Chapter 405

A little thrill goes through me as I look around the Land of Darkness and realize that I am, for the first time in weeks, outside of my stupid little cage. I glance back at the little nest of pillows and blankets that I left there – that I usually sleep in at night – and a laugh bubbles out of my throat. Because I’m free – at least for now – and I’m going to get some damn answers.

I turn to my left and stride away along the distance that I think is the hall I’ve walked down a couple of times at Gabriel’s side. I go to where I think the end should be and look left and right, trying to remember the layout of the castle. To the right is the more public parts of the palace – meeting rooms and all that – but to the left…

I take a deep breath and just go for it, knowing that experimentation is my best chance here. I stride forward a little more, reveling at the relative freedom, and then shift back to Atalaxia to see if I’ve made any progress.

A footman carrying a try about ten feet away from me shrieks and jumps straight in the air when I appear, staring at me like I’m a ghost. I grin at him and looking around, quite pleased to realize that I calculated correctly and am indeed in another hallway – one I haven’t been in before – that leads away from the public parts of the castle.

I turn a bit, recognizing the panicked shouts somewhere around where my room should be, and laugh as I turn back to the hall – taking in the relative length – and disappear again.

Then, in the Land of Darkness, I run forward, delighted as I go, desperate to get to the end of the hall. I meet another iron fence but barely notice it, flashing back to Atalaxia, stepping a few feet forward to the point where I’m beyond the iron fence, and then flashing back to Darkness and starting to run again.

I get the hang of it all fairly quickly, negotiating the palace, flashing back every time I need a point of reference for where I am, and starting to move quickly. I grin as I go, knowing this is going to piss Gabriel off a great deal and glad of it.

I get a great deal of pleasure from pissing him off. Because he deserves it.

By the time ten minutes has passed, I’ve made good distance in the castle and have learned a few very interesting things. First, that I actually cannot transition back to Atalaxia at a place where there’s a wall – I try to shift, but it just feels like I hit something quite solid and bounce back to Darkness. But all I have to do is step a bit to the side into an empty space and it works just fine.

The second thing that I learn is that I cannot shift to different floors in Atalaxia, though it doesn’t make much sense to me why I can’t. But once I realize this, I make quite a bit of stir when I dash barefoot and in a dressing gown down a servant’s stair. Servants gasp and step eagerly out of my way, staring as I go, though none touch or try to stop me.

The third thing I put together is that I have very little time before the Atalaxian royals figure out that I’m loose and come after me in full force. I don’t know if Pippa is simply keeping my secret or hasn’t found Gabriel yet, but I’m sure my freedom is limited.

So I exhale quickly and get to work, flashing from world to world, working hard to locate my people.

Finally, I find a long stretch of quiet hallway all with closed doors. It’s not the first I’ve found like this, but the others didn’t turn up anything useful.

Still, I have to try. I step up to one door and put my hands against it, flashing into the Land of Darkness and taking three steps forward and then flashing back to Atalaxia.

I find myself immediately in a guest bedroom – this one occupied. The aforementioned guest gasps in shock to find me suddenly standing in his room.

I stare at him for a second as he sits frozen on his bed, papers spread out all around him, just staring at me like I’m a mirage. But then my face breaks into a smile.

“Oh, hi!” I gasp, delighted, stepping forward towards him. “You’re one of ours! I know you! Yes, I’m so sorry – I forget your name –“

“Princess,” the man breathes, his eyes wide and unblinking. And then he scrambles to his feet, reaching for me. “Oh my god, Princess –“

“Hi!” I say again, laughing, reaching for his hands. “Please – I don’t think I have a lot of time – is everyone at home okay? Is Jackson here?”

“Your family is fine – J-Jackson? Do you mean Jackson McClintock, Prince Rafe’s friend from school?” His face twists in confusion and I realize, of course, that he has no idea that Jacks is much more to me than he is to my brother.

I smile as I nod eagerly. “Yes, is he part of your delegation?”

“No, highness,” the man says, clinging to my hand and bowing. “The only one of Rafe’s friends who came as part of the delegation was Benjamin Ternicki –“

“Ben?” I breathe, my eyes wide. Then I snap my head around like he’s in the room and I’ve somehow missed him. “Where is he!?”

The man stumbles something out about Ben being somewhere else along this hall and, quite rude in my haste, I immediately slip away to the other world. The next few minutes are hasty as I appear in room after room – usually just flashing to see who is there – but again and again it’s not him, until –

Until I appear in the sixth room, and there he is, sitting at a desk, an Atalaxian cookie on the way to his mouth as he reaches for a cup of coffee.

I just stare at him, shocked and thrilled.

The little cookie falls from Ben’s fingertips.

Simultaneously Ben and I cry out, leaping for each other, and a moment later I’m in his arms, laughing even as tears spring to my eyes as Ben pulls me close to his chest.

“God damn it, Ariel, you scared the hell out of me –“

“Benny!”

“You are so weird – how did you appear out of nowhere!? Why are you all wet?”

“Um…blessed by the God of Darkness as a baby or something,” I murmur, taking a deep breath of his lovely, familiar scent. “Also, I just got out of the bath.”

“Oh my god, Ari, you’re so weird!”

“Benny – it’s so good to see you –“

“Ari,” he growls, tucking his head down against mine. “I was so worried about you – we all were – your family is freaking out –“

I push away a little, looking up into his face. “Jackson’s not with you? One of the delegation?”

He looks at me, a little confused, and then shakes his head. “No, why?”

I sigh, shrugging, not understanding. “Because he’s here, Ben – I heard him, via the mate mindspeak or whatever – just for a moment. But he’s here!”

“It must have been when we came in,” Ben murmurs, looking anxiously towards the door even as he keeps his arms around me. “I think they had to drop whatever these wards are for a second so we could pass.”

I nod eagerly. “That makes sense. That’s all Prince Gabriel – Calvin’s son –“

“Your mate?” Ben asks, turning back to me, a skeptical eyebrow raised.

“Yes,” I groan, falling against him again. “That’s…unfortunately real. Did they splash that all over the press?

“They sure did,” Ben murmurs, stroking my back.

“Did Jackson flip?”

“He was…weirdly cool about it,” Ben sighs. “Or, at least that’s all I saw before your mom snuck him out of the palace on some insane solo mission –“

“What?” I gasp, pulling back again and staring up into his face.

Ben smiles down at me, a great deal of love in his eyes. “Jackson came for you, Ari – all alone. Your mom helped. Whatever he’s doing and however he got here – it’s just…all him. Coming to get you.”

My heart swells at this even as I shake my head, my worry for him increasing.

But…I can’t worry about that now. Now I have to concentrate on Ben.