The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis

Chapter Twenty-Six

The tiny curls at the sides of my face blew back as the carriage doors swung open, revealing a new world.

A footman extended a hand to me. I took it and stepped out of the carriage. My eyes flitted up, expecting to face the mammoth entrance of the castle.

But we weren’t at the castle’s entrance at all. I’d passed by our former king’s residence a handful of times in the past. The entranceway was unmistakable. A grey bricked walkway rolled out from the trees and stretched over the yard, bordered with a little wall on each side. At its end stood the castle. A tall, symmetrical structure from the front, its pale grey captured every ounce of moonlight cast over it. It was a masterpiece of glowing windows, rounded towers, and looming wooden doors.

This was not that entrance.

We’d circled around to the side of the castle. Trodden grass crunched under my slippers. Rather than a grand entrance, a small set of old wooden doors pinched between beaten bricks laid a few paces ahead. A twisting, pathetic feeling wrapped around my stomach.

Only back entrances for girls like me.

I clenched my skirts, almost wanting to rip them away as I walked across the dead grass. One of the men jumped ahead of me and pulled one of the doors open. My skirts rustled as they squeezed through the slender doorway.

“Keep straight,” the man said, then shut the door behind me.

Left alone, I started down the slender corridor. At least a half dozen doors lined each side, all uniformly bland. Cracks ran through the dull stones that comprised the walls, which were quite noticeable even in the uneven light dripping from the lanterns and candles hung haphazardly around the hall. I passed a couple sets of doors, my slippers clicking against the stone floor. The wood and massive black hinges of each door mimicked one another. This wasn’t what I imagined when I’d pictured the inside of the castle. In my imagination, every room and corridor was lined with crown molding and filled with gilded furniture. But this? This was about as luxurious as the barn.

I glided past an open door. A hint of laughter echoed into the hall. A pair of women, each very dark, were talking about something I couldn’t quite make out. One of the women perched back on a small bed—one of at least four in the room. Her friend, whose back was to me, fiddled with the tie of her apron. Her friend was wearing one with the same lace trim.

The woman on the bed’s eye caught on to me, and I quickly hurried ahead. The conversation stopped, and a second later, I heard their door slam shut. Something fiery and shameful washed over me.

He sent me through the servants’ quarters. Because that’s what I am, a servant.

If the fancy dress and carriage had fooled me, this was to be my rude awakening. I hadn’t even met the king yet, but he was already putting me in my place.

Did Cass know that this was how I would arrive? Did he care?

My slippers clattered violently against the stone floor. Fine. His Majesty wanted to play games, then so be it. All he’d succeeded as was showing me a far less guarded entrance into his castle. I’d be sure to tell Gilow about it.

After what seemed like an endless journey down the servants’ corridor, I ran into a thin door at the very end. Two more halls branched off to the sides, but my driver had said to keep straight, so that’s what I would do. I pushed the door open and stepped into a small closet of sorts. Aprons, shoes, and bonnets lined parts of the walls and shelves harboring buckets, rags, and the like cluttered the rest. Except for the wall across from me, which was draped in a thick red curtain. Had the driver lied to me?

A sliver of light snuck out from under the curtain. I pulled the curtain aside and found yet another door. I pressed it, and it easily popped open. Vivid yellow light flooded my sight. I eagerly stepped out into it.

I lost my breath.

A lush red rug spilled out into the hall before me. Dozens of torches lined the corridor, along with a dozen more golden candelabras to match, leaving the hallway as bright as any day. Thin tables clung to the walls, covered in vases, flowers, and other lovely things which existed only to be so. A pleasant rose scent, one that probably never left the hall, swirled around me like it wanted to lift me off my feet.

This was the castle I’d imagined.

I pressed the door closed, marveling at how it clicked perfectly into the wall. The lining was nearly invisible. But a simple hidden door wasn’t going to keep my attention for long. I had one of those back home. I slowly crept further down the lavish hallway, letting my heels sink into the carpet with each step. Dozens of paintings, larger than life, larger than me, covered across the walls. Scenes of battles, victories, naval attacks. The theme was obvious. Though several of the works were violent and messy, they were entrancingly vivid—dark but stunning. Staring into each felt like falling into their world.

“Evie!”

I jumped and turned to the source of the call.

