Page 37

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, I am male."

"And you are old, yes?"

He glares at me a moment, but then nods. "I suppose by some standards you could consider me aged."

"Some standards? By whose standards would you not be considered ancient?" I ask.

"Dragons," he says without hesitancy. "To them everyone is young."

I nearly choke on my tongue at that. "There are dragons?" I ask.

He nods. "There are dragons, yes, and so many other creatures. Was that not in the books Elijah gave you?"

I shake my head. "Nope. They were just dry, boring, law books."

"I have a book for you. If you'd like to read it." He says this almost shyly, and I'm intrigued.

"Definitely. I most definitely want to read it. Thank you."

He nods and leads me down a corridor I haven’t seen before. An archway lined with moss and branches and vines climbing up the walls. Lily joins us, though I don't see her arrive or what direction she comes from.

“Aren’t we going to the limo?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “It’s time to move the castle.”

“Move the…castle?” I remember Lily mentioning something about their home changing location. "Is this what Derek meant when he said we’re moving?" I ask.

He grunts, as if that tells me all I need to know.

I roll my eyes. “Lily? Care to elaborate?”

“Sure, bosswoman,” she says eagerly. “My uncles have clients all over the globe. We go where needed. And right now, we’re needed in the Otherworld.”

“The Otherworld?”

“It’s where I was born. Where most paranormals are born these days.” She pauses, losing her chirpy composure for a moment. “My tree was still young in the dryad grove when a land-bound mermaid with a penchant for arson started a fire that burned for a fortnight. My home was destroyed in the blaze, killing my family and nearly killing me. But Granny Matilda saved a seed from my tree, a seed of my soul. She savedme. And when she planted the seed in the castle, it flourished, and so did I.” She finishes with her natural spunk and pulls open a heavy wooden door.

My next question catches in my throat at the sight before us. A massive tree grows at the center of the room; bark white as snow, roots digging into the glass floor, spreading out endlessly into the darkness below. Leaves of all colors, emerald and crimson, burnt-orange and deep purple, reach toward the ceiling, except there is no roof, but a whirlpool of stars and clouds swirling above.

I am frozen. Transfixed by the impossible imagery.

Sebastian squeezes my hands and steps forward onto the glass floor, which stays firm beneath his heavy body. “It will be all right,” he says.

I nod with a smile and join him in the room. From here, I cannot see where the world ends, and I feel suspended, floating in the night sky, the tree glowing like the moon.

“It takes a great deal of energy to move an object the size of the Night Castle and surrounding property,” says Sebastian, leading me to the base of the trunk. “Lily’s tree provides the fuel.”

I look at her compassionately. “Is that difficult?”

She shakes her head. “Dryad magic is meant to be used. Traveling is like a rollercoaster ride for me. But I suppose I would get tired if my tree teleported a bunch of times in a short while.”

“So how does it work?” I ask. “Do we need to do anything special or…”

"Lily's the only one who needs to be here. But if you lay your hand on the bark, you can feel the power," Sebastian says, placing his palm flat against the tree. I do the same, and when I touch the wood, a sense of easy comfort fills me, like drinking warm tea by the fire on a cold night.

“You both ready?” asks Lily, her hands scrunched up, her face bursting with anticipation.

Sebastian nods.