Page 58

I would have laughed had the consequences not been so dire. The knight spoke true. I was no slip of a faerie, especially not now that I’d been eating the rich food of the noble class for weeks. I’d gone from a blood slave who received only enough food to be deemed healthy, andneveras much as I wanted to eat, to fully blossomed curves.

“Fine,” Rhistel barked. More heavy-footed stomping, this time back toward the door. “To your post. And don’t tell my brother I was here, or I’ll make good on my promise of removing you from your position.”

“I understand, my prince.” The knight lumbered by.

The door to Vale’s room shut, and I leaned against the wall inside the hidden part of the castle. I had no idea why Rhistel would seek me out, but I knew one thing; he didn’t have a noble reason. That had been close, far too close.

As my heart rate slowed, I allowed myself to take in the hallway. I’d been here before, though I hadn’t noticed too much surrounding this door. That day, I’d been convinced that someone had been singing inside the part of Frostveil Castle hidden from the Aaberg family and had wished to find them. Really, though, I’d heard Vale singing and stumbled out of the secret parts of the castle, right into his chambers. Stars, that had been a mortifying and scary night.

But it had also allowed me to see Vale in a new light. He hadn’t harmed me. Never even turned me in for appearing in his suite. He’dbelieved mewhen I said I’d come in through a hidden door. So much so thathe’d acquired the old castle blueprints and found the very door I’d slipped through.

The door I’d passed through again when I had nothing to do but wait for Vale to return. The skin on my arms pebbled.

Time to explore.

I scanned the hallway, recognizing the direction I’d come from before and deciding to amble in the opposite direction. Before I ventured forth, however, I pulled the pink ribbon from my hair and tied it to the doorknob. It wouldn’t do to get lost in here and have to find a different way out. With my luck, I’d exit right into Rhistel’s bedchambers. Or worse, the king’s rooms. My stomach roiled at that terrifying thought.

Certain I’d be able to find the door to Vale’s suite again, I set off, taking in the art that lined the corridor.

This part of the palace had been frozen in time. In here, Falk imagery reigned and there was not a single tapestry or painting of a white bear in sight. Everything looked the same as last time.

Except . . .

I stopped in my tracks and examined one portrait. Clean. Spotless, even. As was the next and the next. Last time I’d been back here, there had been a fair bit of dust. Did that mean someone came here and cleaned?

I gasped. It was the only thing that made sense.

But what would be the point? They couldn’t have been in the lost part of the palace the entire time. They’d have starved. Which meant they had access to the Aaberg portion of Frostveil, as I did.

Were they a servant? The moment I questioned it, I laughed. It would have to be a servant. I’d never seen a single noble fae clean.

What would they say if they saw me back here?

The thought both intrigued and terrified me. I stood on thin ice with the king and queen. What if someone saw me and assumed I was a rebel and that was why I could access this part of the castle?

Wouldn’t that mean they weren’t pro-Aaberg either? And where did I stand in that? I was, after all, technically of House Aaberg now.

Not that the castle cared.

It was all so confusing, and, in truth, my curiosity proved far too strong to be hindered by fear. I continued on, strolling the hallways and pausing at paintings and works of art. All the while, I half hoped I’d run into another person.

One statue of the eldest son of King Harald and Queen Revna, Aksel Falk, was so artfully done in white marble accented with purple gems on the sword he held that it took my breath away. I knew nothing of the prince, but I was glad the palace had hidden the statue. King Magnus would destroy it if given half a chance, and it was too beautiful for that.

I left the statue and was taking a left turn to delve deeper into the castle when a sound caught my ear. I stopped. Listened.

For a moment, I thought I’d imagined it, but then it came again.

This way.

I gasped and twisted in the direction of the disembodied voice. Had I imagined that?

No . . . I’d heard voices before. First, when I touched the Drassil tree in Traliska, and most recently during my wedding. It had happened again when I’d saved Anna’s life. I cocked my head. Was it the same voice? It was feminine and did sound like the one I’d just heard.

As if realizing I needed a bigger push, the voice spoke up once more.

Come this way.

Yes, definitely the same voice.