Page 19

W ith nowhere else to turn, Fisher escorted me out of the conference room, leaving Sasha behind.

Once outside, we were greeted by an elderly man standing next to a black town car.

His uniform was similar to the one worn by our chauffeur in Telvia, and taking in the uniform and car, I assumed he was the driver for today’s excursion.

He was a quiet man, too. Didn’t say much.

Clean shaven, hair white as the clouds in the sky, and wrinkles around his eyes and mouth that made me think he spent a lot of time smiling, which he did.

He smiled when I was led to him by Fisher, smiled as he opened my door, smiled when I asked how long the drive was going to be, and then just smiled some more. But he never said a word.

Fisher, on the other hand, was the exact opposite, doing nothing but grimacing constantly.

When I tried talking to him, I got grunts, annoyed sighs, and curt responses.

I may have been exaggerating, but I was pretty sure Fisher hated me.

Truth be told, I didn’t like him very much either.

So we sat in silence mostly, and I looked outside the window, watching the rolling plains and wooded hills of the North fade into suburbia and cityscape.

I think the most shocking thing to see was how much the North looked like Telvia, and then looked nothing like it at all.

The city was complete with skyscrapers, the neighborhoods with little houses and big ones.

There were little boutique shops, people driving cars, people playing with their kids.

It all rang with a familiarity that reminded me of my home, but also so completely different.

Because when I looked at the faces of the people around me, there was a carefree attitude in the way they went about their business, a lightness that never felt present in Telvia.

Here, people weren’t looking over their shoulder or biting their tongue for fear of who might be listening.

It was…it was weird.

Then there was the greenery—there were plants everywhere .

And I don’t mean the succulents and fake trees that adorned all of Telvia.

I mean big, leafy ones. Plants with giant, vibrant leaves.

And the trees—there were so many trees. Many were beginning to lose their leaves.

While on base, I noticed the leaves turning color with bright hues of orange, yellow, and red.

And seriously, it had to be one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

The trees never changed color in Telvia.

They didn’t sway with a breeze, or groan in the wind.

But here…the trees were alive, living a life all their own.

And I swear, I felt that if I listened hard enough, I could hear them whispering.

I had never seen another region outside of Telvia, and doing so now was another slap to the face.

Raúl’s carefully crafted tales, backed by the Telvian Council, always made it sound like the other regions were deserted.

Nothing but desert wastelands. He told us that the only people living outside the wall were hostile, hellbent on destroying Telvia to take its resources.

But it was all a lie.

Everything that ever came out of my father’s mouth was a lie. One big, tall tale—a spider’s web of deception intended to keep everyone trapped in the dark and…

Submissive.

Nothing about the North made me believe they were hurting for anything, or that they even wanted anything. They had it all.

When the town car arrived at the Calvernon Estate, a tall, wrought-iron fence kept the grounds of the property secured.

The main gate entrance was decorated with elegant scrollwork and gold painted leaves shaped out of the iron.

As our car drove up to it, the gate swung open, and a white gravel driveway led down the center, lined on either side by tall, pointed cypress pines that stretched toward the sky.

At the end of the long driveway was this huge thing with three-tiers, pouring out generous amounts of water from the top. Water flowed out from the top, down to the second tier, and then cascaded down into the massive pool at the bottom. The driveway wrapped around it, bordering it on all sides.

My brows knitted together as our car rolled up, turning around the structure. “What is that?”

“It’s a fountain, Miss de la Puente,” Fisher said behind me.

I blinked, turning to face him. “A fountain? What’s it for?” The car came to a stop; the fountain on one side and the mansion on the other.

Fisher unbuckled his seat seatbelt. “For decoration.”

Decoration? We conserved water in Telvia like a precious lifeline Mother Nature could steal back at any second. And here, water was a decoration ?

We didn’t have water fountains in Telvia.

We didn’t decorate with limited resources.

We conserved.

Fisher’s car door was opened for him, drawing my attention to the house just beyond, and I gawked.

