Page 95 of Keeping Sarah

The only other place Sarah could be is the throne room.

I looked in the direction of the arena but couldn’t see it from his balcony. There was smoke over the city. Between me and that throne room were thousands of people, both living and dead, most of whom had chosen violence the moment they could. Before I would reach the city though, there was a small forest.

And before that, the moat.

I couldn’t go back through the manor to get to the main exits—the fire had closed off that option. Going around the manor would take too long, and I didn’t know who else I might run into if I tried it. Orwhatelse I might run into. The creatures in the moat were bad enough and took a truly mad person to think it was a good idea to have them on their own property, so I could only imagine the other beasts that might lurk on Rex’s estate.

I would have to first cross the moat. There was no way around it.

I closed my eyes and let loose a breath to try and quell my anxiety. Then, I looked at the question before me. How do I crossa deadly, monster-filled moat, when I can’t even swim due to my fear of water? There was nothing in Rex’s bedroom that would be useful for the task. I recalled an office on the first floor. It had a padded bench that could possibly work as a raft.

I climbed over the railing and scaled the side of the manor. The mortar between the stone bit at my fingers, but I managed until I could safely drop onto the grass. I clung to the manor as I walked toward the office, watching and waiting for a tentacle to pop out of the moat like it did last time I was there. Quickly, I peeked in the window, but the room was filled by guards.

Fight the guards, steal the bench, try to float across a deadly moat or, figure out another way.I cursed my luck and stared at the moat.

“If only you had a bridge.”

I looked around and saw no one. But then Omen dropped from the private balcony above me. I laughed and moved to hug her, but my arms went through her instead. She was back to her ghostly form.

I sighed and smiled. “Sorry you’re no longer corporeal, but gods, I’m glad to see you. Have you seen Sarah?”

“No. I was at my associate’s house when I realized things were taking too long, so I started to make my way here on foot. It’s impossible to be sneaky in a carriage. I was almost here by the time the riots started. I heard Rex was stabbed in the throne room.”

“I’ve heard the same thing. Do you think—"

She shook her head. “I won’t believe Sarah is dead until I see her body for myself. She’s already survived things…she’s strong, Jac. There’s no sense in giving up on her now.”

“I’m not. I’m going to get to that throne room or die trying. If he was stabbed there, then there’s a good chance she’s the one who did it, since they went there together so often.”

“Makes sense. Now, to cross the moat. Ready?”

“You have a bridge tucked away somewhere?” I half-joked.

She smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. “You can’t swim, right?”

“No, and even if I could, I wouldn’t swim in that moat.” I suppressed a shudder. “There are—"

“Beasts, yeah, I know. I’m going to need you to trust me.”

I frowned. “What do you mean by that, Omen?”

She held up a Ladrian’s femur. “Because I’m going to swim us across the moat, while you hang onto this bone.”

I shook my head, my stomach pitching with stupid fear. “I’m not—"

“Remember when I let you into my home and you didn’t know it was a ship, because I kept it under an illusion?”

“Yes, so?”

“I will project an illusion to keep the beasts from bothering us,” she said with a grin. “We will be invisible to them in the water.”

My body recoiled internally. “I don’t think—"

“We don’t have thetimefor you to think.” She marched to the water’s edge and waited. “It’s now or never, Jac.”

I took a quick breath for courage and joined her. “You’re sure this will work?”

“Yes.”

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