Page 34 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“I saidnow.”

At the command, the burning cold vanished, taking all my energy with it, and I slumped, black stars dancing in my vision. The hands at my waist caught me, taking hold of my body weight as I swayed. Back in my body, I felt both chilled and entirely too hot all at once.

Whoever it was, they’d saved me, and more importantly, they were warm pressed up against my back. I leaned back into the warmth, trying to chase away the residual cold that felt seared into my lungs. My mind was fuzzy, like someone had pulled a blanket over it and was asking me to see through it. All I could focus on was that warmth, and the residual feeling of panic and anger and loss.

The warmth rumbled and a finger traced down the side of my neck, the same path the Soulshade had taken. “You are certainly trouble, aren’t you, little wolf?”

I wanted to speak, to pull away from him as my mind recognized finally who the warmth at my back was, but he was so warm, and I was still so cold. My mind was foggy, the words flitting by before I could grasp them and speak them aloud. An intense ache settled into my bones, and my eyelids suddenly felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. Perhaps I would rest against the warmth for a moment. Just a moment, and then I would push him away and question him.

All I saw next was the ceiling, and then blackness settled in once more.

ChapterEighteen

Iwoke to the sound of bells tolling. Bells that said it was midday. My head felt cloudy, like it was stuffed with cotton that had also dried up in my mouth. Clothing rustled by the window and I froze, my breath catching in my throat.

All at once, memories slammed into my mind, one after another after another until I was gasping and jolting upright to press my hands into my eyes.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

Gritting my teeth against the pain in both my palm and shoulder, I drew my knees to my chest beneath the blankets and dutifully ignored the fact Tallon had taken the care to put me beneath them in the first place. The skin around the wound on my shoulder felt tight and itchy. Lowering one hand from my face, I prodded at the wound gently, hissing when I touched the tender and hot skin.

“You seem to have quite the penchant for getting injured, little wolf.” Tallon stood beside the bed. Somehow, he managed to look down at me with both a playful twist to his lips and a brow pinched with concern. “How did you come by this particularly gruesome wound? You did not have that at the ball last night.”

My mind was not so foggy that I would make the mistake of telling him the truth. Or of asking him why he’d been looking at me closely enough to have known that.

“What is happening to me?”

“It seems to me someone should wrap you in protective padding and lock you in a room where you cannot hurt yourself.”

Flinging the blankets off my body, I stood from the bed. He blocked my path and did not move, twitching an eyebrow up along with the corner of his lips. A challenge. Eyes narrowing, I did not back away or skirt around him, instead ensuring my front brushed up against his more closely than strictly necessary. His sharp inhale had me biting the inside of my cheek in victory.

But the small sliver of joy that came with besting him was fleeting. “Why are the Soulshades coming after me here?”

The room between us grew silent and still, and for a moment, I was convinced he’d stopped breathing as he looked down at me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small tin. When he opened it, the smell of lavender and mint and something slightly spicy filled the room. He lifted it towards me, dipping a finger in the thick paste inside.

“May I touch you, Odyssa? This will help with that,” he said, nodding towards my shoulder.

After only a moment’s hesitation, I nodded, letting him apply the paste. It stung slightly, and then settled into a cool burning that eased the throbbing and tightness there until it was mostly numb. I didn’t know what was in the paste, but if it helped this much, I also knew I likely would not want to ask.

“Did you even clean this out?”

“Zaharya did.”

His hand froze, fingers still on my skin. “Did she cause this?”

“No.”

He waited, but finally seemed to accept I would not offer anything further and continued until the entirety of the wound was delightfully numb. He took my hand next, spreading a thin layer of the paste over the neat stitches there as well. Wiping his hands on the sides of his pants, he tucked the tin back into his pocket.

“I asked a question before,” I reminded him, raising an eyebrow. “Why are the Soulshades so intent on me? I never had this problem living in the city. What is different about the castle?”

His eyes darkened, a morning-mist gray deepening into the color of roiling storm clouds. He stepped away from me, moving with heavy steps to the balcony doors. Back to me, he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked out over the city. “There is a lot that is different about this castle, little wolf. So much.”

My eyes narrowed. I rolled my neck to ease the sudden tension in my jaw and followed him to the balcony. I would not be ignored, not this time. He knew something, and if I was in danger—more danger than normal, at least—I deserved to know. Black Death marks stood stark on my pale hand resting on the black silk of his shirt as I grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. He came easily, crossing his arms and taking a step back while shrugging my hand off his shoulder.

“What ishappening?” I asked, eyes searching for anything in his face that would give me an answer, a clue, as to why these Soulshades were trying to hurt me, as to why this castle seemed hell-bent on tasting my blood.

“You received a bit of bad news after the ball last night, did you not?”

---