My entire body heated at his nearness and . . . how he’d just touched me so intimately.
“How—” I cleared my throat. “How do you expect to keep my imprisonment here a secret when the entire capital just saw you fly me here?”
“The capital saw nothing, but unfortunately, all of my guards and Lord Crimsonale did.”
I frowned. “What do you mean the capital saw nothing?”
“I cast an illusion over us before we reached the capital’s edges. Nobody outside of these walls knows you’re here. They all saw me flying solo.”
“Your magic is that strong?” An ominous feeling coated my stomach as the prince looked me over again. His expression wavered between anger, then confusion, and then annoyance before he said, “I want to show you something.”
He gave me his back as he headed toward a door opposite where the servants had exited.
“Show me what, my prince?” I called as I shuffled over the icy cobblestones. My heart felt as if it were hammering a million beats a minute. I was slowly becoming used to the prince’s intimidating aura, but it had ratcheted up another notch in the past few minutes and was now nearly swallowing me in its strength.
“It’s something I think you will enjoy.”
“Does it involve a looking glass to my home in Mervalee?”
We reached the door, and the prince stiffened. “No.”
“Then perhaps a fairy with even faster traveling abilities than you who’s going to take me home?”
His eyebrows knitted together, and the scowl he often wore made an appearance. “No.”
“Then I doubt it’s something I’ll enjoy.”
His lips thinned, but he pushed through the door and beckoned me to follow.
Inside the castle, a tingle of magic rushed over my skin, and the temperature immediately warmed. I sighed in relief as I followed the prince down a stone hallway. Tapestries hung intermittently, mostly portraits of the royal family, as fairy lights suspended high above us, lighting the area thoroughly.
I was soon lost to the twists and turns as the prince led me from one hall to another, but what I found most surprising was how quiet it was. I’d expected to hear a hundred servants hurrying down the passageways or clinking and clanging from the inner workings of the castle, but it was unexpectedly still.
“Where is everyone, my prince?” I asked when curiosity got the better of me.
“Somewhere else most likely. My private wing is off-limits to others within the court.”
Well, that explains the quietness. But that also meant we were entirely alone. My heart rate ticked up again.
The prince finally stopped at a solid-wood arched door just as it swung open from within, and Patrice, Balbus, and Haisley poured out.
“My prince,” they said simultaneously before bowing. “Lady Seary’s chamber is ready.”
“I’m not a—”
But before I could correct them for also mistaking me for a lady of the court, the prince replied, “See that a platter of food and drink is brought here.”
“Of course, my prince. It would be my pleasure.” Balbus beamed, making me think he enjoyed being a servant a bit too keenly, but I supposed living in a castle beat laboring in a field or working in the outer boiler rooms.
The three servants left in a flurry down the hall, all three taking flight since their wings were small enough to maneuver the walkways.
“You’ll be staying here.” The prince led me through the arched doorway into what I could only assume was the Exorbiant Chamber.
I did my best to hide my surprise at my newest prison cell, and any concerns I’d had over being mistreated shrank.
The chamber before me was fit for a princess. It was easily three times the size of the prince’s suite back at Liss Lodge. Crackling from a fire snapped in the room, and a sweeping view through a huge set of glass double doors revealed an attached snowy and private courtyard.
A four-poster bed draped in gauzy curtains sat against one wall. It was so roomy it could probably accommodate three fae with wings. Across from the bed lay a grand fireplace that one of the servants had already set alight, taking the chill out of the air. Decadent couches and chairs surrounded it, along with throws and cushions that would ensure snuggling up by the fire to be a cozy pastime. Each seating arrangement was made for adult fae with slits to accommodate their wings, but even for someone such as myself, it would no doubt be comfortable.
Through a door in the corner, I spotted a bathing chamber and latrine. A private chamber. I’d never in my life been privy to anything like that. Beside that door waited a large wardrobe that made me wonder if it was filled with clothes or lay empty.
I turned slowly until my gaze fell upon the last area of decadence. A bar made of ice sat in the corner of the room with a flare of magic running through it. Icy crystals and snowflakes danced within its translucent walls with glimmers of stardust intermixed. It was truly beautiful, obviously designed by a master craftsman and entirely extravagant given its living magic.
“Do you like it?” the prince asked, breaking the quiet. He was watching me again, his expression tense, his eyes back to that icy blue that were impossible to decipher.
“This is what you wanted to show me, my prince?”
“Not this specifically, but I’m still curious if it’s to your liking.”
“It’s beautiful,” I replied uneasily.
He raised his eyebrows. “Does that mean you like it?”
“Would it matter if I did?”
A shadow passed over his face, but in a blink, it was gone. “Come. What I wanted to show you is through the doors.”
He strode across the room to the glass doors that opened to the courtyard.
When I passed through them, another hum of magic washed over me as a warded barrier tingled along my skin.
“Is everything here warded, my prince?”
“Yes. It’s a necessity.”
“Warded to keep fae out or fae in?”
A dusting of snow fell from the sky as he turned to face me. Several snowflakes landed on the top of his head, melting quickly and disappearing into his silvery hair. “Would it matter?”
“To me it would. Is this to be my new prison cell despite the fact that I’ve committed no crime against the court?”
“I had hoped you would like it.”
I frowned. “But why? Why would you want me to like it? Why have you brought me here?”
His brow furrowed. “I told you. You shall know in time.”
“But not now?” I balled my fists. That simmering anger was beginning to rise again, chased by a clawing anxiety over what my future held. I could be kept confined within these walls for days, weeks, even full seasons. And for what purpose?
“Do you enjoy the garden?” he asked, bypassing my question completely and sweeping his arm to the private courtyard.
Begrudgingly, I surveyed the open area. Similar to the courtyard we’d landed in, this one was also surrounded by the castle’s walls that were too narrow for me to see the higher portions of the castle, but unlike the first one, withering plants filled this neglected patch of land.
Snow covered every inch of every surface, and my fingers tingled, inching toward the ground inadvertently. My frown grew as I beheld trees without leaves, vines without fruits, and plants frozen in ice.