Page 68 of #Resort Love
A crack sounded, echoing through my mind. Looking to my left, a tiny fracture formed along the wall. A small light shone through, though it felt distant. I reached out, running my hand over the crack, feeling the air slipping through. I swallowed, hesitating as the ache from the chain around my heart began to throb. Bracing myself, I reached out again, pushing against that fracture.
The crack grew, the sound echoing through the room. I staggered back a step, my eyes widening as it splintered up thewall and across the ceiling. The breaking stopped, leaving nothing but silence behind. My heart thundered. Then, one final pop sounded, and the room shattered like broken glass. The walls of the room fell around me, evaporating before the pieces ever hit the ground.
Bright light stung my eyes, and I squinted, moving my hand up to shield myself from the sunlight. My eyes adjusted and I froze, taking in the field of tall grass and wildflowers. The colors were so vivid against the deep blue sky above me. I grinned, feeling the balmy wind circling around me.
My body relaxed and my magic came surging back, leaving me breathless. I stayed there, my eyes closed, my head tilted back, letting that warmth seep into my very bones until I felt ready to leave, to return to Aster and to Samian.
My eyes fluttered open and I yelped, finding Samian leaning close to my face. I jerked back, my hand gripping my chest. My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest. I cursed, and Samian laughed, retreating to the foot of the bed. I tried to fight it, but my face burned. My soul seemed to purr at his presence, wanting nothing more than to draw him closer.
“How long have you been here?” I breathed, not wanting to dwell too long on that thought. We’re skeptical of him, I told myself. Skeptical and wary, nothing more.
“Not too long,” Samian grinned as Aster rolled her eyes.
“It’s been two hours,” Aster answered for him. “I forced him not to disturb you, but when we felt your magic, he couldn’t help himself.”
“So,” Samian pressed, “were you able to find it?”
“If you felt my magic, why ask?” I scowled, crossing my arms, but Samian only stared until I groaned. “Fine. Yes, I was able to find it. It was like I was trapped in this black room, but Irecalled the memory of when I first felt my magic. I pictured the field of wildflowers, the sun, how warm it all felt, and then the room fell away. It felt like my magic had come rushing in after that. It was exhilarating.”
Aster and Samian’s gaze met briefly before returning to me, but before I could ask, Aster stood, handing me a pile of papers. “These are the results of your blood work. It’s just as I told you earlier. As of now, you are forty-eight percent fae, though it is steadily increasing.”
I stared down at the papers, stunned by the numbers glaring back at me. “Has this ever happened before?” I asked, unease trickling down my spine.
“Yes,” Samian answered sheepishly, balking when Aster’s lips thinned and her gray eyes turned to molten steel. “But that’s something we will need to discussafterwe get Ezra out of the dungeons and away from prying ears.”
I scoffed, still fighting with myself on if I should give him my trust or not, though the latter was becoming easier with hiswe’ll discuss this laterbusiness.
“I agree with Samian,” Aster said. Her anger remained written on her face as she eyed him, but her voice softened. “We need to make a plan. Once Ezra is out of the palace, onceweare out of the palace, we can talk. It will be safer that way.”
Samian cringed, but he sent a look of gratitude her way. Aster’s face remained blank, wholly unimpressed with him and his secrets. Not that I could blame her—I wanted to throttle him for it too. Their heads turned my way, waiting for some type of response. Breathing out a quickfine, Samian smiled, bright and wide, making my heart flutter.
Skeptical and wary, I repeated to myself. Skeptical and wary.
Crawling off the bed, I stood, just as Samian disappeared into a puff of smoke. I blinked, looking to Aster, but she staredblankly, her face the picture of boredom, until Samian returned, reappearing the same way he left.
He went straight to the table, unfurling large blueprints of…
I peered closer, narrowing my eyes. It was similar to the palace, but not.
“What, exactly, is this?”
Chapter 37
Sybil
“These are maps,” Samian smirked. He looked up, finding two sets of annoyed glares. Clearing his throat, he continued. “They are maps of the old palace and the hidden passageways that still remain.” He sighed. “They havelongbeen forgotten by most, if not all, here at the palace. I only knew about them because the queen threw me out of her office after I accidentally found these and told me to figure it out myself.” Samian smiled softly at the memory, his eyes flickering with a deep sadness. “This is how we are going to get Ezra out of the dungeon unseen.”
“And how are we supposed to open the cell door?” Aster asked.
“By using this,” Samian said, pulling out a worn metal key from his coat pocket. “This key works on all the cells in the dungeon.”
“You just magically have this key with you?” I asked skeptically, pressing my lips into a thin line.
“No, I don’t just magically have this key,” Samian frowned.Aster glanced between us, watching us carefully. “It was given to me by the queen.”
“The same queen that is on her ‘decades’ long trip?” I couldn’t help the contempt dripping from my tone. Not when Ambrose hinted that the queen was no longer around and especially not when there was one thing that had become extremely clear to me during my time here: if it sounded too good to be true, it was. Samian’s frown deepened, his face hardening. He held my gaze, searching for something that I knew he wasn’t going to find, not when he kept so much from me. Breaking eye contact, I looked back to the map, studying the different routes. “What are these markings?” I asked, changing the subject.
“The blue marks are entrances, red marks are the exits from the palace, the green lines are the passageways themselves, and the stars are specific areas in the palace that I’ve used before. This star is the library, this star here, with the dot in the middle, is the medical wing. This star with the line through it is my room.”
