Blakeshire (19 page)

They were all wearing black veils to show that they were mourning the deceased king, but their eyes held nothing less than seduction. I might have gotten over that if I didn’t manage to see Drake smile darkly at them as we passed. The girls’ grins would expand as they winked at him, clearly offering an invitation to a private meeting.

It took all I had not to knock them down with a single thought.

“Ready for your part?” Zander said under his breath.

Right about then, we approached a girl who was standing before a host of others. Her face was not ink, at least not constantly. A beautiful image was flashing every other second, and when the image flashed I could see into her life. I could see every private moment she
thought
she lived with Drake. Some supernatural being was trying to tick me off. Too bad Zander didn’t give me lines to say because I was surely going to muck this up bad.

I halted just as I saw her move to speak to Drake behind me. I moved my body in front of hers as I stared forward, unable to handle how her image would be there one second and ink and sulfur would be there the next. I felt every one of the souls in the hall tense, with the exception of Zander.

“How dare you approach a king as he strolls through his palace? Your services are no longer needed. The future King of Esterious wants a real woman in his bed.” I glanced over the ink image her face now was and coldly said, “You’re dismissed.”

And walked on.

I felt everyone’s eyes on me, but I didn’t care. Once out of earshot of the others, I heard Zander say, “Bravo, Sovereign.”

“If any of those images were true, I am coming for you.” I could tell he wanted to smile, but he didn’t.

My glare became fierce, but I refused to look down in front of these girls, to give Drake a sign that this ridiculous walk was testing my nerves.

What was killing me was the confusion I still felt in Drake’s emotions. I knew he was trying to pick apart what I said to that girl before in the hall, if there were any truth at all to my words. I’m sure my angry stance right now wasn’t helping him figure anything out faster.

Before long, the walls receded and the hallway grew wider. You could see the floors below. I smelled that stench of sulfur and glanced down.

Below, there were at least fifty men in robes like what Alamos was wearing. They were all holding candles and walking in a straight line from one side to the other. I couldn’t see their faces to know which one reeked.

I felt a cold stare and moved my gaze—standing in the threshold of the door the priests were leaving from was where that stare was coming from.

I lost my breath for an instant. It was Britain. He was dressed in a sharp black suit, one that seemed all too fitting to his dominant personality. What the hell was he doing here? Britain let a smug smile come to his visage right as I passed above him. I moved my eyes forward as if I didn’t see him.

The walls returned as our entourage traveled through several other vast halls and open rooms.

As we approached a golden doorway, Drake stepped closer and took my hand; seeing that Drake had made that move, the others halted their walk. With a glance, Drake willed the doors to open for us. Now there was nothing but a dead end in front of us. Maybe twenty doorways down there was yet another set of golden doors.

All at once, the air grew bitterly cold. At first I thought it was coming from Drake because his emotion was near wrath at that point, but when a growl echoed around us I knew we were not alone; something sinister was lurking behind the veil of my vision.

Because we refused to acknowledge it, that arctic air chose to vibrate the paintings on the walls, even overturn a few narrow couches that lined the way.

With nothing more than a glance from Drake, the doors at the end of the wall opened before we reached them once again.

Whatever was toying with
us didn’t want us to walk any farther. The growl grew louder. I saw the air move as it pounded against the threshold we aimed to cross.

I listened intently for any whispers of the damned. The first time I came to this palace, they were so loud that I thought my eardrums were going to burst. The night of that fake courting, they were loud, too. But now, nothing. Maybe I’d lost that, too, when some unseen force decided to reprogram my insights. Either that or they were hiding from this evil that was lurking.

Drake gripped my arm, encouraging me to walk faster as rage flared in his emotions.

When we reached the doors, he put his arm around my waist then insisted I pass through.

As soon as we passed the threshold, the door shut and a stainless steel plank that looked like it weighed more than the doors themselves slid into place, effectively locking and barring the doors tight. Right then, the doors started to shake viciously as a roar bellowed on the other side.

“Not a fan of doors?” I mocked, still looking less than happy to be here. I wanted to ask him why he smiled at those girls, but I would be damned if he ever knew I was jealous of them. I wasn’t playing that game anymore.