Cass beamed at the end of the hall. He jogged towards me and the naval battle I’d frozen in front of. How had he found me so quickly? Perhaps he’d known I’d be coming from a servant’s corridor. I tried not to think about that.

My heart skipped. Cass was dressed differently tonight. His casual riding pants and shirt were replaced with snug black pants and glossy boots. A dark blue coat, the color I imagined the deepest part of the sea to be, lined with silver buttons and trim, fell from his shoulders, around his arms, and down almost to his knees. Even his part was different, with hair swooping over his forehead and dancing over his eye. He was the definition of dashing. It struck me, Like an actual prince.

“Lovely…” He slowed before me and let his eyes drop from the top of my head all the way to the hem of my skirt. The tremor in his mouth as he brought his eyes back up to mine sent a flush of fire over my cheeks. “You look—"

“If you say like a princess, I will leave.”

He picked up my hands and touched his lips to my burning cheek. “Nothing less than a goddess,” he whispered.

My eyes fluttered to the rug below. If I looked at him, I think I might have melted away. But I put myself back together as he slid my hand into his arm.

“Thank you for coming,” he said as he led us leisurely down the hall.

“I figured if I didn’t, you would send in the cavalry to drag me here.”

“No, not the cavalry. I’d come to get you myself,” he said.

“You think you could take me all by yourself? I’m insulted.”

“You’re right. I’d need a stack of books to lure you away.”

I smirked. “That’s much better.”

The lull of a conversing room faded in ahead of us. My fingers gripped Cass’s arm tighter than I intended to.

The court.

The King.

Cass placed his palm over my hand. “I know you weren’t expecting this,” he said. “I would have deterred him if I could, but when Father’s made up his mind, there’s usually no changing it.”

“It’s fine,” I insisted. “I’m just a bit nervous. This isn’t exactly like my normal circles.”

“Midnight races and impossible ponds are usually out of my realm, but I adjusted. What is one small dinner compared to any of that?”

There he went again, making everything sound so simple. “You’re right, Cass. A night in your life should be a piece of cake compared to the unending adventure that is mine.”

He smiled and stared at the floor for a heartbeat. “One small thing, and don’t take any offense, but you should probably call me Cassian in front of the rest.”

“Cassian?” The name was unfamiliar on my tongue. Had I ever said it aloud?

“My father’s a bit particular about names and titles. He hates catching Donnie calling me Cass, let alone anyone else.”

Let alone a lowly half-class like me.

“Should I call you Prince Cassian then?” I tried not to sneer. “And are there any other self-adjustments I need to make?”

“All you have to do is be yourself, just a little more politely than usual.” He looked down at me; a soft worry, but also hope, glimmered in his green eyes. "And if all else fails, simply smile and say, ‘I agree.’ They love to hear that.’”

Be agreeable.

I gripped his arm. “Thank you for the sound advice.”

We turned into a new hall and through a tall, wide-open set of doors. From there, we entered a grand sitting room. Countless sofas stuffed to the brim with padding, sitting chairs built with gold and silver legs, and tables polished to the point of being blinding were organized over dozens and dozens of ornate rugs. But as exquisite as the decor was, they couldn’t hold a candle to the people they hosted.

There were only eight or so men and women, not counting the several dark-class servants waiting patiently against the walls for instructions. All the men wore coats in the same style as Cass's but most a thousand times more flamboyant. The shimmering gold of their coat linings and the shine of their boots were enough to make me blink my eyes. The women looked more dress than people. Thick brocades filled their skirts, and elaborate laces and rows of gems danced around their necks and sleeves. Each gown was a marvel of detail and complexity. For a moment, I found myself wishing I’d asked for something more elaborate myself.

“He’s back!” a familiar voice called from the back of the group. It helped me relax the moment it hit my ears. In perhaps the most fashionable deep red coat in the room, Donnie raised a glass of what must have been wine to Cass and me, and the conversation dwindled as all eyes turned to us.

“And with a girl,” said a balding man with a belly trying to burst out of his vest.

“It’sthe girl,” a dark woman with a plunging purple neckline lined with sparkling lavender jewels said calmly.

“Is this her, my prince?” asked an older woman craning her head, which was piled with aged white hair, around from the sofa she rested in.

So, I was the girl? I could make do with that.