Where the Presidential Palace was all white marble and golden accents, this place was gray stone with black iron, gold and red accents, stained glass windows, and complete with turrets and towers.

This place wasn’t an estate, but a freaking castle!

It rivaled the Presidential Palace in size, with just as many windows, floors, and what I was pretty sure were “wings.” It probably even had a basement.

I shivered.

I took in a deep breath, trying to settle the knots forming in my stomach.

I didn’t really know why, but I felt nervous and out of place.

It wasn’t the grandeur of the estate. I’d grown up living in luxury, but this…

this was different. Everything about the North reminded me that I had no idea what the real world was like.

I’d been living a lie my whole life, and now I felt stupid.

I placed my hand on the car door handle, only to have the door swing away from me. I looked up and was greeted by Smiley giving me—wait for it—another smile. Of course . I tried to return it, but it felt forced. So I settled for a nod and a “ thank you ” as I climbed out of the vehicle.

Stepping onto the gravel driveway, my eyes were greeted by a wide stone staircase that led to two double doors of the mansion.

A breeze kicked up, carrying a slight chill with it, sending a shiver through my body.

A gentle reminder that the seasons were shifting and winter was coming.

Instinctually, I wrapped my arms around myself even though the warmth of summer was still very much present.

The breeze, however, introduced a chill that settled deep into my bones.

Smiley cleared his throat gently with his hand, and then extended it out in the universal gesture of right this way . I nodded again and returned my gaze to Castle Calvernon.

“Come, Miss de la Puente.” Fisher walked past me, taking the stairs with measured steps. “This will be your new home.”

My stomach dropped, a sinking feeling deep in my gut.

Home . This was going to be my new home .

I swallowed, my mouth dry as the desert.

And then I reminded myself. For now…my home for now .

It was all temporary. Play the part, save my brother, and get the hell out.

I shook my head, taking in a deep breath as I steeled myself, facing the castle that might as well be a prison.

“Just one step at a time,” I whispered to myself.

“Come, Miss de la Puente,” Fisher pushed, “we don’t want to leave the lady of the house waiting.”

“Lady?” But he didn’t respond to me. Taking in another deep breath through my nose, I began climbing the steps.

One…two…three…

I kept my focus on the grand red doors, noticing the black iron rivets and gold accents.

Ten…eleven…twelve…

With each step, I felt my heart pump harder, faster. Even though Castle Calvernon looked nothing like the Presidential Palace, a part of me felt the same primal fear that haunted my waking hours in my Telvian life.

Eighteen…nineteen…twenty…

As my booted foot landed on the final step, the grand red doors groaned and opened wide.

And there, right in the center, stood a gorgeous woman, tall and slender.

Her simple, form-fitting, beige satin dress, draped over all the right curves of her elegant body.

Her blonde hair of supple curls was collected and piled on her head, with several cascading down and falling gently about her face.

I had the distinct impression that she had spent hours working on the arrangement but made it look as though she had just tossed them up in an I don’t care sort of way. I wasn’t buying it.

She totally cared.

And she reminded me of Belinda—clean, refined, gorgeous, and crisp.

I shivered again.

Despite the many resemblances she had to Belinda, there was something she didn’t share. Where Belinda’s eyes were blue, this woman had hazel ones. The same hazel eyes I so often found myself captivated by.

Wes.

I felt a pang in my chest at the thought, and I took in a deep breath, trying to expand my lungs to relieve the tightness that was making it difficult to breathe.

“Welcome to Calvernon Estate.” Her voice was cool and glossy, smooth and sophisticated. She folded her hands in front of her, eyes piercing and bright.

I gulped, staring at the woman who reminded me so much of my personal torturer, glancing at the castle that felt so much more like a tomb than a home, and felt myself grow cold from the inside out. Edith’s words crossed my mind once more.

I hope you don’t regret this…

Too late. Rolling my shoulders back, I stepped across the threshold into my new hell.