“Not a fan of salt,” he said through a locked jaw. “Every one of these walls is lined with three inches of it, and just to be thorough, protective herbs make up another layer.”

This was the delay?
I thought as I glanced behind me. I never assumed he had kept me from coming here before because he was building this hall, a place that he knew would keep me safe.

This hall was wider than the others; a few doors down, the walls broke out into a large oval where large leather couches and chairs were sitting. It reminded me of when Aden’s dad would book a floor at a five-star hotel for the bands he was managing, only this was far more luxurious.

There was even a spiral staircase that led to another floor with more eccentric doors.

The floors and walls were a mix of white and black marble. Large chandeliers lit the way. It wasn’t like the rest of the palace; it looked way more modern and edgy. It looked ‘real’ to me.

Drake tensed his shoulders and said, “I need you to stay here.”

“What? So you passed the test by not sending me back to Chara—and instead you built me a prison?”

“Does this look like a prison to you?” His tone was cold, hurt.

“Feels like one,” I threw back at him. “I have stuff to do.”

“Yeah, well, so do I.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “Yeah, I bet you do.”

With a mix of anger and confusion in his emotions, his dark eyes cascaded over me.

“You can’t keep me here,” I argued as I glared at him.

“Do you want me to go and get Landen for you? Have him usher you off to his perfect little dimension so you can sit in a field and draw butterflies?”

I felt like I had just been kicked in the stomach. I stared at him like he was a fool. I thought we were safe in this room, that no one could see or hear us—and if that were the case, why was he acting so coldly?

“No. I want you to let me out of here. You have more than a few traitors that you are letting too close to you.”

“Are you calling my brothers traitors, or the people they have selected?”

“No, I know they’re legit.”

“And now I’m not. You know, I really thought this would hold together longer than five seconds after returning.” His stare was callous as it raked over me. Whoever that boy was that I had spent the day with had vanished.

“Yeah, well maybe Alamos shouldn’t have been waiting on us.”

“Don’t you worry about him. I will deal with that. Right now.”

He turned, and with a glance from him the plank locking the door was raised. The roar on the other side vibrated the door viciously. Within a beat of my heart, he was gone, and I was left standing there wondering what was real and what was not.

~Drake~

Rage was boiling through me. This could have not gone worse. I ignored Donalt’s ghostly temper tantrum as I made my way to the other end of the hall where I found Chrispin and his men.

“If she comes out of that hall, you ensure that every man you have is at her side.” He went to say something, but I held up my hand. “Everyone. She is the most precious possession this palace has at this moment. You,” I said to Zander. “Come with me.”

Once we had walked away from the other men, I spoke to Zander. “What the hell just happened with Clara?”

He shrugged. “Your queen wanted to tell her that her services were no longer needed.”

I glared at him.

“She can ‘see,’ my liege. What do you suppose she saw when she approached Clara?”

“Madison Marie’s insights are weak. Even at best, she would have only seen what was on Clara’s mind unless she somehow managed to pick out the one girl we have toyed with to analyze her.”

“True. If that is indeed the girl we passed in the hall.”

Now I was interested. I urged him into a room and shielded my energy around him. He did the same. Donalt or anyone who cared to spy on us now would have a hard time hearing our words.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that things are not always what they seem. You should be aware that most people in your old court would prefer you to be with Willow.”

“Did you warn her?”

“In my own way.”

I closed my eyes for a second. Zander had just saved me from destroying everything I had built with Madison. There was no way I was prepared to explain the fake relationship I had with Clara to her; Willow’s was hard enough to contend with.

“Is Clara in danger?”

“No. I have no doubt if any danger is in her path, it will be clear to you.”

“Where is she going?”

“Her family moved her to another Estate
, the courting of Madison is far from socially easy for her to witness.”

I should have thought of that.

“So she’s currently mirrored? Someone is mimicking her?”

“Among other people.”

“Alamos.”

He nodded once.

“The fake one greeted us. I almost killed him. He tried to take Madison Marie’s locket.”

“I bet he did.”

“Zander, I don’t have time for this. Tell me what you know.”

“Did the fake one know you suspected he was false?”

“Why would I let him know that? I want to see the shock in his eyes as my hands rob him of his life.”

“When did you become ruthless?” he asked with a boyish smirk.

