The use of His Majesty made me think of Lucas, and my belly twisted unpleasantly. “I understand all too well. ”
Chapter Twenty-Five
I’d never been to Disneyland, and after seeing the king’s palace up close wouldn’t soon have any need to. What could a man-made fictional castle fabricated from drywall and plaster do to match up to the awe-striking splendor of a building unlike any I’d laid eyes on in my life?
I didn’t tend to think of things in poetic terms, it wasn’t how my mind worked, and I’d even scolded Ghillie for his bard-like leanings during our walk. But it was hard to see the shimmering edifices and walls that seemed to ripple and wave in the moonlight and not think of them in the terms dead poets would use to describe their lovers.
We passed under a gate, a set of armed guards hanging back when they saw Ghillie approach. As we moved into the large courtyard behind the wall, the palace itself beamed down on us with the bright glory of a second sun, lighting up the space in a white gleam so beautiful it made my heart ache.
Fae of various sizes moved out of the lit areas and into the shadows as we approached, sinking into the night and nearly out of my sight. I saw fairies—the high fae—and the familiar forms of hobs, and what I suspected must be pixies, not that I’d seen one before. But tiny flying women were few and far between, and they looked like Tinkerbell.
That is, if Tinkerbell had bloodstains around her mouth and wore tattered dead rose petals as dresses. Apparently my mental image of pixies had nothing right except they were small and had wings. If these critters had an attitude half as bad as Tinkerbell’s, they must be the fae version of mosquitoes.
“This way,” Ghillie directed, stealing my attention away from the fae moving about in the shadows.
One of the pixies made a high-pitched snarling noise at us. In response, Desmond unleashed a growl so menacing it wouldn’t have been any scarier if he’d been in wolf form. It served to silence the pixie and make everyone else in the courtyard shut up as well. I hadn’t realized anyone had been speaking until their whispers hushed.
So much for keeping our entrance low-key.
Unperturbed, Ghillie crooked two fingers in the direction of our party and climbed the steps of the palace without further instruction. Holden moved ahead of me and was the first to get to the top of the steps. Ghillie stiffened, visibly uncomfortable to be close to the vampire.
If I got out of this without one of them dying, it would be a miracle.
I’d buy a lottery ticket to celebrate.
I climbed the stairs and waited for Desmond to follow, which he did slowly while continuing to watch the fae surrounding us. The whole group held their collective breath. The moment Desmond slipped by me I heard an audible sigh.
The shine of the palace vanished as soon as we stepped inside. The highly polished floors were marble with veins of quartz seemingly lit from below, but they were almost the only form of illumination. The walls were dark—not painted black, but made of shadows instead of raw material.
The ceiling swam with pink and green light, muted into near oblivion, but much like the Northern Lights on a smaller scale.
It should have been beautiful. It should have made me feel awed and dazzled and all those pretty, charming things. Instead I felt cold, uneasy, and the smell of the interior reminded me of a funeral home. Not dead, but devoid of warmth.
This was the last place I wanted to be.
My wolf stirred, whining internally, begging me to turn around and get the hell out of dodge.
Usually I didn’t take her at her urges, but I couldn’t help but think she was right about this one. Regardless of what my wolf suggested, I held my ground and stood inside the entrance hall, letting the shiver of uneasiness skitter over my skin like a million tiny bugs. I liked the outside much better than the inside.
“Follow me, please,” Ghillie directed.
“Does it get darker?” I asked, not liking the hitch in my voice.
“Everything must get dark before there is light. His Majesty is the light. ”
“And we must pass through darkness to reach him?”
Ghillie pointed to the end of the long hall where the light from the floor and ceiling faded away and the bleak nothingness was complete. Pitch-black.
“Go that way. ”
“Didn’t you say follow you?”
“To the end…then you will go alone. ”
“Awesome. ” I touched my gun and sword, reminding myself I had protection.
“Are you afraid of the dark?” Holden interrupted.