“I hope I’m her,” I said before Cass could answer. “But if you see any other girls called Evelyn running around the castle, please let me know.”

A wave of laughter washed through the room. A good first start.

“My prince, bring her here. Let me get a closer look at this beauty.” A man of equal age to the elderly woman rose to assist her off the sofa as Cass led me through piles of decor towards the court. The feeling of being Gilow’s toy, now in Cass’s hands to display, came back to me. But I had no time to focus on it as the court met us halfway, soon completely bombarding us. Donnie winked at me as he stopped behind a sofa across from us.

Cass introduced his companions one by one. The names were a blur, a string of Sirs and Ladies. I hoped interactions over the course of the night would help me commit more of their names to memory. For the time being, the only ones that stuck were Lady Anne, the elderly woman. Lady Lilith, the very dark woman with the plunging neckline who, for obvious reasons, I deduced to be Donnie’s mother. And Sir West, an overly jovial man of a short and stumpy build, whose gut was trying to break free from the confines of his clothing.

The person I was most anticipating was absent. King Dreux was nowhere to be found. I knew he wasn’t here from the moment everyone settled around us, even before they introduced themselves. None of them had that kingly air to them. Then again, I hadn’t pegged Cass as a prince when I first met him, but I had a feeling tonight would be different with his father.

“My prince,” Kaya said. At least, I thought I’d heard someone call her Kaya. She was blonde and wrapped in pink lace. “Tell us how you met this creature.” She lowered herself and the piles of dress around her down onto a long sofa, and the rest of the court took seats as well.

A couple of the men, led by Donnie, reorganized chairs so we could all sit near each other. Cass and I sat back on a smaller sofa across from the blonde woman. He took my hand, and our fingers locked together over my skirts— an act which didn’t go unnoticed by the ladies in the room. A tinge of heat brushed my cheeks as a pair of them whispered something just out of earshot. I hadn’t expected Cass to be so outright about us. But then again, if they all thought I intended to become his mistress, what was the point in hiding anything?

“I’ve already told you that story, Lady Kaya,” Cass finally answered.

“Did you forget already?” Donnie smirked at her as he propped his feet up on the small table between our group.

“I don’t forget anything!” Lady Kaya said, running her delicate hands over her skirt. “I only want you to recount it in the presence of your beloved, so we can deduce what was truth and what was fantasy. Your tale was too fantastical to be based entirely in reality.”

“And what was fantastical about my recount?” Cass asked. Suddenly, I wanted him to retell the story too. Surely, he hadn’t told them everything about what happened.

“The part where this beauty wanted to talk to you,” the jovial Sir West said, lifting his hand to me over his potbelly. A chuckle ran through the court, and Cass only smiled and shook his head.

“Titles tend to bring that sort of attention,” a sharp but feminine voice cut through the laughter. My gaze shot to Lady Lilith, who lounged in a wide armchair. Her arms rested on the sides so that her deep brown bosom was free to all. “Especially a title like Prince.”

“Mother,” Donnie said.

“A title which I concealed for quite some time,” Cass said, coming to my rescue. “Nothing was known to her when we first ran into each other. If you’d listened to the story the first time, you might have known that, Lilith.”

Lady Lilith pursed her lips.

I marveled at Cass for a second. Who knew he could be so assertive? This was the same Cass I’d seen briefly when Luke and I had our run-in with that officer. Was this who Prince Cassian was? If so, exactly how different was he from my Cass?

“Such silly things, titles are,” a scrawny orange-hued man said. He took a sip from the goblet he balanced between his fingers and matched eyes with me. “I understand that your old king, Ferdinand or something, had no title system or courtiers at all. I couldn’t imagine living in a kingdom without a proper structure like that. How wild it must have been!” He raised his goblet to the others and laughed as if it were a joke in itself. Lady Kaya giggled in agreeance.

Wild? Why? Because there were no boxes to trap everyone in?

“On the contrary, I’ve been told things were a lot simpler then.” I couldn’t stop myself. “Without all of the complexities we inherited from your great country. After all, there’s no structure in the forest, yet it continues to thrive. Isn’t nature the greatest kingdom of all, Sir--” I froze, realizing I had forgotten this man’s name.