“The second she was threatened. I’m going to his chambers as soon as we are done here. I will get what you need for your spell.”

He reached in his suit coat and pulled out a flask.

“I don’t need a drink. I need to protect her.”

“It’s an herbal drink. It will help with the cold. ”

“Now? You give this to me now? Where were you years ago?”

“At your side. You know as well as I do that gifts work best when they are in flow with your intent. You wanted a remedy. One is on the horizon.”

Zander was the one who gave me the herbs I needed to stop Willow’s dreams a few weeks back. Well, it was meant to stop the dreams my mind didn’t want to see; it ended up stopping Willow’s and brought forth Madison Marie. If we hadn’t done that, I doubt I would have been able to recall the glass boat or the baby crying as clearly as I had.

I swallowed the entire thing, tasting mint—which reminded me of Madison.

“Do I smell like mint to you?”

“You do now,” he said, taking his flask back.

When I glared, he raised his brow. “I told you she was being gracefully guided.”

“You told me to let her jump, too. Want to elaborate on that?”

Nothing.

“Tell Alamos
you are wanting something to wipe away the dreams. He will convey that to Madison right when you need him to.”

“The right or wrong Alamos? I don’t want either next to her.”

“You have to act normally around him. Your hall will protect her. Trust that you and your father have secured it.”

“What do you know about Horace?”

“Horace?” he said, as if he wanted me to tell him which one. I only knew of one.

“Xavier’s son. I want him out of this palace. Now. He is tormenting Madison. He’s causing her to see things.”

“I’ll make it so, my liege.”

I hated it when he called me that. “You really want me to kick your ass, don’t you?”

He grinned. “You can try.”

I had to laugh.

“Landen is meeting me here later. He has info on a threat to this dimension. No doubt, Chrispin and Marc will be at that meeting. You are in charge while that is going on.”

He nodded. “You have to get through dinner first.”

I grunted. I hated traditions. I really did.

Chapter
Twelve

~Madison~

Somehow, Drake had managed to secure this door with a supernatural lock. I knew how to use my energy, too. One glance from him had raised that steel plank, but no matter what I did the doors would not open, and they should have considering how fiercely they were vibrating from the other side.

I couldn’t even tell how close he was to me anymore, if he had made it past that ghost or not. Carefully, I crept up to the door and leaned closer as I closed my eyes and tried to call forth my insight of emotion. I knew I felt Drake’s rage, but I didn’t think it was on the other side of that door; it felt like he was below me or something.

“Are you trying to get a black eye?” I heard Aden say.

In defense, my eyes flew open and I stepped back. Aden was standing above me on the second floor, just outside of a double doorway with an old book in his hand.

“This is our cell. You like it?” I taunted.

“Cell?” he said with a doubtful tilt of his head before he stepped back into the doorway where he was before. I glared up at where he disappeared, then glanced back to the door, giving it one more thrust with my energy.

“What is your issue?” Aden yelled as he appeared in a doorway that was just below the one on the second floor.

“He just locked me in here,” I said as I charged toward him so I could figure out what was in that room behind him. I was almost positive I had gotten a glimpse of one of my worst obsessions just behind him.

Aden stepped aside slowly with a ridiculous grin on his face as I laid eyes on one of the most massive libraries I had ever seen.

Behind those double doors was a room that was two stories high and as wide as a football field. There were rows and rows of books, lofts with reading nooks, tables; it was like a small little heaven. I knew this one room held more mysteries and untold stories than a lifetime would allow me to unravel.

I was speechless, and for a brief second I forgot that I was furious with Drake Blakeshire at the current moment.

“Where have you been?” Aden asked me.

“I told you I had a date today.”

He looked at me like I was insane, then shook his head and glanced away, clearly forcing himself
not
to look into my mind and see that day. “One long day,” he said under his breath. “Why are you having a boxing match with the door again? You know if he did lock that door, you could just appear on the other side of it and unlock it. Use your head, girl - or is it too far in the clouds at this point?”

All I could do was shake my head at him and blush as I looked away. “That’s not the point,” I said with a sigh as I lost myself in the view of the endless books.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I looked down at the book in his hand and the paper that was covered in his handwriting.

