to Akari.”
I look around the room, taking it all in.
Two black nightstands center the queen-sized bed along the back wall, each with a candelabra sitting atop it.
A dresser with a giant mirror stands against the left wall and opposite the dresser is my own private bathroom, containing a decent sized sink and stone shower.
Midnight blue towels that feel as soft as what I imagine clouds to feel like, hang along the wall next to the shower.
Everything about the room is warm and homey.
It’s nothing I would expect an underground bedroom to feel like.
Unlike the Sector, the walls here are covered in a coating that hides the cave-like interior.
They’re also decorated with sconces and gold-plated images.
There’s even a small bookshelf in the corner already filled with different stories waiting to be read.
I pull one from the top row and turn to Artemus. “Let me guess… Ryder?”
He simply shrugs as if to say “of course.” I slip the book back into its spot and sit down on the edge of the bed, running my hands over the buttery, gold, satin sheets.
Artemus takes a seat next to me. “Is it to your liking?”
“I hardly remember what it feels like to have my own room. Before the Sector, Amaya and I shared a small room in The House of Waif, and it was nothing like this. The only time in my life I had my own room was in my childhood home back in Avelion, but even that was a third the size of this one. Probably not even big enough to actually be considered a room.” He turns to me, searching my face. “I love it,” I add with a smile.
“Well, now that’s all settled,” he starts, standing back up. “The other two are waiting for you next door. I told them I’d bring you to them so they can take you to the city. Akari and I have some business to attend to, but she’ll meet you guys later.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Oh, I didn’t have anything to do with all this,” he admits, motioning to the bedroom.
“I wasn’t talking about the room,” I clarify, and his posture softens.
“Anytime, sweetheart.” He nods before opening the door to lead us to Amaya’s.
Emeric answers the door and pulls me inside. “Thanks for getting her here, Boss. We’ll take it from here.”
Artemus huffs out a laugh. “She’s had quite the day, so make sure you guys stop by Hollows Tavern when you’re out there.”
“Don’t gotta tell me twice,” Em replies, waving goodbye to Artemus who flashes me one last look that tells me I should buckle up for the night ahead.
“Finally, we’re all back together!” Amaya scoops me into a tight hug.
“Since Zane isn’t here, I’ll have to drink enough for the both of us.”
“Drink?” I turn to both of them, registering their devilish grins. “What exactly do you two have planned for tonight?”
“Reign,” Amaya says, grabbing both of my hands. “You literally came back from the dead. I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate than that!”
“You sound like Meeka.” It comes out before I even think about what I’m saying. It’s been months since we lost her, but it still hurts all the same.
“Then we should make her proud,” Emeric adds, throwing an arm over the both of us. Though the three of us surely feel the tinge of pain at the mention of her, it also feels good keeping her memory alive. It’s almost like a piece of her is still here with us.
The bridge that connects the living quarters to the city is long and wide. I’m thankful for the ceiling-high edges that make it impossible to see the pit of darkness separating the two. Emeric tells me the living quarters are called the Hall, and the city is known as the Heart.
As we near the end of the bridge, I notice a glowing, yellow light up ahead begin to pulsate.
“It does that at the start of every hour,” Amaya tells me as if she read my thoughts.
“Once we get to the edge, you’ll be able to get a better view of it.”
Groups of people walk by us, some headed back to the Hall, while others are set towards the Heart.
It’s weird how normal it all seems. To everyone here, this place is just like the Great Six Realms. They’ve accepted it as their home and welcomed the new structure of things.
The ash covered lands above ground is now just a mask for what this place truly is.
“We made it!” Amaya holds her arm out, directing me to the circular ledge that the glowing light is beaming up from.
When I peer over the side, I expected my stomach to drop from being so high up, but instead it’s my jaw that drops.
Much like the Hall, the Heart has a center pit that is surrounded by several floors.
However, instead of large crystals illuminating the space, there’s a giant hourglass with thick, gold liquid dripping through the narrow neck.
“Just like the crystals back at the Hall, the hourglass acts as a sort of power source here. It’s old magic that Ryder had the witches come together and build. Pretty cool, huh?” Emeric asks, giving me a playful nudge.
“It’s incredible,” I admit.
“Well, let’s get down there!” Amaya takes me by the hand and leads us to a spiral staircase that circles around the inside of the pit.
“Don’t worry, it’s spelled.” She puts her palm in the open space where a railing should be, and the invisible barrier pulses a violet color.
It’s a slight comfort, but I still take the inside of the staircase.
The first floor we stop off on is completely designated to the shops.
Clothing, blankets, jewelry, tapestries, you name it.
We dip in and out of each one, taking a quick look at the different collections.
Apparently, each person who lives in the Shadow Lands gets a monthly allowance based on their job and skill set.
Amaya does her best to explain the ranking order of it all, but I just nod and act like I understand.
I’m used to having nothing, so any little bit of money would feel like a gift.
Having my own room is already more than I could’ve asked for.
Next up is the Grand Library and coffee shop.
I can’t even begin to imagine how they got all these books here.
I have so much to learn about magic and everything about the Heart reminds me of that fact.
After I’ve browsed through a few shelves, we head to the floor with all of the eateries and taverns.
The one called Hollows, that Artemus insisted we visit, has a live band playing.
Though everyone here seems to wear Sector-like outfits, I still figure by their musical talents they must be from Nazrelia.
Amaya and I take a seat at one of the open booths and Emeric comes back with a decanter of red wine and a dish of warm bread and butter.
I reach for the food first, knowing I better get something in my stomach before the drinking commences.
My eyes narrow on the deep ruby liquid as my mind drifts to a far-off place.
All of a sudden I’m back in the orange cocoon, wishing I had done more with my life. I remember the list of regrets that ran through my mind. How I wanted a second chance to do things differently. To live a life full of adventures and experiences rather than survival.
“Want a glass?” Amaya asks, handing me a chalice filled halfway. I take the cup, putting it to my lips and down the whole thing.
“Damn, Reign!” Emeric shouts across the table as I wipe the drop of wine falling from the corner of my mouth. “Death changed you.”
The three of us burst out in a fit of laughter and the sound rings in my ears like a lullaby. By some miracle I’ve been given a second chance and I don’t intend on wasting it.
“What did I miss?” We turn to see Akari walking up. She slides in next to Emeric who is already pouring a glass for her.
“Oh, Reign over here just rose from the dead,” Emeric chirps.
“Well, I’ll cheers to that.” Akari lifts her chalice to the middle, and we all follow.