Page 21

CHAPTER 21

A fter Lander left, I couldn’t settle. I was tired, but not in the way that sleep would relieve. I itched to explore outside, but a peek out the window told me the winds were still high, and I wasn’t sure when they’d calm.

There wasn’t any way I could predict how long it might be until the sun reappeared. Dark clouds covered the sky in a thick sheet, allowing no splotches of blue to peek through. It cast the land in an eerie gray, making everything seem unsettling, like danger lurked not only above, but on the streets, too.

I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to wander through Deadwood, so I needed a reason if I were to leave this house. If a guard asked, I could use an excuse of enjoying the day, but the conditions outside were barely tolerable for that to be believable.

I paced the living area for a few minutes, testing my ankle for a walk and trying to think up a reason to leave the house. Ultimately, I decided to check on the guards. I hadn’t spoken to them since we had moved out of the tents, so making sure they were okay wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if any of the townspeople were curious as to why I wasn’t in the house.

Wrapping the wool-lined coat Siara had lent me tightly around myself and tugging on the pair of boots she had provided as well, I headed out the door, making sure it clicked into place so the winds wouldn’t blow it open. My knotted hair whipped in the wind, and I wished I’d thought to comb it out better before going out in this. I’d bathe once I returned. I wouldn’t be able to sit still long enough in the bath to properly soak the dirt and grime of traveling off of me—I was too anxious.

The houses we were placed in were off to the side of the main street, on the edge of town. It seemed most of the citizens’ houses were the same, lined up in rows that led to the businesses of Deadwood.

Though I’d planned to visit the guards, now that I was out here, I figured a short stroll wouldn’t hurt. Well, aside from the pain in my ankle and the soreness in the soles of my feet. That, I could ignore. But being cooped up for not the first time in my life? I needed air.

If someone approached me and asked why I was out, I could tell them I got lost. How believable that might be, I wasn’t sure, but the likeliness of someone asking seemed slim. Deadwood wasn’t massive, as far as I’d seen.

Dirt kicked up in flurries as I walked, coating the bottom of my dress, while other bits flew into the air. It wasn’t cold out, despite the powerful winds that whipped my hair around my neck and face as I walked out of the neighborhood and into the town.

Most of the old buildings looked the same, whether they were houses or stores, but a few on the main street stood out amongst the others. The one with the winding staircase on the exterior was a faded green, while another shop a few doors down was black. The paint on the buildings had chipped with the weather and sun, which was most likely why there were only a few painted.

Every other building stood uniform with their wooden planks turned various shades of brown from the sun bleaching the slats. Some had overhangs over small porches, others with signs dangling above their doors, but none were built of stone like in Amosite.

Last night, Lander had briefly told me there were other towns like Deadwood spread about Serpentine, but each was presumed to be under a monarchy. Deadwood, however, was not.

The town was truly lawless.

I shouldn’t have been intrigued, but there was a sliver of me that couldn’t help it. Bowen had been in Amosite. He’d stayed in the castle, had a history with my father, and yet, he came from here. A town without rules. Without a leader.

I wanted to know more.

The boots Siara had lent me felt a hundred times better on my sore feet than my slippers had, and the high laces helped support my aching ankle. By the time we’d crossed into Deadwood, my slippers were full of holes and soaked to the sole. I silently hoped Siara would let me keep the boots for the journey back to Amosite.

We weren’t close to the chasm or to the bridge that led back to the kingdom. There was only one way to cross over, and I’d been told there were two reasons for that. One, to better control who could enter and exit the kingdom. And two, because the ledges were unstable almost the entire way around the chasm. Where the bridge sat was one of the few places rockslides hadn’t occurred, and it’d stood strong for centuries.

“Auria,” a voice spoke up from behind me.

I stopped in my tracks, turning to find Paxon approaching me.

“Out for a walk?” I asked. I really didn’t want company, so I hoped he’d continue on his way.

“Looking for you, actually,” he replied, stopping a few feet in front of me. He still wore his battered clothes, his shirt unbuttoned at the top, exposing a bit of his chest. Upon glancing at it, I noticed the button was gone altogether. Did someone bring them clothes, too, and he chose not to wear them? Or was I the only one?

“Oh?”

“Take a walk with me,” he said, not a hint of a question in his tone.

Without waiting for my response, he turned, heading away from me. I glanced around, noting a few of the townspeople talking in the street or going in and out of businesses. A few guards clad in black leathers stood outside shops, and one in particular had his eye on me. He was talking to a man in similar attire, but it seemed he was hardly listening as his gaze was dead focused on where I stood.

With a deep inhale, I followed after Paxon. He passed a row of houses, then continued on into the desert.

I hurried to catch up to him, my limping and the wind battering against us slowing me down. “Where are we going?” I called to him.

“I wanted to talk to you about a few things,” he said, his hands folded behind his back as he walked.

I finally made it to his side, nearly out of breath. “About?”

He was silent, staring straight ahead. I waited for him to answer, but he didn’t. For ages, we walked in silence, and the wool coat I wore suddenly became all too hot. The wind only seemed to get worse as we went, the bottom of my dress kicking up around my calves.

