Page 61 of A Clash of Embers

Hard and stiff beds were not my favorite. Only an absolute lunatic would love to sleep in this bed.

I tugged at the crisp thin sheets that gave me zero warmth in this cold room. I had Consul Loveridge sleeping in the bed above me and Kay sleeping in the lower bed on the opposite side of the room and they were both sound asleep.

If I could just get comfortable in this gods-forsaken bed, I could be a happy person.

"Gods. Would you stop moving? You are so loud," Loveridge groaned at me.

I sat up, offended that she would speak to me that way, "Excuse me,Consul. What maniac can actually sleep in this type of bed?"

She sighed, "We do. We sleep here every night, Princess."

I couldn't take it anymore. I swung my legs on the side of the bed feeling for the floor and when I found it, I stood up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Loveridge yelled at me.

I made it to the door and turned around. "I can't sleep in here. I also don't appreciate being talked down to like a child."

She laughed. I could see her shoulders moving up and down in the dim light of the room as shelaughedat me.

"What's so funny?" I asked her, curious to know what was so funny about what I had said.

Consul Loveridge moved to the ladder and climbed down as she made her way in front of me. She pulled the string by the wall, turning on the overhead lights that were similar to the first structure we entered from.

I was able to study her face in a different way. Now her hair was down, out of the clean slicked back ponytail she had earlier tonight and her curly black hair fell down to her hips. She had the same sorrowful eyes that I noticed in the ballroom before I was forced down here in this decrepit place.

"You will not be leaving the Beacon tonight. You are to stay here until Queen Anne leaves," she stated.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stood up taller. "If I am to stay here, I'd like to go see the crystals. I'd like to see how this place works."

She interrupted me, "It is the middle of night, Princess. You need to go back to sleep."

"I was never asleep to begin with!" I yelled.

"For the love of all things good and divine would you two shut up," a meek but demanding voice spoke up from the other side of the room.

Loveridge and I turned our heads to face her as she stood and approached us.

"I'm sorry, Princess and Consul, but you two need to stop. If Clara wants to go look at the crystals, I will take her." She turned to face Consul Loveridge, "and you can go to sleep because you obviously need it."

I tucked my lips and averted my eyes to my feet to stop myself from giggling. Kay seemed so sweet and innocent, but maybe I was wrong about her.

Loveridge sighed, "You’re right, Kay. I will go to sleep and you can take Princess Clara for aquickwalk."

Kay nodded and I smirked at Loveridge, giving her a wink as we walked out of the room. I could even hear Loveridge groan out of frustration. Good.

When we walked into the Beacon, there were still witches sitting at the crystals.

"We all take shifts to ensure security and we have different levels that have specific jobs in areas of Bolzana," she said as we continued our walk past one crystal. We stood watching the televisual pictures and the witch who watched people meander around in the middle of the night.

"What are they looking for?" I asked.

She sighed, "Any abnormalities, anything that stands out as being out of place. There are a few crystals that are watched outside of the castle and those are the ones we are watching right now. We are tracking Queen Anne. Currently, she is in the castle with your mother and has not left."

"Is there a way that you can communicate inside of the castle and here?" I asked her.

She stopped walking and turned to face me, "The only person who can currently do that isyou.Which is why you were asked to come to the Beacon to ensure the safety of the Queen without giving up our position in this conflict."

Realization hit me that I was expected to communicate with Eros. I was brought here as a tool to ensure the Queen's safety. The safety of Bolzana.

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