*Maddy*
I follow Isaac through the castle. It’s busier than usual–maids fluttering about and weaving in and out of random doors–but Isaac is hyper-focused on something, and I have to refrain from pulling him to a stop to ask where exactly he’s taking me. When he pulls me into his bedroom, I freeze, my heart coming to an abrupt stop.
“Why are we–”
“Here,” he says with a boyish gleam in his eyes, tossing me a sweater to wear over my sleeveless dress. “I would have taken you to your own room to change, but I didn’t want to get interrupted by Hannah or anyone else.”
I gingerly pull my arms through the soft, baby blue material. It’s cashmere, I can tell. My father used to have a sweater just like this one and wore it when the weather had even the slightest hint of a bite in the air. The sweater hangs nearly to my sides but the warmth penetrates my skin within seconds.
And seconds is all I have because Isaac clasps his hand around mine and yanks me toward the door, and we’re off at the speed of light.
My heart hasn’t restarted its rhythmic beating, especially not with Isaac’s hand wrapped firmly and possesively around mine. His skin is nearly fevered, the heat traveling up my arm and into my chest, blooming through my veins. Large and calloused, one of his hands could hold both of mine within his palm, yet his touch is gentle, which I honestly hadn’t expected.
I’m not sure what to expect. I’m along for the ride, and I don’t have a single moment to protest or ask the questions burning in my mind.
He opens the doors to the library and whirls around without letting go of my hand, shutting the door firmly behind him.
I feel cold again the second he lets go of my hand and walks to the far wall. He reaches along the shelf, then carefully places a fingertip on one large, leatherbound book. He looks at me, smiling in a way I’ve never seen before. He’s excited, maybe even mischievous.
“What–” My words are cut short as he tilts the book, and a section of the bookshelf swings loose from the wall and spins. Isaac is gone. “Isaac?”
I hear the grinding of gears, and suddenly the shelf swings open again, revealing the king.
“What’s in there?” I ask, unable to mask my excitement. I walk toward him and yelp in surprise when he grabs my arm and pulls me to his chest just as the bookshelves swings open again, and we’re spun into total darkness.
My chin rests against his sternum. I can hear his heart beating in the quiet, still place. I can’t see him, but I can feel him, warm and whole and so close.
“Is this where you plan to shift and have me as an afternoon snack?”
His laugh trembles through his chest. “You wouldn’t be much of a snack. Plus, I think I’d miss you a little.”
Oh, well… that was unexpected. My heart rattles rapidly. I should pull away. I should grope in the dark for any distance I can find, but being flush against the king–Isaac–the man I’m going to marry in a few short days… it feels right.
I pull away, hardened by the nagging reminder that this isn’t about love in any shape or form. We’ll grow close, of course. Living together, having children together… but it won’t be love. We aren’t mates, plain and simple.
He moves, and a dim light flickers above my head. I blink to clear my vision and immediately narrow my eyes. There isn’t much space here at all. Behind me is a spiral staircase that leads up into total darkness.
“Follow me,” he rasps, the words whispering over my neck as he leans down in the small space. A shiver of white-hot anticipation tingles up and back down my spine as I turn to follow him.
He has to walk sideways up the staircase, which is too narrow even for me. It’s rickety, and I wince and reach out for him, clasping his shirt as the old metal shakes and groans. “Who will take the throne if the staircase collapses and we die?”
“Good question,” he breathes. “Ella, I suppose. She’s next in line until we have a child.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’d be thrilled,” I reply with dry sarcasm. I don’t think Ella would like being Luna. Isaac seems to agree and nods, reaching out to steady me as we continue our climb.
Eventually we reach a circular room. We’re obviously in one of the towers, but compared to Ella’s spacious studio, this place is tiny. Insanely small, actually. Half of the room is taken up by dust covered crates and a tangle of what looks like loose scrolls and rolled up rugs. A single, angular window lets in the first inklings of the impending sunset.
A single ray of golden light coming from the window is the only thing lighting the room.
And in the center?
“What do you call it?” I ask as I run my fingers over the metal object in front of me. A wide lens points to the ceiling, and I follow it upwards just as Isaac cranks a lever on the wall and the ceiling begins to part. The golden streaked sky opens up above my head, and the dusty smell of the room lifts, replaced by crisp spring air.
“A telescope.” Isaac moves to my side, his face tilted toward the sky. “Obviously, this is better done at night, but I doubt we’ll have much time to do anything like this until my parents go back to Maatua.”
