“You’re so…dismissive of it,” I countered. “Why?”
I’d changed my mind about waiting for him to tell me in his own time—it was a puzzle I wanted an answer to, now, before I went off into more raptures of delight.
He sighed.
“Because it belongs to me, that’s why. My mother left it to me in her will—it irritated me that she’d done so. I felt it was her way of saying that I should choose a different life other than becoming king.”
“Because she left you a palace?”
Tejus shrugged. “It seemed that way to me. In her will she wished that I would live here with my family, far from the walls of Hellswan—far from the seat of power.”
“Do you still feel the same way about it now?” I asked, wondering if it was a sore reminder that he was no longer king.
“I feel indifferent about it now,” he replied curtly.
Liar.
Leaving Tejus to his brooding, I started to ascend the staircase, taking care to test the stairs before fully putting my weight behind each one. As I looked around, I noticed that there were dark patches on the walls—places where pictures had once hung. When I reached the mezzanine, only bare stone floors greeted me, and drafty rooms that opened off the main landing. Still, it was habitable—once we got some of the old fireplaces lit and found some bedding we’d be comfortable.
“How is it?” I heard Ruby’s voice echoing from downstairs. I leaned over the banisters, smiling down at her blonde hair, uncharacteristically in complete disarray.
“Amazing,” I called back.
“Like a fairytale palace, right?” she replied.
“Try telling that to Tejus,” I laughed.
Ruby shrugged. “Ash keeps complaining that there’s no outer wall, and no arsenal tower.”
“Is there a dungeon for the evil queen?” I asked, coming back down the stairs.
“They’ve put her in a grain shed around the back, she’s under heavy guard.”
“As long as I can get in when I’m hungry.” I smirked.
“I know you’re joking, but please don’t,” Ruby replied earnestly. “We don’t know how much power she has—I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
“But it’s guilt-free,” I whined, reluctantly realizing that she was right—it would be a mistake to go anywhere near the queen. Now that the entity had risen, we didn’t know what she was capable of.
I motioned that I would come down and join her. I made my way back down the stairs, passing more empty rooms till I came to the kitchen. It was large and basically equipped, but one wall had completely crumbled away, showing an uninterrupted view of the sprawling, unkempt garden. Ruby entered from behind one of the walls.
“Maybe they can put barriers up,” Ruby suggested, “keep out the cold? Can barriers even do that?”
“Maybe I can try,” I replied quietly.
“You should.”
Ruby’s reply surprised me—I still wasn’t sure how she felt about me developing into a sentry.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she retorted. “Of course you should try. It’s what you are now, there’s no use trying to ignore it. And, plus, a lot of the sentry powers are amazing. Think about when we’re back in The Shade. All that stuff, True Sight if you’re lucky enough to have those skills, barriers—it might all come in handy.”
“I guess so,” I replied slowly. I hadn’t really thought about any of the powers being a gift before—something that could help GASP in the future.
“Abelle still says that she can help you with one of her potions or whatever…you should take her up on it. It might make the transition easier for you? Hopefully it will stop being so difficult for you to be around us.”
“Thanks, Ruby.”
I was touched that she’d thought to discuss it with Abelle, and was being so positive about my transformation, especially considering it was probably hard for her to see…If she and Ash decided to go there, well—I wouldn’t be the only one with new superpowers…
“Have you and Ash—”
“No,” she replied quickly, “not exactly.” She looked out toward the garden, avoiding catching my eye. “It’s just…difficult right now, with everything going on. I can’t decide what I want…”
I nodded in understanding. It wasn’t like it was an easy decision—it was a life-changing one, and though I’d accepted my fate, I wasn’t sure that it was something I’d be happy to watch Ruby going through.
“Whatever you decide…” I trailed off, shrugging.