Page 123 of Down from the Tower

“It’s the most popular rumor,” he replies with a shrug. “That, or Rapunzel crisped her up like a snack and cooked the Queen alive before running.”

“If that were the truth, everyone in Mystica would know already.”

“I know,” Ray replies, glancing up at me. “So do you plan on telling the truth?”

Glancing back at the doors, I debate just going back inside. I feel bad leaving Rapunzel on her own, but she needs to know there are other people who care about her too. Not just me. She needs to know she isn’t alone anymore.

But we have things to discuss. The Field of Thorns and Rapunzel’s supposed twin, the possible betrayal from Ban, and the whispers of the shadow man.

Briefly, I wonder where that cat went. Something is off about Cyrus, though I had thought his presence was unusual from the start. A Cheshire cat on the other side of Mystica, not living in Wonderland? It’s unheard of.

Just one more curiosity on my long list of questions.

Glancing through the window, I see Genny and Elsie sitting on either side of my princess, Elsie pointing a finger at one of the tradesmen with a fierce look on her face. The siblings are loyal, and even if they ask too many questions, none of them will let them harass or harm Rapunzel while she grieves.

So, while almost all of Ray’s siblings swarm her, I slide down the wall and start to tell him about the journey.

“You really have to go again?”

Her lips barely leave mine before we’re stumbling backward into a tree, her hands swiping across my shoulders as she finishes the question. We’ve barely been back for a few days at the tavern, yet it seems like we never manage to get to a bed before jumping each other. Her kisses are ferocious as she lets her lips linger on my skin, her hands searching for the waistband of my pants and I growl low in my throat.

Raymundo’s voice carries through the trees. “For the love of God, don’t bone her. We’ll be back by the evening.”

She whimpers low in her throat, and I click my tongue as our noses brush together. “Patience, little Life. It’s just a check-in at Tressa.” I raise my voice to Raymundo. “You best head back towards the tavern! If you hear her moans I’ll send my shadows after you.”

He scoffs in the distance, but I hear his steps retreating. We need longer than a day, but there’s something stirring in the trees. Could be the soldiers that disappeared around the time Tressa fell. Camelot is eerily silent, and despite talking to Legs last night, there’s no news from the Red Woods or Wonderland.

I don’t know what’s happening, but Ray and I have decided to head to the fallen kingdom. The dead linger there, the souls that Midas’ power called to the lands.

That’s still a mystery too. He called the souls of Tressa to serve his selfish needs, and all that spiritual energy sent spirits barreling to Tressa. But the King had no way to control spirits who didn’t consume the gold from his curse. Those souls would never surrender to his power.

So what was the point of calling them all to the kingdom? The Mad Queen appeared, but he didn’t seem all that prepared for her arrival.

Something is missing, and it’s impossible to put together the pieces when we don’t know what the big picture is.

Rapunzel huffs, her tongue darting out to drag across my skin. “Hurry back. Don’t stay the night, okay? Make time to return?”

It’s a request. All the time since she left her tower we’ve spent the evenings together in the same place. When the Flowerborne found her, when we were last at the tavern, even in the gardens. It’s been almost two months.

Grasping her chin, I capture her lips again. My shadows rise, teasing up her covered legs and sliding beneath the loose tunic. With the changing winds she’ll appreciate the clothing as the weather dips. We’re away from the coast, and Sherwood gets cold in the fall and winter.

She whimpers again, and I let my shadows trace her lips, nipples, over her collarbones and anywhere else I can so easily tease.

“Zarev!”

I sigh, kissing her once more. I’ll have to work twice as hard to make it happen, but I refuse to break the promise to her. Enough people did that, and I can’t fuck her halfway across the continent. “Tonight.”

“Tonight,” she agrees, pulling back with a pout. Her fingers reach up, tracing over my chest. The gold didn’t even leave scarring, despite being in my skin for weeks.

Tressa might be leveled, but the secrets remain. I doubt going back will do much except save some souls, but with everything else going on in Mystica we can’t both be away for that long. We can go to the fallen kingdom and decide what to do from there.

33 Rapunzel

Paranoia claws at my mind when Zarev and Raymundo leave. I asked to go with them several times, but it takes longer to shift through the shadows with another person. He’ll make it back faster if I’m not there, and I’d rather let him use the shadows to gag me again up. Dahlia is kind enough to keep letting us use the space, even if I know she could rent it out nearly every night.

I’ve tried, but my magic can only heal cuts and deadly blows, reverse age and restore life, but gold isn’t something I gained. That gift lived and died with Midas, and there’s no way to retrieve it now that the King is dead.

Foolishly, we didn’t cut off his hand. That’s one of the reasons Zarev and Raymundo are going back. If people are prowling around, they could steal it and cause new havoc. I didn’t consider it when we ran from the kingdom yet it seems so obvious now.

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