Page 31 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
The knob turned under her hand, and the wall opened, depositing her on the floor.
Cool, salty breeze caressed her teary cheeks.
A long open-air walkway stretched out before her. Columns rose on either side, holding the roof aloft. A carved railing connected each column. She pulled herself over to the railing, her feet grateful for the respite.
But the pain in her chest only grew. Why did it feel as though Arick was getting farther and farther away?
Did he not feel the agony that ripped at her very soul? Was this curse designed only to torment her?
Far below lay her home. The ocean swirled among the rocks. Each wave crashed high on the cliffs as though trying to reach her.
She shuffled along the low railing, trying to save her feet. The columns were too wide to reach around, so she hugged them for support.
Beside her, a soft voice asked a question.
Sorcha turned to see a girl with large eyes and hair like Thomas’s.
“I...” Talking was a wasted effort when the girl wouldn’t be able to understand her. Sorcha pointed toward the end of the walkway.
The girl slipped her arm around Sorcha’s waist and pulled Sorcha’s over her shoulders. Despite being shorter than Sorcha, she took her weight without faltering. She spoke gently, slow words that Sorcha didn’t recognize until the end. “...Arick?”
“Arick. Yes, Arick!” She lifted her hand and made a knocking motion with it.
Ahead, the walkway opened up into a large circle. To distract herself from the pain, she counted the columns.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight more to go.
The floor of the circle shone different colors, a design she couldn’t make out.
Almost there; only three left.
The girl kept up a soothing monologue, her voice rising and falling with the sea.
Sorcha could bear it no longer and collapsed onto the mosaic floor, the tiles cool against her flushed skin. Her necklace tinked as it struck the floor, a sharp sound amid the hum that filled her ears. She lay in a stupor, needing to move but unable to get up.
The girl kneeled beside her, a warm hand on her arm. Sorcha knew she should say something, thank her, but she couldn’t. She just knew, whoever this girl was, that she had saved Sorcha.
Sunlight glinted off the center of the floor. Sorcha watched it, mesmerized.
She pulled herself across the mosaic.
The call of the light warred with the pull to find Arick.
Her fingers brushed the piece of glass. Fire ripped up her hand and her arm.
Sorcha screamed.
“Whereareweheaded,Captain?” Arick asked as he followed the soldier through the castle. The guest chambers filled the east wing of the castle, and even though they were following a circuitous route, Arick did not believe that was where their destination lay.
“The dungeons, sir.” The captain offered no other explanation. He was twice Arick’s age, with a lean, muscular build.
“But the dungeons are back that way.” Thomas pointed to the hall they had just passed.
“Yes, sir.”