We approached a hill, and as we reached the top, a split in the ground at the base revealed itself. The open mouth of nothingness stared up at me like a warning as it seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see. I wasn’t sure if it was attached to the chasm that separated Amosite from the rest of Serpentine, but it seemed similar enough that I would almost expect it to be.

“Paxon, there’s not much farther we can go,” I warned hesitantly as he descended.

“Come now, Auria,” was all he said, not bothering to look back.

I ran my fingers together, my palms slightly damp. I wasn’t sure if it was from the coat or the nerves that ran through my body. I should’ve demanded he talk to me in town, and now here I was, alone with a man who had to be nothing short of mad at me for not only speaking out of turn when we arrived in town, but also being the reason Lander was placed in a separate house from me.

I slowly followed him down the hill to the edge, approaching him from behind like a sheep might a sleeping lion. He stopped near the edge of the cliff.

“The ledges aren’t safe,” I stated. He hadn’t grown up in Amosite, so I wasn’t sure if he was at all knowledgeable on the state of such natural phenomenons.

“We’ll be fine,” he said, almost as if he was bored.

The fissure stood before us like a predator. Its black depths had to go on forever, and I was sure it had claimed many souls in the past. Though it was inanimate, it looked almost hungry. Ready to take its next victim at any moment. With the wind, sand brushed off the sides, falling in small wisps of clouds to be swallowed whole by the midnight mouth. At least the sky had stars and the rings to brighten itself in the dark. The split was an infinite black void.

“You don’t love Lander,” Paxon said matter-of-factly.

My eyes locked on the side of his face. “It was a forced engagement. Surely that much is obvious.”

“What I mean is that it seems certain he won’t grow on you,” he clarified. “One does not request to be placed in an entirely different home than her fiancé if she wishes to make things work.”

“I’m not sure what I want out of this yet.” I didn’t mention that Lander and I had agreed to be friends through all of this or that these had been the sleeping arrangements for the entirety of the trip. The only difference was that I’d had a hand in that this time. I wasn’t sure if Lander had brought it up or if he’d kept quiet, with the fear that Paxon wouldn’t be happy hearing about it. I also didn’t mention the fact that he was likely correct—I would never love Lander. He seemed to be a great man, aside from his flaws, but already, he was like many other people I’d met.

Under the grips of my father.

“It seems you’re not sure about a lot of things, Auria.”

“I’m confused?—”

He spun, a hand grabbing my arm, another my shoulder, and instantly, I was thrust forward and flying through the air. Before a scream could manage to pass my lips, my chest ricocheted off a rocky wall, my body dangling off the cliff solely by my arm held in a tight grip.

Paxon loomed above me, staring down at me with thick locks of hair blowing across his forehead.

My free hand tried to grab for purchase on the cliff, but each edge only cut into my hand. It was as if tiny teeth sprouted from the rock itself, hungry for blood and craving a soul. “Paxon, please . Please bring me up.” I could barely speak through the short breaths rushing in and out of my lungs. “Whatever it is, we can talk about it.”

“You’ve had a lot of decisions to make recently, haven’t you?” he asked, his tone flat, as if he wasn’t dangling me over certain doom and holding my life in his hands.

“I’ll love Lander. I can.” I swallowed hard, glancing below me at the infinite black. My gaze flew back up to him. “I will. Please, just pull me up,” I begged, my voice desperate and trembling. The wind howled, thunder cracking in the sky. The sound echoed down into the ground like a growl, the void threatening to swallow me whole.

“It’s not a matter of love, Auria. Love is not what leads kingdoms.”

I tried to find purchase on the ledge once more, but it was no use as he stood there, staring down at me like I was wasting his time.

Sand flew into my eyes, causing me to blink rapidly to attempt to clear it from my vision. I tried to reach up with my other hand to grab his arm in case his grip slipped, but my body was weak from the last few days, protesting the movement. It was no use.

“I can get you out of this marriage.”

My blinking immediately ceased as I focused on him with stinging, watery eyes. “What?”

“If you agree to come with me back to Torbernite, I’ll get you out of the engagement.”

“W-why would you do that?” If I could, I’d shake my head, but I feared to move any further. If he lost his grip, I’d fall to my death.

“Not only kings can make plans, Auria.”

Plans? What plans did Paxon think he had that needed to involve me? No one knew of my power, so surely it couldn’t involve that. If he wanted to marry me, it wouldn’t be any better than being with Lander. At least Lander and I were similar in some ways and were able to come to an agreement with all of this. If I knew Paxon at all, I was certain he wouldn’t be as easygoing as Lander.

In a flash, Paxon hauled me back up to land, leaving me lying on the ground by his feet. I coughed, tears springing to my eyes as he wiped his palms on his pants like I’d dirtied them.

“You have until we are able to travel to give me your answer,” he said, not sparing me a glance. “Don’t make a choice you’ll regret. The ground isn’t the only thing that might accidentally claim you.”

He left me in the sand with his threat ringing loud and clear in the raging storm.

There was no choice to be made. And if I thought there was, after the way he’d threatened my life just to present the ability to get out of my engagement, I was a fool.

I might have been locked in a castle for the entirety of my life, but I knew what potential death looked like when it bared its teeth at me.

Paxon Bular would make sure I chose him whether I wanted to or not, and I had a mere week to make my decision.

Die or follow him.

Only one seemed enticing.