Page 11 of The Healing Dragon (The Red Book #2)

CHAPTER SEVEN

JESSE

J anelle leaves for dinner with her parents, and I start the job of getting myself clean.

The water feels like heaven as it hits my skin.

I don’t even want to look down and see what goes down the drain.

I keep the time of my shower short to decrease the possibility of a maid passing by and hearing the water running.

Unlike Janelle’s freshly laundered clothes, mine have been packed into my bag for days now and they don’t smell anywhere near as fresh.

I need to find the laundry room and throw in my clothes with the maids.

When they come across them, they will probably think it’s one of the soldiers and put it aside.

Hopefully, if not, I can always steal from one of the men here. One of them is sure to be my size.

When I’m changed and ready to go, I press my ear against the door and listen in for anyone going or coming.

When I hear nothing, I open the door and shut it quickly behind me.

The cloak is already over my shoulders, but I make sure no part of me is showing.

The halls are far more empty right now than before.

As I make my way down to the first floor, a flow of voices come from different directions.

I turn left and the kitchen comes into view. The doorway is open and from my place I can see the maids and other staff eating while leaning against different countertops. Jokes and laughter ring out of the room.

I must return here when everyone is gone to bed and pick up some food. I ignore the growl coming from my stomach at the smell of roasted potatoes and meats in the air. Whatever they made smells amazing and I’m hoping there are some left at the end of the night.

I keep walking deeper to a louder gathering down the hall.

There is no light in between rooms, making the hallways fall into darkness.

But a small light at the end brightens as I get closer.

The noise coming from the room also increases.

This is where the soldiers have dinner, if the loud laughter and hooting are anything to go by.

Before I can reach the dinner hall, I notice a small dark hallway to the left.

A solo soldier stands guard outside a set of doors.

There can only be one thing behind that set of doors if a soldier must stand guard at all times.

I take a closer look and realize I know the man standing there.

This might be the best opportunity to hash out this conversation.

“Oliver,” I say.

The speed with which his hand snaps forward to take my neck is impressive, coming from the old man. The cloak falls off my head to my shoulders, revealing my face.

“What do you think you are doing?” Oliver asks me. His eyes widened in surprise and a hint of fear. “Even you are not immortal, boy.”

His face is so similar to the ones I saw growing up inside the Black Castle walls. His eyes are a copy of his mothers. The main chef of the Black Castle, Rosa. She was a loyal tough woman with a spine of steel. I witnessed her run a kitchen full of people with command and precision.

Three generations of his family have served the castle and the King.

That’s how I know Oliver. He lived in the Black Castle with his family growing up.

I personally didn't know him as by the time I was a child he had married and moved to the Duelo home.

But my grandfather always made time to greet him when he visited the Duelo estate.

“Let's talk somewhere where we won’t be spotted,” I say.

We go into the room Oliver was guarding and as I predicted, I’m inside Lord Duelo’s office.

The red oak wood desk in the middle of the room looks just like the one he has in his home back in Ignis.

His bookshelves are a burnt orange color that reminds me of the city of fire.

Janelle had similar colors in her childhood bedroom.

“Are you here for her?” he asks, obviously referring to Janelle. Before I can answer him, he continues. “You need to convince her to leave. It’s not safe for her here. It never truly was, but her father is doubling down on his plan.”

“Doubling down?” I take a step closer to him.

“Thank you for not giving up on her.” He looks outside to make sure no one is coming. “She needs you now more than ever.”

“What do you mean, doubling down?” I ask again.

“He is seeking allies, and he is finding them. Maybe it’s an urge for change or maybe some find boredom in the status quo, but more than one type of creature wants to see your brother fall.”

I grab Oliver by his shirt collar and forcefully push him against a bookshelf. “What are you talking about?” He doesn’t say anything right away, stunned by my sudden outburst. “What is Duelo planning?” I seethe .

“It will be best for you to see it. In two nights, there will be a gathering just outside the woods’ clearing.”

I let him go and move to the window as I don't hear a ringing in my ears.

