Page 84 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“At dawn, Castle Auretras will become the tomb it was always intended to be.” I turned my back to the crowd and let out a shuddering breath. It was nearly over. “And there are those who’ve been afflicted who are not dead yet. They willnot die.”

“Why me?” Camelya whispered, her eyes wide.

“This is how you make your amends,” I said. “We will stay until just before dawn to help, but I have somewhere else I need to go.”

She nodded and something shifted in her eyes, becoming much more like the Camelya I had known in my time here. She snapped her fingers at the crowd, and one young man jumped and rushed over, his eyes wide and flickering between Tallon and me. “Yes, Camelya?”

“Go get me that map of the kingdom from the library. Bring it here. And bring some parchment and ink, too, lots of it.” She waved him off and peered out over the crowd again, finding her next target. “Luca, come here please.”

An older man with white hair and wrinkled hands approached. His body held none of the unease the young man’s had but did have a weariness that made him hunch slightly. “Yes, Camelya?”

“We need to split these vials into small enough doses that everyone can take some with them. Is there anything in the medical suite that can aid in that?”

Tallon and I shared a look, but he shrugged and turned his focus back on Camelya. I supposed if he had a problem with my approach, he would have told me by now. My heart was pounding still, and the events of the evening were beginning to catch up to me, my vision swimming slightly. I stepped closer to Tallon, not listening as the older man gave his response. “I am not sure how much longer I will be upright,” I murmured.

“It’s the magic. I wish I could take the burden from you,” he replied, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into his side. Offering me his strength. I leaned into it readily. “We are almost finished here, my wolf. You can make it a bit longer, I promise.”

The older man disappeared through the doors into the castle as well, and Camelya turned to me. “I need the others. Can they come off the doors now?”

I bit my lip, unsure. Tallon stepped in smoothly though. “Yes, I will watch the crowd. If anyone goes near the doors, they will be stopped.”

She hesitated for a moment, and then gave a decisive nod, stalking through the crowd to fetch the others. Tallon and I both watched the crowd intently as they returned to the front of the ballroom, but no one tried for the doors.

“Take those damned things off,” I commanded as soon as they were close to the stage. “You will never need to wear those ever again.”

At once, all three of them ripped the red fabric from their heads. Elena and Maricara watched me suspiciously, but they lacked the usual venom in their eyes. Zaharya kept her eyes on Sylviana but still approached me, pulling me into a fierce hug. “You did it,” she whispered into my ear. “We’re free because of you.Thank you.”

“We are all free now,” I replied, hugging her back just as tightly.

Separating, she went back to the others, and Camelya directed them to clear a table from the side walls and bring it to the stage. “And can we please do something with his body?” she asked while looking at Tallon.

The flicker of a smirk was so brief I almost missed it, and he nodded. “Of course.”

“What will you do with it?” I asked, eyeing the bodies that littered the stage.

“Take them to the Beyond.”

“Oh.”

“Would you like to accompany me? I don’t need to go with them, but if you’d like to see the Beyond you remember, but under different circumstances, now would be ideal while Camelya organizes everyone.” His voice was soft, and I knew that if I said no, he would respect it.

Perhaps a part of me wanted to say no, but another part of me was curious as to why Tallon was so adamant I was wrong about the Beyond being a nightmarish place. His room had been nice enough, but the craggy canyons were far different. “If I want to return, we can?”

“Of course, at any time.”

“Alright, I will go with you.”

“Camelya,” he called. “We’ll return in just a moment.”

She nodded absently, still talking with Zaharya.

A wave of Tallon’s hand and the ballroom disappeared, leaving only us and Eadric’s corpse, now in another world. The Beyond looked similar to what I’d seen before, all dark, soaring cliffs and rivers of crimson in the carved-out canyons below. But itwasdifferent now.

Instead of the icy-cold wind that had whistled and pierced my skin, there was a gentle breeze, almost warm against my face. There were no screams, no imminent feeling of being watched, no pit of dread curled in my stomach waiting for something bad to happen. The cliffs did not seem daunting, and the river meandered slowly.

“How?” I asked on a shaking exhale.

“I suspect the castle was influencing things some, but most of all, I think you were afraid of the darkness inside you. You’ve accepted it now, accepted the truth of yourself.”

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