Devil of the Spire || ONC 2024 || SHORTLISTED

06 | The Castle in the Spire

She had forgotten how gloomy Dorn was. The sky was overcast, and the air was damp with the promise of rain. After two days of travel, staying in taverns, and sitting down for way longer than she was used to, Ilaria was itching with the need to walk around.

But not here.

For such a large city, Dorn was nothing compared to Askiz. Where Askiz practically shined with promise, Dorn sucked the light out of everything and left an icky murkiness everywhere one looked. The buildings, once tall and proud, were broken and disheveled from not being taken care of. Roofs were caved in, walls crumbled, and doors disjointed from their hinges.

She let the curtain fall back into place.

Within the next hour, she would be at the spire. Joey had been excellent company up until this point. Now, the realization of what she had actually agreed to was settling in. Months with Lord Kiernan.

The Devil of the Spire.

A rumor had abounded years ago that he had killed the previous lord and lady to claim their position. It had been disputed and proven fictitious, but the rumor had left its mark. That rumor, combined with the rumors of dark dealings with otherworldly beings, had done their damage. Not that Lord Kiernan seemed to mind. In fact, he seemed to play into it.

She scrunched her nose. The only things she knew about politics were what her grandmother told her, but everything suggested that Lord Kiernan was a cutthroat businessman who did what he needed to do with little regard for those he affected.

Ilaria wanted to slap herself. How stupid could a girl be to enter a deal with him?

It was too late to back out now. He had something she wanted, and she had threatened to expose their so-called destiny.

"Just a few more miles, my lady." Joey's voice came from outside. "If you look out the left window, you can see the spire from here. Quite a threatening sight, if you ask me."

Sliding over to the opposite window, she lifted the curtain. Only a few miles in the distance, a massive natural spire shot out of Dorn's rocky landscape. Conjoined to a red mesa, the spire stood apart from the rest of the view. It had stood there for centuries before some king moved there long ago and built a fortress within its face.

Now, Lord Kiernan lived there.

When they arrived at the spire's base, Ilaria expected to get out. When they began their ascent up a wide road carved around the spire's perimeter, she wanted to cry. Eyes closed tightly, she huddled in the middle of the bench, hugging herself.

"Why did they have to build it so high up?" she whispered, gasping at every little bump.

They could plummet to their deaths off the face of the spire, and nothing would be able to save them.

"You doing all right back there, Lady Ilaria?" Joey called and sounded like he was having the time of his life.

"Yes." She hated that she sounded so weak.

Joey laughed, but it didn't sound mocking. "Don't worry. We'll be on steady ground in only a few more minutes."

Those few more minutes felt like an eternity. When the carriage stopped, Ilaria prayed to the One not to send them careening off the edge.

"Here we are, my lady." The carriage jostled as Joey hopped off, and her door opened a few moments later.

Behind Joey, the dark form of Lord Kiernan waited. An amused smirk curled his lips. "Enjoy the ride?"

A colorful string of words popped into her mind, but she dared not let him know she had been terrified. Smoothing out her skirts, she accepted Joey's hand and exited the vehicle. Lifting her chin high, she leveled her gaze at her so-called fiancé.