Page 46 of Turret

As if the tower had been listening closely to our conversation, I felt it stir, its magic tickling my arms resting on the stone windowsill. I sensed its unspoken message, its urges for me to follow it, before the warmth darted away, as if leading me to the door.

“The tower is taking us somewhere.”

Quinn didn’t have a chance to respond before I seized his hand and tugged him after me. His breath hooked at our contact, but rather than pulling away like I feared, his hold tightened around my hand, his desperation to keep me near stronger than his usual insistence on duty and distance.

I slowed once we stepped into the hallway to rest my hand on the wall, cool to the touch, no sign of the magic’s warmth. I ran my hand along it, searching…and eventually felt the stirring again, much fainter in the corridor than it’d been in the mirror room.

“This way.” I tugged on Quinn’s hand to lead him down the hallway.

The tower’s magic slithered along the walls, leading us down several familiar corridors, making me wonder where it was taking us. It turned out to be a narrow back staircase that descended not to a door but a solid wall. I hesitated on the top step to peer uncertainly down.

Quinn squeezed my hand reassuringly, giving me the strength to descend onto the first step. I kept my hand entwined with his and the other on the wall, both to steady myself and to follow the thin trail from the tower down each twisting step until we reached the very wall that had trapped us in the tower three years before.

I stared at it, searching, but as had been the case throughout our entire imprisonment, the door remained absent.

It had been years since I’d stood in front of this wall. When we’d first become trapped I’d spent hours staring at it, even running my fingers over it in a desperate search for any sign of the door, a hidden knob,anythingto escape. But there’d been nothing. The discouragement from my constant failure had quickly become unbearable until I’d finally given up…and had avoided this section of the tower ever since.

The memory of that defeat returned anew, as heavy as it’d been before. Looking back, I could see that that moment had been a turning point when I’d accepted my fate and begun suppressing any desire to leave, convincing myself that a life trapped within a tower was not only the life I would live, butdeservedto live, evenwantedto.

Things were different now. I’d never imagined I’d face this wall again, and as before, I had no idea how to penetrate it. “There’s still no door.” My discouraged whisper penetrated the shadowy silence.

“It’s so dark I likely wouldn’t be able to see it even if there was one.” Quinn stepped closer to explore the wall with his hands. “It’s still impenetrable stone, just as it’s been every time I’ve investigated each time there’s been signs the tower’s magic is fading.”

“The tower’s magic isn’t the only one disappearing…thecurse’sis as well.” I tilted my head to study the stones. “Perhaps the tower taking control of the mirrors proves that at this moment it’s stronger than whatever enchantment is trapping us; I doubt it’d have led us here otherwise.”

I rested my hand on the stones and frowned. None of the tower’s magic lingered, and I knew it was the key to unlocking the door. I moved my hands along the wall, searching, but found nothing. I stepped back to study it in thought, yet no matter how long I stared, I discovered none of its secrets.

I tore my gaze away to take in the rest of the landing. Grey floor, grey walls, nothing but stone. My eyes lowered to the floor, searching…before noticing something promising. Though the rest of the room was lit by the flickering orange flame from Quinn’s lantern, a sliver of sunlight ran along the crease dividing the floor and the wall.

I crouched down and ran my fingertip along this seam, feeling not only the warmth and light from the outside world peeking through but the tower’s presence, which I was certain would be the key to unlocking the door.

“It’s near the floor.”

Quinn crouched beside me and lifted his lantern, squinting as he watched my fingertip trace all along the seam. The longer I searched, the stronger I felt the tower’s magic grow.

“Please open.”

At my whispered plea, the magic stretched from the crease to rise up and encase the entire wall. I straightened and rested my hand against the stones; they pulsed with the tower’s enchantment, and soon the wall began to rumble, sliding away to reveal…

I gasped and blinked in the blinding light as, for the first time in three years, I stood facing the outside world.

Chapter 18

Light filled the stairwell as the tower door slowly slid open for the first time in three years. The white light was blinding; I closed my eyes against the brightness but could still see it against my eyelids. I kept my eyes closed for a moment before opening them a slit. The light was still overwhelming, but my eyes gradually adjusted, allowing me to see the outdoors.

The view took my breath away. While the window from my tower bedroom offered me a lovely aerial view, it was vastly different seeing the world stretching before me from the ground. Transfixed, I took a tentative step forward, lingering within the doorway with my hand on the doorframe, for I wasn’t quite ready to leave the tower’s safety.

The turret stood erect in an open clearing surrounded by thickets of trees. From my tower window I’d only been able to see the tops of their branches, but now they towered over me, tall and majestic. Paths twisted through them, leading to unknown places, ones I yearned to explore.

Despite how much I’d tried to overcome them, at first my fears held me back. Yet my desire to experiencemorethan the tower had to offer was stronger, slowly dispelling my reservations and urging me to step out of the shadows into the light in order to explore the world in all its beauty.

I glanced towards Quinn. At his encouraging smile I straightened my shoulders, took a steadying breath, and stepped out of the tower.

It was impossible to describe the freedom that enveloped me the moment I crossed the threshold. I didn’t realize how heavy the burden of being trapped inside the tower was until it’d been lifted, leaving nothing keeping me from enjoying the world to its fullest.

For a moment I stood completely still as I basked in every detail—the sunlight bathing me to warm my hair and my cheeks, the vast blue sky filled with lovely wisps of white clouds, and simply howbeautifuleverything was. It wasn’t just a feast for my sight; my senses were overwhelmed by all there was to see and hear—from the wind gently swaying the branches of the nearby trees, to the trilling birdsong, to the rush of a nearby stream.

I crouched down to run my hand across the grass, soft against my palm and cool to the touch from the shadow cast by the tower, such a unique texture. I balanced on one foot and tugged off my slippers, tossing them aside so that I could feel the grass against my bare feet. The feel of the blades peeking between my toes was a sensation unlike any other.

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