Page 4 of Turret

I frowned. The life I desired…in truth, I wasn’t entirely surewhatthat would look like. My gaze flickered towards the window across the room and the sunlight tumbling through, the closest thing I currently had to the outside world. “I’m…not entirely surewhatI want.” I was shy to make such admission, but as usual Quinn was nothing but empathetic.

“We should imagine the possibilities together; perhaps envisioning something more for yourself will help you get well sooner knowing there’s something awaiting you.” He scooted his chair closer with rather endearing eagerness. “If you could go outside right now, the first place I’d take you is…the woods.”

My eyebrows rose. “Why there?”

“Because it’s one of my absolute favorite places. I used to go there often as a boy to escape my tutors, where I’d spend hours exploring, climbing trees, and gathering all manner of treasures.”

Curiosity tickled my senses, an emotion I’d had little reason to feel for a while. “What sorts of treasures?”

He pulled out a piece of wood and a carving knife. “Not the usual ones you’d expect or the rare collectibles my father used to embark on expeditions across the five kingdoms searching for.”

My brother used to have a similar hobby. I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat; thinking of Briar was painful.

Quinn’s knife moved expertly across a piece of wood as he spoke. “Little did he realize thatrealtreasures could be found much closer to home, ones that cannot be made by man, but instead come from nature itself: acorns, pinecones, the thrill of discovering a bird’s nest hidden in the branches, watching the patterns created by the light flittering through the treetops…”

He trailed off with a rather wistful look, as if he’d momentarily been transported to his childhood memories, ones far different than mine. I tried to imagine the image his words had painted, but with my limited exposure to the outside world I couldn’t quite manage it.

“I’ve never seen any of those things,” I murmured. I’d spent plenty of time seeing the woods at a distance from my bedroom window, and even tried to learn about nature through books, but it wasn’t the same as experiencing them.

The light faded from Quinn’s eyes, even as his determination increased. “Not to worry, youwill, I’ll make certain of it.” His tone held a promise, one he often made whenever we discussed the possibilities of me one day experiencing the world outside the tower. I wasn’t sure how he could be so certain when the curse trapping us showed no sign of fading.

I forced those thoughts away and leaned closer. “Tell me more about the woods.”

He grinned at my enthusiasm. “Nature has a unique symphony of sounds, so different from the tower’s frequent silence—the songs of the birds in the forest’s branches, the wind blowing through the leaves, the crunch of the undergrowth as you explore…and you haven’t even heard the best part.” His expression became almost boyish, softening his handsome yet usually stoic features. “Within the woods near my family’s manor is a stream which I spent hours wading in; there’s nothing quite so satisfying as the feel of the smooth rocks against your bare feet.”

I tried to imagine it as I lay my head back against my pillow, giving in briefly to my exhaustion, but my attempts quickly darkened. “Can you imagine what Mother would say if she caught me doingthat?” I didn’t even want to think about the sharp reprimand she’d give, disapproval I’d already received far too often and yet could never numb myself to, no matter how hard I’d tried.

His entire manner hardened at my reference to Mother. “But Her Majesty isn’t here, is she? Leaving nothing stopping you.”

No, she wasn’t…yet I could almost sense her presence from within every stone of the tower, sense her expectation for me to live up to a role that my lifelong attempts had never achieved but had only given her cause for disappointment.

Quinn finished whittling and blew off the loose pieces of wood. “A glimpse of the outside world until you can experience it for yourself.” He handed me a wooden acorn, carved so expertly it almost looked real, just like all the previous carvings he’d given me, all of which rested in a place of honor on my vanity. I stared at it, slowly tracing my finger along its cap, before looking up with a grateful smile.

Pink stained Quinn’s cheeks. He cleared his throat and glanced towards the door. “Melina is taking an unusually long time to return.”

I gratefully seized this change in topic. “I’m surprised, considering how often she’s prepared my remedies.”

We both fell into an uneasy silence, our attention riveted to the door as we waited for it to open. The time stretched on, and still Melina didn’t return.

“Should you perhaps check on her?” I eventually asked after several long, anxious moments. “The rooms do tend to shuffle…perhaps she got lost.”

Though he looked like he wanted to scour the tower for her, he didn’t move from my side. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Despite my own growing worry, I managed a teasing smile. “What dangers can possibly penetrate the tower’s protection?”

His unyielding gaze met mine. “I wasn’t referring to your physical protection.”

My heart warmed, dispelling the last of my annoyance from his insistence I keep to my bed. His loyalty knew no bounds and provided such comfort.

Quinn shifted restlessly and cast repeated glances towards the door, and soon he began pacing the room in long, agitated strides. I was beginning to wonder if he’d grow so concerned he’d leave me after all in order to search for Melina when a knock sounded and the door opened to reveal my handmaiden, not bearing her usual tray laden with my medicines but returning empty-handed.

“There you are.” In his worry Quinn’s words came out rather gruff. “The princess has been waiting for a long time.” With the way he spoke, he made it sound like there was nothing I looked forward to more than taking my medicine, when in reality I wasn’t the least put out in being spared that undesirable duty.

“My apologies.” Melina wrung her hands, and at her clear anxiety Quinn’s gruffness softened.

“Did something happen?”

She hesitated. “Yes, though in truth I’m not sure what to make of it.”

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