Page 48 of The Rose in the Shadows

I couldn’t let that happen.

As much as I may have wanted to take Clay up on that offer to live away from the palace, now that someone was looking to kill me, I needed to stay here and do my part to make sure that person was found and dealt with. I owed that to the Descendants of Hyrax that came before me and those that would come after me. I owed it to Hyrax himself.

Chapter Fifteen

Somehow, I’d grown accustomed to the darkened shadows that lined the cavernous underground halls I’d been roaming through each night in my dreams. What had once been frightening now was familiar. As I moved through them, the darkness walked with me like an invisible guest joining me on my journey. And though the smell of fire and smoke was consistently in the air, it was always cold. I rubbed my hands over my arms to fight back against the chill.

I spent nearly every night in this place. Sometimes, I’d dream of the lake with hands reaching out to latch onto my ankles. Sometimes, I’d greet the three-headed beast who roared at me with ferocity but never actually attempted to harm me. Most times, though, I would simply wander. I’d walk through the maze of tunnels with dirt floors and rock walls. I didn’t know where I was walking to, but I kept on until I woke in my bed at the palace, shivering from cold and gasping for air.

Tonight, though, was different. Tonight, for the first time, I heard something. There was music playing. It was dark and melodic, with minor chords drifting seductively around me. It called to me, and so I marched forward. Each step pulled me toward the sound until I finally walked to a sizeable two-paneled steel door. I ran my hands over the monsters and faces that sat stranded in the metal, as if frozen in an attempt to escape. As my fingertips touched the icy surface, I was met with a rush of magic that made me gasp aloud. I wrapped my hand around the bone-shaped handle and pulled.

The music surrounded me, loud and clear. The room was large and open, with a fire raging in the corner that fought away the chill in the air. A large throne made of skulls and bones sat raised on the rocks. A matching, smaller throne sat to its left. Across the room was a massive wooden table nearly twelve feet long. And there, at the end of the table, sat a man.

“I was wondering when you would finally find your way here.” He smiled.

He was broad-shouldered, and even sitting, I could see he was tall from the length of his legs. He wore dark trousers and a loose grey tunic. His full, gray hair was long, curling around his ears and the back of his neck.

“Sit.” He invited me to the chair on his left, running a hand over his closely trimmed beard.

I felt his magic wash over me in a gentle wave. It didn’t push down on me or force me to sit as Mr. Pelland’s had, but it touched my skin in a gentle greeting, and I felt my own power rise to my fingertips in response. A smile played on his lips as he watched me.

“Theadora.” He drew out my name as if testing it on his tongue. “So that is the name you chose for yourself? It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“Wine?” He asked, and a full glass appeared before me in a rush of smoke. I gasped, which only earned a soft chuckle from the stranger.

“Who are you?”

He huffed. “That’s hardly important. I’m here to watch over you, that’s all.”

I reached out, taking the wineglass and twirling the stem within my fingers. It smelt of smoked spices. The aroma was so intense that I nearly came undone and drank the whole of it right there, but, with shaking fingers, I forced it back onto the table. There was no way I would gulp down some magic-infused wine given to me by a stranger. His eyes sparkled as I pushed the glass away from me. This was a game we were playing, him and I. I'd learned how to play these kinds of games though, I'd been playing them for months.

I leaned back, throwing my elbow over the back of my chair in a picture of comfort.

“What makes you think I need to be watched over?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow tauntingly as I’d seen Clay do a million times.

The stranger laughed, clapping his hands together. “You learn quickly! Look at how well you’ve mastered their political indifference.”

My pulse quickened, but I kept my expression schooled, unwilling to express my thoughts, though they swam in questions. Who was this man? And why did he care so much about me?

“Don’t you need a guardian?” He pushed, his voice now serious and concerned. “Not all are happy to have the line of Hyrax restored.”

I glanced away, still too shaken from the attack to hide all of my fears, no matter how much I wanted to maintain that mask of indifference. “The Council will ensure the attacker is caught.”

“Will they? Will that Dragon stand up to protect you in your hour of need?”

I shrugged. Sure, I hardly thought The Dragon was losing any sleep over my personally being in danger, but there were more people at court than just him. I’d made friends, connections. They wouldn’t let me get hurt. Hell, even Clay, who looked at me disapprovingly more often than he looked at me with friendliness, had fought to save me when he could have watched me die.

I could trust them.

“Youcan’ttrust them,” the stranger insisted, as if he had read my mind. “None of them. You’re more powerful than them all, and you know that. They’re starting to learn that. The Descendants and Mortals will always try to destroy those whose power frightens them.”

“That’s not true.” I shook my head, though I wasn’t entirely sure which part of the statement I was protesting.

Iwoke to the sound of my apartment doors being opened. Geia and Nessira rushed in, with additional ladies’ maids behind them carrying bags filled with beauty products, shoe choices, and jewelry. Two small girls brought a large gown wrapped tightly in protective cloth between them. I nearly groaned upon seeing the size of it.

Nessira winked playfully at me. She was so rarely in a playful mood. That alone was enough to get me to pull aside my bed quilt and stand.

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