Chapter 19
Esiree
Vastion was nowhere to be found the rest of the day.
The few times I had wandered through the royal wing I was unable to determine his whereabouts.
He’d mentioned he had business with Orin, but I was just as eager to hear about his journey from the Heart.
Why had he left? Which territories had he visited?
The well of questions made my chest constrict as my mind drifted toward sensationalist ideas and other intrusive thoughts that often plagued my imagination.
When left to my solitude, I could dream up every worst-case scenario.
My father always said I was the furthest thing from an optimist. I’d pester him while he toiled with work, and I would drone on about what-ifs.
My brother, Ari, was only slightly more optimistic.
By early evening, I had convinced myself that my entire village had been ransacked by Rabids.
That everyone I ever knew was dead, their bodies littering the streets, and Vastion was trying to find some way to break the news to me.
I had no indication any of this had actually happened, but my anxious mind grew more conniving with every passing moment.
I would have searched for him further, but I wasn’t ready to face the citizens of the Heart.
Surely, news of my transgressions had spread swiftly and would be met with the curious, reproachful stares of the masses.
And what of Lord Tempus? Where was he? Had he healed entirely?
I had begun to think he was my only friend here, but now, knowing the truth of his past, I had resolved to believe, once again, I was entirely on my own.
Tempus had clearly harbored the secrets of his friends Kesna and Harden, making him complicit in their treason, even if only the affair.
There was also his mention of having ideologies that did not align with Vastion.
Now free of the intoxicating prospect of a friendship, I realized how foolish I’d been.
He had been using me. For what reason, I’d never know.
But I’d seen how far Vastion was willing to go.
I resigned myself to avoiding Tempus, if not for my peace of mind, then at least for his safety.
Lailanor served dinner at my request in the private dining hall, where I had expected Vastion would join me. Silence stretched out across the room as my dismay grew, the steam from the piping hot meal dissipating. When I finally yielded to my hunger and took a bite, it was cold.
I requested dessert just for the sake of extending my time, hoping he would burst through the doors apologizing profusely for his tardiness.
Lailanor offered her company, but I dismissed her, unwilling to accept her pity.
As I spooned at the chocolate and mint mousse that was truly notable, I couldn’t ignore the mounting intuition that his absence was intentional.
Maybe he regretted telling me the truth about Kesna?
Perhaps he’d told Orin, and his dear commander was trying to convince him to silence me, permanently…
There went my mind again, wandering to its darkest corners.
I sat in the dining hall for what seemed like hours. After all the time he’d been gone and the meals I’d taken alone, the continued denial of his presence was offensive. If he didn’t want me cozying up to his cousin or any other friends, he should damned well accompany me to dinner.
When my resolve to stay put diminished, I exited into the long hallway that connected the sections of the royal wing.
I wasn’t tired. My mind was abuzz with wild thoughts, and my anger with Vastion increased by the minute.
I walked in the direction of our chambers, dragging my feet, trying to force my mind toward anything that might distract me from this unsettled feeling.
Then, the stone walls caught my eye, lined with various tapestries that triggered a sudden memory of the Hollows.
My breath hitched with excitement. Lailanor had warned me not to use them, but now was as good a time as any to get lost and satiate my curiosity.
Plus, if the servants really did use the Hollows, I’d just ask one of them if I truly lost my way.
Or at least, I told myself that, rationalizing my way toward another questionable decision.
I ran my fingers along the stone wall looking for indentions, occasionally applying pressure with my hand to see if any of them moved.
I prodded the tapestries, lifting them gently to ensure I didn’t accidentally cause one to come tumbling to the floor below.
I had lifted so many, maneuvering myself back and forth between the left and right side of the hallway, that I had almost given up when I finally discovered something.
Arriving at the door to our bedroom, I lifted the nearby tapestry, only to see a sliver of the stone outlined in the shape of a doorway.
Finally, I had revealed an entrance. To where, I had no idea, but I was going to find out.
I glanced in both directions before stepping inside to ensure no one saw me slip through.
The door moved with ease; it was lighter than actual stone, like a false door made to look like the rock wall behind the tapestry.
The material had to have been some sort of plaster from what I could make of it.
When I stepped inside, I was greeted by a very narrow hallway with a lantern hanging to my right.
I grabbed it, relieved that whoever had last traversed this passageway had left their accessory behind to guide me.
Though it only dimly lit my path, I was grateful for it.
The hall was very quiet, eerily so, and the temperature had dropped significantly, sending a chill along my skin.
I walked forward carefully and silently till the end of the hall split into two.
Which way do I go? Since I had nothing with me to mark my way, and I was pretty bad with directions, I told myself if I always go left then I’d be more likely to find my way back.
I was left-handed, so I chose to always lead with that direction should another turn arise.
Walking down the long hallway, my only solace was knowing a quick spin and one right turn would land me back at the start.
But as the next fork in my path arrived, nerves began to settle in.
If I were to be caught alone in here, someone could easily make a meal of me with no witnesses.
How long till my body would be found? How far would my screams echo?
Would my assailant even grant me time to scream?
With their speed, they could easily subdue me before a muffled cry escaped my lips.
I really needed to stop letting my mind wander.
It only gave way to more fearful ideas. Instead, I tried to think of the first letter I was going to write home.
What would I convey about everything I’d learned?
Letting my thoughts narrate the invisible letter in my head, I kept walking, listening for any sounds that might indicate the direction I was headed.
The only thing I could discern was that the ground had begun to slope downward.
I had to have been gradually heading toward a lower level of the Heart.
I thought of the House of the Dreamless and its location along the small waterway that slivered through the canal.
The location of the Falls, which was perhaps deeper into the mouth of the cave itself.
But I was almost certain when Orin took me to the reservoir, that had been the lowest point of the Heart I’d visited.
Is it possible the Hollows went even farther?
Did they wind themselves throughout the Heart like a vine, its tendrils curling and circling ever deeper?
By now I had made my fourth left, still descending lower and lower.
Still, my search yielded no exits, only a steady, inevitable decline.
A sharp screeching in the distance stopped me, and I peered down a hallway to my right, then waited for an encore.
Seconds later, there it was again, the distant sounds of shrieking, almost a scream but more beastlike.
The metal of the lantern rattled in my hand as it tremored with fear.
What creature made a noise like that? A wolf?
It couldn’t be. I turned right and carefully tiptoed into the mysterious Hollow.
Long stretches of silence fueled my curiosity and carried my steps forward until the awful shrills again halted my progress.
My heart pounded in my ears amidst the brief silence, issuing a warning that I dared not heed.
I lowered my lantern when I reached the end of the hallway which led to an L-shaped stone staircase.
Archways crowned the stair railing, permitting torchlight to spill into the vast connecting chamber.
I pressed my back firmly to the damp stone wall and waited for the piercing roar to return, expecting them to be much louder now that I had closed the distance.
But to my surprise, I heard the voices of men instead.
Men bickering and arguing intensely. Sliding myself down the wall, I knelt low and crept down the stairs as silently as possible, leaving behind the lantern.
I was hoping I might be able to get to the landing of the stairs where I could steal a glimpse of the commotion’s source.
Their intense conversation and raised voices made it possible for me to navigate to the landing, but now I had to attempt to rise soundlessly and remain undetected.
The next vicious wail almost made me jump but served as the perfect distraction for me to move to a standing position.
The snarls now filled the room below me, louder than ever, and the exasperated noises only further fueled the men’s enraged argument.