“Don’t mind Percy,” a tanned brunette woman with sharp cheekbones sitting alongside Lady Kaya said. I couldn’t quite remember her name. “He’s only pointing out that Morra’s way of doing things felt a little too loose. Lack of proper organization collapses even the most prosperous of nations. After all, isn’t that why the great God gave us differences, to help us separate ourselves into our divine purposes? That is the superior way. Through his guidance, all men and women have a natural sense of camaraderie within their community. It too is simple, but it’s structured simplicity.” She paused briefly, and I couldn’t help but think she was reciting from a memorized book rather than saying anything she truly meant. The quiver in her features for a moment made it feel as if she knew that too. She went on, “who are we to disagree with the great God?”

She and the other courtiers watched me intently. My blood boiled. This had to be a test. I was supposed to say that they were correct. Ryland had brought needed godliness and structure to my unholy and disorganized little country. What used to be my country.

I glanced at Cass, but he didn’t move. Even his eyes seemed to have turned to stone briefly. He wasn’t going to step in this time. Defending our relationship was one thing, but proclaiming a loyalty for Ryland, the old religion, and the representatives before me was something I had to do on my own. Even Donnie stayed quiet, but he warned me with his eyes. Now was not the time to speak up.

I squeezed Cass’s hand and dredged up a smile. “I agree.”

A hum of consensus rippled through the court. I’d kept most of their approval for the time being.

The mood in the room lightened soon after, and thankfully so. After I more or less claimed submission to their thoughts on Morra, they welcomed me with open arms. When not discussing the structure of nations, I found that members of the court were actually quite fun to talk to. An intoxicating playfulness bounced around them. I requested stories about Aurell and found almost all of my companions wholly shocked to discover I’d never visited before, let alone never having left Morra at all. Well, all except for Lady Lilith, who subtly added that she “wasn’t surprised.”

I pried into the court’s responsibilities within Ryland without making it seem like I was too interested. Still, frustratingly, every one of my attempts was dismissed with the wave of a hand and a comment about it being too boring to linger upon.

Amid the buzz of our conversation, attention somehow turned to the grand piano sitting idly near the far corner of the room. Amongst the clutter of lavish décor, it had been invisible to me until now.

Lady Kaya jumped from the sofa and beckoned the woman with the sharp cheekbones at her side to follow. “Oh, Lady Irene, you must play a song for us!”

“No, I can’t.” Lady Irene blushed.

“Yes, you can,” Donnie said as if they’d done this song and dance before.

“You must!”

The court cheered. A response which I’m sure was her only reason for denying in the first place. Lady Irene continued to bathe in the pleas of her friends but made no real attempt to hinder them.

“You play, Lady Irene?” I asked, adding to her swarm of attention.

“Quite horribly, I’m afraid.” She batted her eyes and folded her hands over her lap, looking slightly away. Good god, how much egging did she want?

“That’s a lie,” Cass gently tsked.

“Almost as false as her modesty,” Lady Lilith said.

For the first time since we met, I agreed with her.

“Awful or not,” I said, “I think horrible talents are just as entertaining as masters, so you must play.”

Sir West broke into a hearty laugh, and Lady Lilith grinned in a way that was almost as loud. Lady Irene’s face flushed a red that seemed more malicious than embarrassed as her dark eyes cut into me. I hadn’t meant to offend her, but she shouldn’t have expected so much cajoling, especially from a stranger. If Lady Lilith’s reaction said anything, she did this sort of thing quite often.

Cass rose from my side and offered his hand to Lady Irene. Her sharp glance melted into something soft as she looked up at him.

“There’s only one way to prove your talents now,” he said. “And if Evelyn insists, then so do I.”

If Cass insisted, then she had no choice. Lady Irene delicately took his hand and rose from the sofa. She put up no fight. I suppose the special request from her prince was enough to satiate her for now.

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Lady Lilith whispered to me as Cass led Irene to the piano bench.

“She’ll be playing all night now,” she said.

Our party migrated toward the grand piano. Lady Lilith, Donnie, and I lagged at the back of the group. Lady Irene fussed with her gown at the bench for at least a minute but miraculously finished right as the entire group had settled around the piano and in the sofas nearby.

The murmur of our conversation died down as she gracefully lifted her hands to the keys. A moment of silence lingered for dramatic effect, then, she began to play.

