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Only as I write this do I realize that we’ve spent so much of our lives conversing through letters. We’ve always written to each other on birthdays and special occasions. Or when we had something to gloat about.

I would like to change that.

I’m not writing to you today to gloat or send along fake well-wishes. I’m not entirely sure why I’m writing at all. But I enjoyed seeing you at your wedding. Though the words we exchanged were brief, they felt real, and I would like for there to be more of that between us.

So here is my attempt to share more real words.

• I love reading. It’s my favorite activity. I prefer romance and action in my stories, everything that my life is not, I suppose.

• I adore living out in the country. My garden is one of my favorite places. I like to smell the flowers and watch the butterflies.

• One of my servants has a little boy of four years, and he’s such a delight. I’m teaching him to play the piano. He likes to help me pick wildflowers or joins me on walks through the property.

• Feeling safe and in control are two things I’ve come to cherish.

This all probably sounds very simple to you. You’re ruling a country, and I admire that you have the stomach for that. I’ve always wanted a life that is free from scrutiny. I am content to finally have it.

If you have the time, I would love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Chrysantha

I read through the letter several times, trying to decide if I should actually send it. Will she laugh in my face? Will she even read it? I suppose I won’t know unless I try.

When Doran wakes, I’ll send him off with it.

I spend the rest of the wee hours of the morning reading. I’m notentirely sure what our first monster training lesson should be like. It’ll obviously be much different from any other lesson we’ve had before. How am I to get Eryx to open up to me while thinking I’m helping him?

I expect something will come to me when it’s time.

Yet, as I take the stairs down for breakfast, I glance out the large windows leading to the east side of the manor, only to see Eryx striding toward the woods.

I groan and roll my eyes. It’ll surely be ages before he returns. He’s likely off to see what’s become of Argus and Dyson. They have yet to return, and it’s possible something went wrong.

My staff doesn’t seem to take note of the way I barrel through my breakfast. I rise from my chair as I’m placing the last bite into my mouth. Time is of the essence. I gather my skirts in one hand as I bolt for the library. Once I reach the doors, I spin about, eyeing the hallway right and left.

The two times I dreamed of Eryx, I was in the library. I’m almost certain that this has to do with the proximity to where Eryx is sleeping. For why else would he not take the master bedroom? He feared appearing in my dreams every night and not getting any sleep. Which means he must be near enough to this spot without being too near the servants.

The kitchens are to the right, far down the hallway. The servants’ quarters are beyond that. So he can’t be staying anywhere in that direction. To the left is my parlor, the entryway, the dining room, the receiving room, and ballroom.

He can’t be sleeping in any of those. I or the staff would surely have noticed.

If I travel up a floor, I’m met with the guest rooms, which I’ve already searched.

So what else does that leave?

Deciding I need to think outside the box, I head outdoors and lookat the library windows. As I scan the estate from the outside, I wait for a burst of inspiration.

Nothing is forthcoming.

Has the man built himself a burrow in the woods? Surely that would put him too far from the library, not to mention the house in general.

I start to walk, taking in the beautiful flowers and well-maintained trees. Since hiring back one of the groundskeepers, the exterior of the estate is looking much better.

I halt in my tracks as I spot the wooden doors almost at ground level.

The cellar.