“My to-do list,” he said, nodding to his hands. “You would not believe the history of this place that I have figured out—it’s like every dark fantasy story rolled into one. I’ve got more notes in my room,” he said, glancing to the doorway across the hall.

“Your room?”

“Yeah, this is our wing. Olivia and the others have rooms, too. Yours is at the end. I was supposed to make sure it was on point for you. After that, I started digging into the history of this place, looking for saltwater or deaths by saltwater—let me tell you, that’s caused a few sleepless nights, but I think I have a few ideas we can work with.”

“Good,” I said as I realized I was only halfway listening to him. I swear I could smell the knowledge in the room before me; it took all I had to keep my focus. “Unlock the door and let’s figure this out. Wait. What do you mean my room is on point?”

“The door is not locked. And I want to see your dream again first. The room; that’s a Chara thing,” he said with a smirk.

“A what?”

“Their heritage. They build homes; start when they are kids and by the time the soul mate is found at twenty or so it’s done. The home is like the final...I don’t know how to say it, I guess if it is on point then the right soul mate was brought home.”

“He had you design a room for me? This is Esterious, not Chara.”

“No,” Aden said, raising his brow to tell me that my sarcasm was making me look idiotic. “You can’t build something like this overnight. It’s been in the works for a while. He only added a few things, and in his defense they could not have been added before because this dimension does not support them. And for the record, it was Olivia that asked me to check it out. She brought more of your things from home here. Pictures of your family, little things to make you feel at ease.”

“Matchmakers,” I grumbled.

“Nope. Good people. We don’t have to stay here if you don’t want, but that was your battle cry the other day. Quit getting mad when people give you what you want.”

I clasped my locket, the only proof I had that today really did happen.

“I was attacked by Alamos. Where is the bathroom? I need to wash my day off.”

“The old man?”

“Yup. Have a look,” I dared as I stared up at Aden and let him see what I saw when I came back.

“That is one dream you don’t want to come true,” he muttered under his breath as his protective stare rained down on me.

“Bathroom.”

He just stared at me as if he were trying to figure out what he should or should not do.

“Aden!”

He raised his hands defensively. “I’m trying to figure out if it’s bad luck or not.”

“Going to the bathroom? Bad luck?”

“No, seeing your room. I don’t know if Drake should show you or if it’s cool for me to. Maybe you should just use my bathroom.”

“This is my cell. I will go where I want, when I want,” I said irritably as I eyed the doors Aden kept glancing to. They were black doors trimmed in gold at the far end of the hall. I took off in that direction before he could think to stop me.

For some reason, my hand trembled when I reached for the gold handles. I did feel like I was robbing Drake of something, but then again he was the one that locked me in this wing. With an angry pull, I jerked them open, then stood in absolute awe.

The floor and the walls were a dark gray stone, and it wasn’t a smooth stone; there were ridges and groves all across them. Only a few spare rugs were on the floor; they cut sparse paths across the enormous room.

In the center, there was a massive bed. I was sure it could easily sleep six comfortably. A canopy adorned the bed, and thick, dark purple curtains fell around blankets that were lush and dark.

At three points around the bed—making a triangle—there were large basins. Water from the forever high ceiling was flowing down to the base, and in the center of the water there was fire. It was like living art.

There was a wide window on the other side of the room, but it was set at least five feet in the wall. A sitting area was there, and also to the left of the triangle, framing the bed.

To the right of the room, there were two doors. I assumed a closet and bathroom were where they led to.

“Wicked, huh?” Aden said from behind me.

“Unreal. He designed this with me in mind?” There was no mistaking the doubt in my voice.

“Apparently. Years ago, at that.”

“Are my clothes in there?” I asked before my mind had a chance to ponder my ridiculous doubts.

“Yup. I think Olivia said the right side had clothes for here, and the other was from home.”

“I’m going to wash this day off me, then you are going to tell me what you figured out and we are going exploring.”

He just nodded and turned to go back to whatever he was doing before I showed up.

The closet might as well have been a house. It went on endlessly in each direction. I unbuttoned Perodine’s robe and tossed it on the large table that centered the room, grabbed some fresh clothes, and went to the bathroom—I was impressed beyond measure with this room.