Her fingers floated across the keys, a ballad of chords and notes filled the air. The tempo was soft, but the melody was complex. Each of her fingers graced the keys at the moment of delicate precision.

The song was like a lullaby. Each note echoed into the next, like a whisper passing from one another. Each tone rustled like the wind, singing over all of us. The song beckoned me in, drawing me away into a waking dream. I never knew such beauty could exist only in sound.

The tempo of Lady Irene’s lullaby slowed even more, and soon it dropped to only a distant lull. With one final, enchanting chord, the song came to a close as the last notes evaporated into the air.

The room was totally still, all of us as unmoving as the furniture, completely enthralled in the remnants of the song. Irene took a deep breath and dropped her hands back to her lap. Cass, still at her side, was the first to clap. Then a full ovation erupted. Well, as much as nine people could muster—the servants against the wall didn’t move at all. Donnie was the most enthusiastic audience member, and even his mother contributed, though she looked anything but impressed.

“Thank you, thank you.” Lady Irene pressed a hand to her chest. “I suppose I’m not as out of practice as I thought.”

Lady Lilith whispered to her son, unintentionally lending her voice to me as well. “Weren’t we just at a miniature concert she hosted at her manor two months ago?”

“One month ago, Mother,” Donnie said, still clapping.

“Feigned ineptitude or not, that was a lovely performance.” Lady Kaya glanced back to us with all the sweetness in the world. Where was that sweetness when she and Sir Percy had taken it upon themselves to examine the complexities of what used to be my country?

“I have to side with Lady Lilith.” I inserted myself into the conversation. “It would have been a sweeter performance if it didn’t need to be coaxed out.”

Lady Kaya twirled a strand of her bright tresses around her finger. Paying closer attention to her hair than I had before, I noticed the tiny specks of brown growing from the roots of her brilliant blonde hair. “To each their own then.”

Lady Irene began a livelier song. This time it was a waltz. Not the type of song I expected her to play. But as I saw Cass and Sir Percy giving instructions to the waiting servants, who proceeded to move furniture back from the piano, I realized that she was playing from request. Lady Kaya, along with Donnie, drifted away, leaving me temporarily alone with his mother.

“He must really like you,” Lady Lilith said. She lounged casually, with her arm balancing over the back of our sofa and fingers tapping the glazed wood lining. “We’ve never had the pleasure of meeting one of Cassian’s female companions before.” She glanced down at her hand as if she were admiring the gaudy rings anointing them. “I wonder what makes you different.”

Was she trying to insult me?

“You should ask His Majesty. He invited me.”

Lilith’s eyes locked on mine. To my surprise, concern bubbled up behind them. She pulled both her hands back over her skirts, locking eyes with me.

“You should be—” She stopped herself. “Excuse me.” She yanked up her skirts and trekked across the room.

She disappeared through a small door on the other side of the room, leaving me more than confused. I should be what? Worried?

Careful?

I didn’t have much time to think about it. Cass was on his way over, gently skirting by others, with a hand held out to me.

“Dance with me.” A light glimmered in his eyes.

“Is that an order, my prince?” I asked, drawing out the title the court so loved to address him by.

“Only if you say no.”

I took his hand, and we practically ran over to the space cleared by the servants. Lady Kaya, Sir Percy, Lady Anne, and the equally aged Sir Bundy had already formed two pairs, and we happily made the third. I noted Donnie and Sir West lounging back on a nearby sofa together. For a moment, I wondered why they weren’t dancing too. Perhaps there was no partner for Sir West, but Donnie had initially slipped away with Kaya.

Suddenly, an unwelcome thought hit me. Donnie wouldn’t be dancing as there was no dark-class partner for him. My heart sunk, but something about the way he was smiling at Sir West made me wonder. Perhaps Donnie wasn’t interested in dancing with ladies…

Cass lifted my left hand to his shoulder, then gently clasped my right before his other hand dropped to my waist. My stomach fluttered. His touch was feather-light.

“Ever waltzed before?” he asked.

“I’ve walked before. I assume it’s the same but with more spinning.”

He grinned. “That’s exactly correct.”

With no proper instruction, our dance began. My first steps were disastrous. I stepped on Cass’s toes so many times that I expected to find scuff marks when we were done. My skirts didn’t help me in the least—they were an unnatural barrier between us. Thought least I had the blessing of a patient partner. The first song was rough, but by the second, I had my footing.

