Page 57 of Moonmarked

The room was massive, bigger than the entire second floor of my house, and maybe even larger because of how high the ceiling soared.Holy fuck, what is this place?!

To my right, an enormous bed dominated the space, framed by carved posts that shimmered gold wherever the sunlight hit them. The linens were a soft pale peach, as luxurious looking as everything else. Opposite the bed, on the left side of the room, a wide archway opened into what could only be called ahall, not simply a bathroom—long and grand, with polished marble floors, gilded mirrors, and a bathtub so large it could have passed for a pool back home.

The room smelled faintly of something sweet—peaches or roses, maybe both. Ahead of me, tall window frames stretched almost from floor to ceiling, each one flanked by built-in bookshelves overflowing with books and scrolls. The glass panes were so clear it was like they weren’t there at all.

Just beyond the windows, there was an elegant glass door that opened out onto this narrow balcony that was more like a delicate stone bridge connecting this room to a freestanding gazebo some thirty feet away. The structure was open on all sides, draped in flowing, transparent curtains that caught every breeze and moved like they were ghosts.

“Come, come. Please, allow me to welcome you to your chambers,” Lyall said, hand on mine, pulling me inside gently.

Fucking hell, it was like I was entering a whole universe, and the warmth of the air welcomed me, too. The magic, humming a tune I could somehow hear, was inviting, not cold in the least. And I was standing in the middle of this gorgeous place that had no right to even exist in the real world, unable to form words at all.

“Well, what do you think?”

I shook my head, my mouth opening and closing, my vocal cords still broken.

Lyall laughed.

The sound was soft, soothing to my ears, demanding my attention, so I turned to him. Looked at him. Was in awe of how perfect he looked all over again.

“Let me show you my favorite thing—and the reason why I chose this room for you.”

He pulled me toward the glass door at the end of the windows, pulled it open, and then we were outside.

The sun fell on my side, and the golden railings on either side of this bridge could be pieces of art on their own, and we were so fucking high I stopped breathing all over again.

Holy shit, this is high!

But the prince didn’t let me freeze and give in to the panic. I was not afraid of heights in the least, buttheseheights? Yeah, you’d have to be a fucking robot not to be terrified.

Until we reached the gazebo.

Wide round space, concrete and gorgeous mosaic tiles underneath my feet. Stone railings painted with golden threads here and there, the top of them thick enough to be considered a bench. The pillars were thick, too, and each one was engraved into a different animal—bird, cat, dog,tiger, all close enough to the animals from Earth so that I recognized them.

But it was the view that wiped my mind clean all the way.

Letting go of Lyall’s hand, I moved forward, leaned against the cool stone railing ahead, and looked out at the Seelie Court in all its glory, every inch touched by magic and the golden light of the sun that kissed every surface.

Endless gardens stretched below me, their hedges carved into spiraling patterns I couldn’t even begin to understand. Fountains were everywhere, too, the water catching the sunlight and tossing it right back in the air, which then made it look like the air was made of diamonds.

Beyond the gardens, narrow rivers wove through the landscape for a bit like silver threads, connecting ponds so clear they reflected the sky as if they were mirrors. All of them stretched to the same place far in the distance—a sea so blue I couldn’t tell where it ended and where the sky began.

The Eternal Water.It was the sea at the end of Verenthia that Rune had told me about.

The palace itself sprawled behind me, white stone and gilded rooftops, with banners hanging on the sides that rippled lazily in the breeze. In the distance, I could just make out the people moving about the fields and the gardens, and from here they looked as small as ants.

Farther still, the outer wall of the court rose like a crown against the horizon. It didn’t look half as terrifying and as massive from here as it had from close up that day Rune and I made it to the gates.

My God, it was beautiful. It wasterrifying.

And for the first time since I arrived in this realm, Irealized just how far I really was from everything I once called home.

I askedhim where Rune was.

The look in his eyes changed immediately when he askedwhy.

Maybe that’s why I said,to thank him for saving my life, of course.Not a single word more. Not yet. Not until I actually spoke to Rune.

“He’s around here somewhere. I’ll find him for you,” Lyall said, and whether he looked suspicious or not I couldn’t tell. He was very good at hiding what he was thinking and feeling beyond the initial reaction when he was caught by surprise.

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