Page 90 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
Bodin stops, turns, and realizes I’m not hurrying after him. A baffled expression crossed his face, and I burst out laughing.
I need two things to survive this: more cocktails and a regular venting session with my friends. When Bodin, my all-powerful demigod mate, returns to me with a nervous glint in his eyes, I realize I need a third thing . . . honesty.
“Let’s go,” he grunts.
“Not until you tell me?—”
The clock tower bell tolls. The floor trembles. Oh, shit. The castle is changing its structure. Walls drag and slide. Blocks of stone come at me. I’m going to be crushed.
Chapter 37
Bodin
“Careful!” I bellow, yanking Willow against my chest. Her blanket snags in the moving stone, threatening to drag her along. She yelps as the floor tilts.
“I’ve got you,” I growl. “Let go of the blanket.”
She releases it, and I haul us both into the doorway’s refuge. Wind gusts past as a stone wall sails by, rock grinding in a deafening roar.
I twist, pressing Willow’s spine to the thin doorframe. My arms cage her, shielding her from harm. Glancing around, I see walls shifting beyond our sanctuary. We’re trapped.
Air continues rushing in, circulating her unique, musky scent in our cramped space. It stirs something within me that I’m unprepared to examine.
“Are you okay?” I ask her
Wide expressive eyes meet mine, and she nods. “Thanks to you. Are we safe here?”
“If the castle wanted to move this doorframe, it would have by now. We’re secure until the walls finish shifting.”
“How long?”
“Could be minutes. Could be an hour.”
Her eyes widen. “Stuck in this tiny space?”
“Yes.”
It’s not even safe to call for Styx until the castle stops moving. Darkness envelops us as a moving wall blocks the lantern light from the dining room. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, the transformation always demands stillness. One misstep could mean being swept away by the castle’s whims.
I might survive the moving walls, but she’s mortal. Fragile as a bird in my hand. The thought chills me.
“It’ll be okay,” I promise. “I’ll protect you.”
The blanket is gone, lost in the castle’s walls. If a wall comes too close, nothing will remain of her fragile body.
“Don’t move an inch,” I instruct, voice low and rough.
“Why?” she asks warily.
“Always so defiant. Even in the face of death.”
“I believe you’ll keep me safe.” She scowls. “Just wondering why I have to remain completely still? Will the walls come in here? Will they?—”
“I’m removing my shirt for you to wear. In case the bricks get too close.”
“Oh.”
My gaze drops to her lips, pursed in frustration.
