Page 69 of The Vampire Castle in the Sky

Don’t go far from me.The words were a gentle pull into the past. Ever since that day we got separated playing in the Dragonfly Forest, we used these words like a secret code. A greeting. A goodbye. A veiledI love you. Now, surrounded by enemies, it seemed impossible to find true comfort in them.

“Hector?” I ventured warily. “What did you say to Espen earlier?”

Hector’s eyes became steady once more. “That he should talk to his son.”

Confusion sloshed in my exhausted mind. “You think Roan killed Camilla?”

“I know when I see a man willing to do anything for the person he loves,” he said.

“But Roan was not in the room when I got poisoned.”

“I still believe it was Camilla who poisoned you,” Hector clarified. “She did it to break me, to prove me incapable of choosing between the duty I have to uphold vampire law and the duty I have to my heart. I think she and Kaladin have been in contact for years now, waiting for the shift in power. Camilla was no fragile, heartbroken girl. She used Kaladin. She used everyone. She wanted the Castle and she would have manipulated the gods themselves if that meant she could have it. And then, of course, there is what Dahlia said about Camillaspewing all kinds of lies about the Valkhars to Espen. She didn’t want Dahlia and Dain to get married because the families would have grown closer. It would have been a matter of time before Espen found out what Camilla and Kaladin were planning. Espen… he can be hard to deal with at times, but he was fiercely loyal to my mother. He would have exposed Camilla if it meant keeping the peace between us.”

I considered it for a moment, following the same tangled thread as Hector, but somewhere deep inside me I had the sense that something much greater than a simple grab for power was at play here. I couldn’t shake off this feeling of wrongness. It seemed to crawl out of every room, seep out of every wall, haunt the Castle day and night. The Castle that should have protected us but hadn’t. Or perhapscouldn’t.

The magic stirred in my veins, forcing my mind to poke at something I couldn’t quite bring into focus. I didn’t feel like I was on the verge of having a vision. I felt like I was on the precipice of some life-altering revelation. But just as the scene, the hunch, whatever that sinking feeling was, breached the threshold of my consciousness, it slipped away from me, an eel floundering underwater.

The frustration must have been evident on my face, for Hector’s expression twisted with concern. “What is it? Another vision?”

I shook my head. “Go,” I rasped, tipping my chin at his bloodied hands. “The longer it stays on you, the harder it will be to scrub off.”

Light braced his eyes. Unexpected. Sizzling. Alluring as a flame. “Would you like to assist me, Dorothea?”

I glared at him, crossing my arms across my chest. “Don’t be charming. I’m still mad at you.”

He softened at that, his eyes like ambers melting into mine. “I’m sorry,” he said, and this time I knew he meant it. “I keep making the same mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“You think it’s pride, and perhaps it is, but mostly, I’m afraid to be vulnerable.” He exhaled, letting his weight fall against the doorframe in a sort of surrender. “I always push you away when I need you the most so you don’t see me break.”

This was nothing I didn’t already know. Still, to hear the words spoken aloud made me want to confess my own sins, take my part of the blame, no matter how hard or painful it was.

I steeled myself, gathering courage. “Every time things got hard, I ran away. I ran from my parents to you, from you to Thaloria, andevery single dayfrom myself. I used to think that if I kept running, I couldn’t fail at being me. I don’t want to be this girl anymore. I don’t want to wander aimlessly through life looking for myself. That’s why I wanted to stay here so much. That’s why I suggested this ridiculous ruse. I promised myself that I would not leave this time. That I would stay by your side no matter the cost.”

I didn’t feel as exposed as I’d expected saying all of this. My confession didn’t strip me down but strengthened me the way only truth could strengthen things, like a sandstone getting clarified under fire.

Hector took an uncertain step toward me. “Thea…”

“Just go. We can talk later,” I said, brushing my damp palms over the folds of my skirt only for them to come away smeared with dirt. “And make it quick. I have to wash too.”

Suddenly, a giant brass bathtub popped by the fireside. Curls of steam rose sleepily from the foamy surface, filling the room with a gentle scent of lavender. Next to it, a large silver tray materialized atop a pink footstool, holding a stack of fluffy towels, a crystal jar of bath salts, a bowl with several pastel-colored bar soaps, and a fresh rose swimming inside a small vase. After a moment, a table rolled itself into the room and settled next to the bathtub, crammed with all kinds of sweet and salty treats, pots of hot chocolate and tea, as well as my forgotten copy of the latestLorn Verlionwith a bookmark wedged amid its pages.

I let out a contented sigh and thanked both Hector and the Castle for their generosity.

“Knock on the door when you’re done,” said Hector, his fingers already working through whatever remained of the crisscross drawstrings at his collar. “Unlike you, I respect people’s privacy.”

I swiveled on my heel, huffing. “Thatwas an accident. How am I supposed to know you wander around the Castle naked when no one is around?”

“Well,” he drawled, cracking the bathroom door open. “Now you know.”

28

Thea

An hour later, every inch of my body was clean and silky smooth, my appetite was wonderfully satiated, and I was five chapters intoLord Verlion—and elated to discover that three of those chapters were absolute filth.

Murders, poisonings, and attempted usurpations were forgotten, and life simply slipped back into its usual rhythms, for that was what life did best. It regained its shape. Even after loss. Even after tragedy.

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