He points straight up. The sky is just starting to darken, going from a crystal clear blue to a sparkling violet. Little specks of light break through the sunset. Stars.
“It’ll be a full moon on our wedding night,” he says, adjusting the telescope. “Three days from now.”
“Ah, so the date did change.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” His mouth lifts in a half smile with the sarcastic comment, then fades as he takes me by the shoulders and positions me directly in front of him. If only he knew I am disappointed. “We’ll be able to see Saturn tonight. Look right through here.”
I squint and peer through the eyepiece, but see nothing but blurry streaks of gold and fuschia. Isaac, standing directly behind me with his chest pressed lightly against my back, cages me in as he makes more adjustments. The image blurs, then clears, and through the colorscape I spot something bright yellow with a strange blue haze around it.
I gasp. I can’t help it. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.
“Do you see it?”
“Yes.”
He chuckles, pleased with himself. Slowly, he turns the telescope with one hand and adjusts my position with the other, the two of us walking in a semicircle. Stars erupt in my vision–tiny and speckled several shades of white and brilliant silver.
I suddenly feel so small, and so do my trials and tribulations.
“Do you come up here often?” I ask, pulling away from the telescope. I look up at him expectantly, but his eyes are fixed on the sky above us.
“Sometimes. It’s one of the only quiet places in the house.” He pauses, then looks down at me, his eyes full of the colors of the sunset. “Do you like it?”
My smile is genuine as I say, “Yes, very much.”
His returning smile causes my heart to squeeze in my chest. He has the most beautiful smile, and I don’t see it often enough.
Again, that nagging ache returns, threatening to ruin the moment.
“I’m sorry we’re not getting married tonight,” he says, his eyes still locked on mine.
“You sound like you were looking forward to it.”
“I was.”
I feel like time is standing completely and utterly still as we stare at each other. His words echo through my ears, sending flickers of hope ricocheting through every fiber of my being.
“I thought about you for years after the ball,” I admit, unsure why I said it out loud.
“So did I. I tried to find you.”
I’m shocked to hear that but manage to say, “You wouldn’t have been able to.” The words crack as my throat tightens with sudden sadness. He looked for me. I’d lived in solitude, on my knees in the wet and grime, thinking of him and only him and he looked for me.
I’d been on his mind, years later. Someone, somewhere, had been thinking of me.
Tears sting my eyes, but I can’t bring myself to look away from him.
“This is just business,” I say aloud as if to remind myself that this, whatever is happening right now between us, has nothing to do with love, or feelings.
“This is just business,” he repeats, but he’s leaning in, and the distance between us is closing with every passing second.
My breath catches in my throat as his hand travels up my back and over the nape of my neck. I close my eyes against his touch. I must be dreaming. This isn’t actually happening. There wouldn’t be any reason for this to happen between us.
His nose brushes against mine, his mouth tilting over my lips. I can feel the day-old stubble on his jaw against my cheek.
But just as his mouth touches mine, he stops, and then sighs heavily.
“We’re being called down to dinner,” he whispers, pressing his forehead against mine.
The sound of my heartbeat thundering in my chest fills the mere inches of space between us as I reluctantly open my eyes. My fingers are sore and strained, and looking down, I see that I’ve been clutching his shirt in my fists this whole time. I let go and step away, blushing so deeply I’m sure my face is burning crimson.
“How do you know?” I whisper.
He gives me a closed-lip smile that doesn’t touch his eyes, his expression rich with the same disappointment I feel. Then, he taps his temple. “Mindlink.”
“Oh.” I should have known. It’s been years since anyone has been inside my head like that. My parents were the last voices to ever pull the imaginary strings in my mind, telling me to come back to the yard and not to venture so far during my wild youth. The memory sends a sharp ache coursing through my body, the loneliness and feeling of total abandonment returning full force.
Isaac holds out his hand, and I take it, letting him guide me back down the staircase and through the secret door into the library. We say nothing to each other as we walk through the library, still hand in hand. When we reach the door leading into the rest of his palace, I untangle my fingers from his. “Thank you.”
He looks down at me, and I feel as though he’s trying to read my mind. Maybe he is. I wonder what he sees.
“I’ll bring you back up there again. Whenever you want.”
The library door opens so abruptly it nearly smacks Isaac in the face. He catches it, exhaling and scowling as Ella pokes her head in.
The spell between us is effectively broken.
“There you guys are. I’ve been looking all over for you. Come on, everyone’s waiting. We haven’t had a family dinner like this in years!”