Page 60 of Revert
He moved in front of me, shielding me with his body. “Stay behind me,” he murmured, low and tense. I obeyed without question.
Another rustle…followed by silence. Not natural stillness, but as though something had gone quiet on purpose. Castiel’s posture stiffened, his head turned slightly, as if listening beyond what human ears could detect.
His voice dropped to a whisper. “We’re being watched.”
Terror seized my breath. “A spy?” My shoulder throbbed as visions of the attack assailed my memories.
“Worse,” he said grimly. “Magic.”
The magic that slinked behind the scenes in Thorndale performing the evil king’s bidding. A cold ripple spread through me.
He cursed under his breath, barely audible. “I thought this place was shielded.” His jaw tightened, fury and fear flickering across his face as he turned sharply towards the path. “We have to leave. Now.”
His hand caught mine—not the tenderness of before, but tight and urgent, the kind of grip meant to protect. He led me quickly through the ivy-veiled archway back towards the palace grounds. Just beyond the tree line, waiting in the dappled shade, stood Halric.
He straightened at the sight of us, his expression unreadable—but I saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes as he took in our tension.
“Take her,” Castiel ordered quietly, placing my hand into Halric’s. “Don’t let her out of your sight. Keep her in her rooms. Remain posted at her door and do not leave.”
Halric’s eyes flicked to me, then back to the prince. He gave a short, sharp nod. “Understood.”
I turned to Castiel. “What’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But if someone saw us—word will reach the king before nightfall. And if it does…” He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to.
I reached for him instinctively, not ready for another goodbye. I expected his previous rigid distance, but he caught my hand, holding it tightly between both of his. For a single heartbeat, everything stilled again. His thumb brushed over my knuckles as his eyes searched mine, and I knew he was committing every detail to heart in case this moment was all we had.
“I meant everything that happened,” I whispered.
His gaze lowered to my lips. “So did I.” His voice cracked. “But it doesn’t matter now.”
He leaned forward one last time, and for a moment, I thought he might kiss me again. Instead, his forehead rested against mine for a single stolen breath in a world that seemed determined to keep us apart.
Then he was gone, vanishing down the path like a shadow swallowed by the trees. I stood unmoving, the press of his touch still lingering on my skin, the taste of the kiss still warm on my lips.
CHAPTER 17
The sound of frantic footsteps shattered the quiet of my dream—a pleasant reenactment of my kiss with the prince in vivid detail—rapid and urgent, echoing down the stone corridor like a drumbeat of panic. Disoriented, I blearily opened my eyes to the shadowy darkness. The fire had burned low, casting faint amber light across the walls, just enough to catch the blur of movement as my door burst open, as though my beautiful dream had turned into a nightmare.
Heart lurching, I instinctively reached beneath my pillow, fingers closing around the familiar hilt of my dagger. I didn’t loosen my grip until I saw my midnight intruder was Castiel, chest heaving, eyes wide with desperation. Sweat clung to his skin, his breath ragged from running, his expression fevered and frantic in the glow of the dying hearth. My relief at seeing him instead of an assassin was tempered by the realization that something must be terribly wrong for him to burst into my chambers during the night.
“Castiel?” I rasped, still half-caught between dream and waking. “What?—?”
There wasn’t time to finish. He was already beside me, grasping for my hand with fingers that trembled ever so slightly, a touch that grounded me more than anything else had.
“Hurry,” he panted. Just one word, but the panic in his voice told me everything.
I let him pull me up, barely registering the chill as my bare feet touched the stone floor. And then we were running.
The castle corridors blurred past in shadows and flame-lit flashes. I didn’t recognize where we were—each turn and secret passage in this night labyrinth disoriented me further. We twisted through servant halls and hidden archways, down half-forgotten stairwells lit only by flickering sconces.
My mind raced, but I asked no questions. I didn’t need to—I could feel his desperation in the tight way he gripped my hand that something irreversible was about to unfold. I clung to his fingers like a lifeline, the only thing that felt real in this strange blur of events.
I tried to match his pace, but the abrupt wakefulness and cold air bit into my lungs. A sharp stitch bloomed in my side, and soon my limbs lagged behind. I slowed, then stumbled, unable to continue this demanding pace. Castiel glanced down, and without hesitation swept me into his arms. His steps never slowed.
I buried my face against his shoulder, heart pounding not just from the run, but from the certainty that we were heading towards something dangerous and forbidden…something I had longed to find, but he had never meant for me to see.
Even at his breakneck speed, the flight felt endless. By the time he finally slowed, I had just begun to wonder whether this was a dream after all when I saw the door awaiting us at the end of a narrow passage. My body instinctively stiffened in Castiel’s arms.