It was solid black. There were three showerheads on the back wall. There was a massive claw-foot tub sided by a vanity with three sinks. If I were any more of a girl, I’m sure I would have done cartwheels in there—especially when I figured out that when you turned on the shower the doors came up through the floor and all the showerheads faced you. I could have stayed in there all day, thinking about how drastically things had changed during the day. How Drake had gone from sweet and caressing to fierceness and angry. I mean, I knew he was a Pisces and had a dual personality, one that the world saw and one that he let only a few see, but still. He almost gave me whiplash before.

Didn’t matter. I was going to find that saltwater, and in the meantime I was going to pinpoint every traitor in his court.

I kinda felt bad that Alamos was one of them. I knew Drake trusted him, but I guess it is what it is.

After I was dressed, I found Aden in my dream library leaning over a table staring at what looked like ancient blueprints.

I assumed he had gotten some of these from either Alamos or Perodine, the oldest resident in the palace—oldest as in, like, over four million years old.

“Can you believe that about Alamos?” I asked him as I glanced over the eccentric outline of the palace. The shape of it made no sense at all; wings seemed to be added on a whim with no thought or reason, and some parts were over ten floors high, others only one or two. I had a massive mystery staring up at me, just waiting for me to obsess over it.

“That is strange. He seemed legit before.”

“Did you see that Britain was here?”

“Excuse me?” Aden said as he glared up at me.

“Saw him downstairs with the priests. Where is Charlie? Draven?”

“Writing. I think.”

That was good for them. I knew they would be distracted for days if they managed to catch a good flow. They needed that release, and they didn’t need any of my drama.

“I’ll worry about Britain later. What did you figure out?” I asked as I sat down in the chair beside him.

“Perodine helped a lot. I wasn’t really planning on asking her because I assumed what you dreamed about was an execution or some kind of dark ritual; seemed more up Alamos’ alley.”

I grimaced at the thought of corporal punishment.

Aden went on. “But she was there when I got here, so I just asked her if there was any massive pool of water in the palace. She told me about the looking glass—which we need to talk about - but anyway that water is not made of salt. When I pressed her for more information and ‘saw’ her perspective, I learned this palace at one time was a solitary island.”

“An island?”

He nodded once. “Get this: there were, like, dams within the palace, and at one time you had to sail from one side to the other. Over time, add anything from extreme heat to ice age climate changes, and you have what we have now: from a palace that was once ten miles from shore to one that is ten miles inshore.”

“Tell me you think that somehow there is still some kind of saltwater damned into this palace.”

He tilted his head to the side as he clearly considered it. “It’s possible. The thing is, when we look into your dream we are going to see what the palace looked like then, not now. And if we consider the amount of time from then to now, it’s easy to think that the water may be gone. What you want is now lodged in the stone that makes up the foundation of the new additions.”

“We have to find a starting point. It would take us months to walk through every wing, hall, and secret passage in detail—and I’m not even considering the fact that we are going to have to sneak around to do any of this; otherwise, we are going to have a brigade of guards around us. Not good.”

“I’m hoping that with the dream I can figure out what climate it was and then date it, or hopefully I can recognize the phase of construction the palace was at. That should give us an idea of where to start.”

“What were you trying to tell me about the looking glass?” I asked, hoping maybe that would be a good starting point.

He raised his brow. “Well, it’s in the center point of the palace, and it is a pool of water. I’m almost positive that water channels under it,” he said as he picked up a pen and pulled his notes closer to him. “What I think is odd is the shape of it.” He turned the page he was working on and showed me a drawing of four rings intertwining. “Look familiar? At least in part?”

He was so on target. That was the outline of the mark on my back, or the mark on my soul that you could see when fire was against my skin. Of course, my mark had symbols and marks on it as well.

“That’s not creepy or anything,” I said nonchalantly.

“It’s a power source, among other things. Marc’s girl, Stella, can use it to see throughout the palace, but apparently the energy in it also affects the string. In the beginning, Landen and Willow thought this was a big part of their conflict, but I don’t know. You and Charlie have this mark; that tells me it means more than I first thought.”

“I want to see it, feel the energy.”

He sat down next to me. “First, let’s look into this dream of yours. You still have the insight to see your way into The Realm, right?”