Page 10 of Blackwarden
What else could she see?
“What are you doing?” I asked the Gatehouse aloud.
I didn’t expect a response. I’d never gotten one before.
I wandered to my window and gazed out at the eternal nothingness that was the black leaves of the surrounding forest. She was older than the other maidens had been but that was likely only because most of the human girls were wed by the age of eighteen in an effort to avoid being chosen as a sacrifice.
And she’d lied about that too. I’d seen it the moment she hesitated. It was a split second, but it was there. A break in eye contact, a moment to construct a response. But why lie about this? She’d either been selected or someone else had. In all my time of taking the maidens through the portal to my queen, I’d never had a single one who’d volunteered.
I took a deep breath and reminded myself in the end it didn’t matter. She was here at my Gatehouse, the Hag Queen’s newest maiden. In seven days, she’d be gone, whether she was different or exactly the same as all the others.
Chapter 5 ~ Curiosity
Rosalin
––––––––
I worried I’d be bored, stuck in the same room until lunch after the excitement of my morning, but before I realized what time it was Keres was knocking on my door. I didn’t rush this time. I set the book I’d been reading down, making sure it was perfectly straight on the side table, then walked as slowly as I could to answer the door.
“Do you plan to collect me for every meal?” I asked, as he stood blocking my path to the hall.
A slow smile pulled at the corner of his lips. “Only until you’re comfortable with the arduous route.” He flashed his dangerous teeth before leading me down the hall with that exceptional view of his back.
This time I studied his tattoos, allowing myself to get close enough to make out more of the details. They were definitely serpentine dragons, like the statues at the front door and the ones that danced along the walls. They wrapped around his shoulder blades, the wings seeming to flare out and disappear beneath the solid fabric on his sides. They were beautiful, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some deeper meaning behind them.
I refused to look at the mural as we passed, but my skin burned as if the mural looked at me. I tried to focus on the way the shadows seem to follow us, making me even more dependent on the braziers as they lit the way. Another strange thing to ask him about. How exactly did his magic work? It had to be derived from darkness itself with how it always seemed to cling to him.
I summoned the most ridiculous thing I could think of for lunch, still skeptical the Gatehouse could provide whatever it was I wanted. I tried not to be surprised, yet again, when this time an entire roasted rabbit with an elaborate assortment of vegetables surrounding it appeared before me. Keres gave an amused look at my choice. I didn’t regret my decision. It was perhaps the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. At least the Gatehouse was an excellent chef even if it was creating meals with magic.
“So, how does it work?” I finally asked, no longer able to hold the questions in.
He quirked an eyebrow at me as he finished chewing a bite of potatoes. Is that all he ate? Meat and potatoes?
“How does what work?”
“Your magic.”
He set his fork down and took a drink of wine, his eyes never leaving mine.
“My shadows you mean?”
“If that is your magic, yes.” How was he able to draw answers out so elaborately? He was better at avoiding questions than my sister and I had been at avoiding our childhood chores.
He reclined in his chair with the wine glass still in his hand. “They’re a part of me, like anything else. Like a nose or a finger. I don’t always have control over exactly what they decide to do.” He swirled the wine around his glass. “They simply...fulfill my desires.” He took a sip. “There are limits, of course.”
I let this tumble around in my mind for a moment as he took another drink, watching me with a tilt to his head that caused my heart to skip.
“Fulfill your desires? Like create things? Change things? Destroy things? What can they...doexactly?”
A wicked grin crept across his mouth, showing his inhuman teeth. “They can transport me places quickly. They can conjure objects. Glamour appearances. Many things.”
Many things? Like turn his face into something completely different? Seduce a human? Was it the Gatehouse that created the food I ate? Or was it him? “Many things” left far too much unanswered.
“Can they...” My cheeks heated, and then I realized it didn’t matter. He knew he was beautiful, and I’d be leaving in a matter of days. “Can you make someone attracted to you? Can you make someone want you?”
“Do you want me, Ms. Greene?” His voice was smooth, melting into something luscious that settled in my core. His glare was unyielding as it burned into me, my heart rate spiking.
I took a massive gulp of water to avoid answering. I had walked into the question. My eyes turned toward the door of the dining room in an attempt to escape his gaze. He laughed, an arresting sound that wrapped around me like a warm blanket. Mother save me, it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard, and I hated that I wanted to hear it again.
