After the Walls

Chapter 3

"Goodnight."

He slips away. I turn around, watching the last of the soldiers disappear around the side of the palace. But one man with dark hair stops for a moment, glancing up at me. No. I turn around and step back inside, closing the doors behind me.

I shiver again as the warmth from the fire embraces me. Flames crackle in the hearth on the left wall, warming the otherwise cool marble floor. I traipse to the door, and the two guards greet me on the other side.

"Gentlemen." I nod at them.

They don't utter a word as they march down the hall. One in the front, one behind me. The one in front of us leads us toward Edward's wing, of course, and I grimace.

Finally, we stop in front of a mahogany door with a gleaming brass handle. The guards gesture to the room and wait for me to step inside. The room is enormous. A king, four-poster bed consumes the space, decorated with plush pillows and a thick comforter. Candles throw pools of jumping light over the walls and the fire in the hearth warms the room. My shoulders slump. The loneliness creeps up on me like a waning shadow. I ball my fists and close my eyes, hoping the feeling will pass. But I've been in the walls of this palace long enough to know the loneliness is here to stay.

I peel my coat off and hang it on a coat hanger in the closet. After I change into a nightgown and wash the day from my face, I crawl into bed. I grip the blanket and try to not let the memory of yesterday's encounter with him keep me awake too long. Edward is right. We have a big day tomorrow. But his smell, like the forest and citrus, lingers in my mind. When I bumped into him yesterday, I hated Edward. It's like he composed that very moment just to taunt me. And him. His words haunt me. How do you pretend you don't love me?

My head is throbbing with the words. The pain in his voice. His confusion.

I can't think of him. Not here. So, I push his beautiful face into the recesses of my mind and fall into a restless sleep. I dream of my sister. Her kind eyes, the ones that belonged to my mother, brimming with tears.

Edward's grating voice wakes me up the following morning. "You ready, Elle?" he calls through the door.

My eyes burn as I tear them open, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Can you give me a moment?" I bark, yanking the blanket over my face. "It's hardly 6 o'clock."

"I will wait for you in the breakfast hall," he says in a too-shrill voice.

Then his heavy boots stalk away.

My body protests with the lack of rest as I drag myself from the bed and dress in khaki cargo pants and a black long-sleeved top. I shrug on my coat and step into my boots before heading out of the bedroom. A groan falls from my mouth as the guards greet me once again. They are pinned to my side like leeches, as if I could leave, anyway. I made my deal. Even if it was a deal with the worst devil yet.

I follow the guards to the breakfast room and plop myself into the chair opposite Edward. He sips his black coffee from a delicate China mug and arches a brow.

"You ready for the task today?" he asks. The mug clinks as he places it back in the saucer.

The servants scurry around the table, and I grit my teeth. I have long since learned I must let them do their job. They place a steaming mug of coffee and a pastry in front of me. They arrange a basket of fresh fruit and serve me a bowl of warm oatmeal.

I eat the food, grateful for a full belly. During my time in the dungeons, he didn't let me eat much more than stale bread and cheese.

After we finish breakfast, Edward stands abruptly. "Ready, Elle?"

My stomach twists, but I nod. We stride through the palace and collect our weapons. I buckle the belt and slip an array of knives into the sheathes. Finally, I slide my sword into the scabbard over my back. He keeps my sword with the other weapons. Then we board a regular cart, pulled by a horse. Edward pulls the curtains close.

"Don't want anyone to know it's us," he says.

I roll my eyes. "Course not."

I feel the incline of the cart as we cross the bridge and rattle onto the Convex Sector. At last, we arrive. While the Convex Sector is only just waking up, we climb out of the cart and enter the forest, letting the tight-knit trees conceal us from prying eyes. We make our way through the forest in near silence, heading west to one section of the western walls. We climb into the bunker beneath the section of the walls and emerge beyond the walls.

We arrive at the lake. With the grey morning, it appears to be a sheet of ice. Motionless, silver, and silent. Edward trudges to the boat and moored in the sand and drags it into the lapping water. It bobs with the current as he glances at me over his shoulder.

"You are coming, right?"

I draw in a breath and muster my wits. "Yes."

He holds the small wooden boat still as I climb aboard and sit on the bench. The boat is big enough for only two people. He hauls himself on, and we each grab an oar. In silence, we push off from the shore, steering the hull of the boat deeper into the lake. The water grows darker the further out we go. I glance at my reflection. My red hair is a bright contrast to the dark navy chasm below.

The lake wraps around the western and southern walls of the city, stretching out for several miles before hitting land again. In the distance, the mountainous trees of the forest beyond scrape the clouds.

"Are you ready to get the elixir for me, Elle?" he asks as the wind blows through his white hair. His greedy eyes fall on my face, and then he scans the water, looking for his treasure.

I clench my jaw. That's when, in a timely manner, the monster groans from deep in the water. The surface of the lake ripples, and the churning water creates white, crashing waves pummelling toward us. The enormous dark violet tentacle erupts from the lake, flailing in the air as water cascades from its scales and suctions.

Edward cackles as the monstrous tentacle smacks back into the water, and I topple forward, gripping the side of the boat as the waves rock us, nearly flinging us from the boat.