Slade’s eyes are zeroed in on my ass. “Eyes are still up?” he calls over his shoulder.
“Yes, Sire!” three voices shout back. Quickly.
With a face that’s half exasperation and half amusement, he makes his way to me until I can feel the warmth of his body at my back. “Come, Lady Auren,” he practically purrs. “Let’s go get you some clothes before I forget all about exploring and decide to clear the castle so I can explore you instead.”
My breath stutters.
“Honestly, that’s a good second option…”
He chuckles darkly behind me, making me tingle all over, just as he gives my ass a little tap. “Get moving.”
I practically float all the way down the stairs.
I end up wearing simple brown leggings and a black tunic, both of which are soft and comfortable and so much thinner than I’m used to compared to the thickly woven fabrics in Sixth and Fifth. Slade gives me a cloak as well, and because of habit and precaution, my gloves are securely over my hands.
The others opt to go to the city with us, but when I try to talk Digby into staying, he just glowers at me and then walks off to get ready.
When Slade takes me down to the large open entry hall, everyone’s already there waiting. Lu is wearing her usual army leathers, while Judd is wearing a bright orange tunic that rivals the mustard of his hair, making him look a bit like a poppy flower.
Digby is wearing borrowed clothes just like me, still scowling, as if he’s ready to ward off more lectures about how he should stay here and rest.
“I’m surprised you both wanted to come,” I say as we reach Lu and Judd by the main doors.
“Of course we do. We haven’t done anything fun in ages,” Judd says. “King Rot is always dragging us around the world and making us destroy his enemies.”
Slade rolls his eyes. “Last I checked, you haven’t destroyed anyone this trip.”
“That’s true,” Judd replies, as if he’s disappointed about this. “No wonder I’m so bored.”
“Which is exactly why we need a trip to the city,” Lu puts in.
“Yep. Pub drinks,” Judd says with a wag of his brows. “You haven’t lived until you’ve been to the Burnt Cat Tavern.”
I scrunch up my nose. “They don’t serve that, right?”
“Only on Tuesdays,” Lu quips. “Ready?”
Am I ready?
I’m not sure, because I haven’t been out in an unprotected public like this in a very long time.
“It’s your choice, Auren,” Slade murmurs beside me, and I know that if I changed my mind right now, he’d turn us back around and let me stay in his rooms, no questions asked.
“I’m ready.”
Digby is at my side in a second to escort me out of the castle, just like he did all those months ago when I left Highbell for the first time. That was the catalyst, the tipping point for all the chopped trees to start falling down. The moment that changed the course of my life.
When Brackhill’s carved black doors open wide, I see a flash of Highbell’s gilded ones in my head. But instead of stepping out into a frozen night, I walk over the threshold and am greeted by the warmth of day.
The front is paved with dark cobblestones smoothed from tread. The stones ring around an impressive obelisk statue that’s straight ahead, the onyx stone pillar reaching up toward the sky and creating the perfect walls for the climbing vines to wrap around.
I turn to look at the castle, and my eyes go up and up and up. With grooved black walls, arched windows, and pointed rooftops, Brackhill looks intimidating, stately, and beautiful all wrapped up into one. The way it’s set against the mountain makes it look bigger than it is, and the moat of sparkling water on either side wraps around it like a crystalline cloak, with a small dark bridge curved right in the middle.
Slade points at the gathered horses ahead, where there’s a dark carriage at the back with a driver seated and ready. “We can take the carriage down, if you like. It’s a bit of a slope from here, but once we get past the falls, it’ll only be a few minutes into town.”
I glance at the carriage and then at the loose horses that the others are walking toward. Lu swings her leg up and over a reddish-brown one, while Judd shows Digby to a smaller dappled mare.
“Actually,” I begin, tearing my eyes away. “I’d rather like to ride.”
“Would you?” Slade asks, looking pleasantly surprised.
“Yes. I still remember riding horses when I was little,” I say. “But after, I rode quite a lot with Midas. Until we reached Highbell, and then…”