“I’m here with her, not for her.” Silence follows my words. “We’re here for the Red Book.”

“Brandon will have her back?” he asks. “That must be why she returned.”

“She must return the Red Book first.” I look around the room. “Where is it?” I wonder if I can locate it somewhere among these bookshelves.

“It’s not here. He’s not forthcoming with its location.” His eyes look up.

“This is not the time for you to have conflicting loyalties,” I say with irritation.

I push regardless of the fact that I know he's not withholding information. I want him to give me something.

“You think I’m loyal to that monster?” Oliver looks appalled at the thought.

“Why else would you fail to warn us, Oliver?” My words are closed to a breathless whisper.

The betrayal that cost so many lives weighs so heavily on my heart.

“I didn’t know.” His head hangs low. “Did they make it?”

He is asking me about the remaining family he has in the Black Castle. His first thought at seeing me wasn't about them but how I could help Janelle.

He had one cousin left inside the castle before the attack and he survived. Everyone else departed out of their own accord as they built families of their own.

“Your cousin is fine. Your niece left the year prior when she married.”

The relief on his face doesn't match his actions.

If he cares about those two people in the castle, why allow the threat at all?

He could have stopped it. My grandfather might not have believed Oliver over a royal family but my brothers and I would have taken precautions.

We would have been on alert. Lives would have been spared.

A lot of would haves are only sorrows now.

“Why did you say nothing?” I ask him.

The words come out choked. If one person should have told us, it’s Oliver. The people who found themselves running from the flames were people he knew.

“If I would’ve known what his plans were, I would have done something, Jesse. Her being there should tell you how I didn’t know.”

“What is she to you?” I cross my arms.

How is her existence any more proof than the ones in the castle?

“The child I’ve always protected.” His words are a near whisper.

“Does that child know you were born in the Black Castle?”

Oliver shakes his head. “I got hired by her grandfather. Then her father came to power. His opinion of your family was evident so I kept my history to myself.”

“He never asked?” I raise a brow.

“He assumed and I allowed him to keep the false assumption.”

I wait for the ringing in my ears to sound but the space is dead quiet. Nothing of what he shared was a lie. But I know that for my gift to work I need to ask the right questions.

“Plotting for the crown should have started long before. How about before?” I ask, trying to hold back my rage. “Why did you say nothing, then?”

There is no way he simply decided one day to march into The Black Castle with no plan.

They coordinated the attack with only a few soldiers but the planning of the attack must have taken weeks.

None of them would know the halls of the castle more than the man before me. He took his first steps in them.

“I was never part of those meetings. If he had any sights on your brother’s title, I hoped the whispers were wrong or he would come to his senses.”

I shake my head because I can hear the clear ringing in my ear that tells me he is not being fully truthful. There is a little of the truth in there but not enough.

Duelo might not have walked the halls of his house announcing his plans to take my brother down. But I also find it hard to believe that Oliver didn’t know a single thing about it. He stayed in the Duelo home despite rumors for a reason. Whatever his reason, I can see he won't freely share.

“You are both here for the Red Book?” He looks concerned.

I nod, not sure if I’m going to regret telling him anything.

“I will do all in my power to help you both.”

His words don't ring in my ears but that’s left to see. He looks back out the door.

“We cannot be here long. The book isn’t here, anyway.” He closes the door after me and walks ahead to the main hall. “The kitchen staff must be cleaning up.”

Making his way to the kitchen, he discovers only a handful of staff members are still there. After a terse conversation, the remaining staff vacates the kitchen.

“They are going to assist the dining room. Lord Duelo is not done eating until fifteen past seven.” He looks over at a clock on the wall. “He will send the staff back. We don’t have a lot of time.”

With a bag in hand, he tosses different food items inside.

Snacks go in first. Two containers with tonight’s dinner go into the following bag, making my stomach growl again.

The food is no longer hot, having sat on the countertop this whole time, but I don’t care for that.

He stops and goes into the pantry. He climbs a shelf to get a box at the very top.

After a huff and puff, he hops down with something in his hands.

“These are Janelle’s favorites,” he says.