“A fast learner in all things, I see,” Cass said.

We swayed across the floor.

“I’m a prodigy.” I dared to close my eyes and bask for just a moment. “How long did it take you to learn? A year? Two?”

“You know, I think I was born with the talent. An inherent ability of all royals.”

I was going to inquire about the waltzing ability of Cass’s presumably commonborn mother, but I quickly stopped myself.

“You know what this reminds me of?” Cass whisper brushed my ear. “Taliver, Volume eight. When Taliver and his men impersonate the knights of Farmington and infiltrate the Sky Witch’s ball—"

“So they can steal her crystal scepter!” I giggled, comparing the castle and room around us to the event I imagined from the book. “This is exactly like that.”

Cass beamed, and his glee spread over me too. “The question is,” he asked, pulling me closer with the next step, “who here has the scepter?”

This was a game I’d love to play. “If Taliver has taught me anything, it’s likely the person we’d least expect.”

“Naturally,” Cass said. “So that eliminates Lady Kaya and Sir Percy.” I furrowed my brows at him. “They’re too saccharine. Of course, they would wield the most powerful relic of light magic. It’s too obvious.”

“Fine then,” I said. “What about Donnie, with Sir West at his side? I don’t mean to be rude, but there has got to be more than belly hiding under Sir West’s coat.”

Cassian chuckled. “Maybe, but I don’t think they have it either.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re the least obvious. No one thinks it will be their best friend who would betray them, which automatically makes them the most obvious. The witch would never be so straightforward.”

“A brilliant deduction. Who does that leave?” Both of us glanced over to Lady Anne and Sir Bundy—our clear-cut culprits.

Cass ran his eyes over them in feigned seriousness. “It’s the only possibility.”

“Well, your logic is more than sound, my dear Cassian, but I have to disagree. You forget about one possibility, and I’m positive that they are the real concealer of the scepter.”

“Who?”

“It’s you.”

“Me?” Cass’s smile grew.

“It’s obviously the person who’s trying to convince me that someone else has it. It’s been a while since I read the eighth volume, but I haven’t forgotten that the actual wielder of the crystal scepter was one of Taliver’s own men. You gave yourself away from the start.”

Cass sighed. “You discovered me. Were we actually in Taliver and at the Sky Witch’s ball, I would happily forfeit my life to you now.”

“Since we’re stuck here in the real world, I’ll accept your concession as payment enough.”

Cass spun me around with zeal and kept me upright with the hand clenched against my waist. I laughed heartily as my skirts billowed around us then crashed into his legs like waves. His green eyes glimmered with joy, and in their reflection, I could see a joy of my own. More than I thought my own eyes could hold. Another little moment adding up to forever.

No sooner had I come to this conclusion did Cass’s stunning eyes widen. He dropped his grip on my waist and grabbed my hand instead. “Come with me.”

“To where?” I asked as he led us towards a small set of doors opposite the side we’d entered.

“To Taliver.”

We ran through the doors, out of the great room, and into a torch-lit corridor. A blur of doors, tall windows, and dark paintings whisked around us, but we were moving too hastily for me to properly take in any of it.

The hall opened up to a lofty staircase, overlooking an open sitting area dressed in the same furnishings as the room we’d abandoned the court in. Cass led me up the staircase, the thick green and gold carpet under each step feeling like wispy clouds, then across a landing and up a second flight of stairs. We stepped out into a lengthy hallway. Bloated grey curtains boxed spaced windows on one side, and equally sparse single doors lined the other. Only a few candelabras dotted the hall, casting it in an ethereal mix of silver moonlight and golden firelight.

Cass didn’t look back at me before he started us down the mysterious hall, moving at a slower pace that matched the aura of the corridor. A few of the doors we passed were open. I expected to see bed chambers inside, but I saw nothing of the sort. Instead, there were settees, desks, tables covered with papers. This hall was not for bedrooms.

Cass stopped us halfway down the hall, right at the edge of a door half ajar. The whisper of a voice crept out into the hall.

He turned and pressed a finger to his lips, then slipped past the door with all the caution and quiet in the world. He motioned for me to follow. Trying to follow his example, slipped past it as well. I crossed through the light shining from within and couldn’t help but peek in. I didn’t see much, but I saw the man’s ink-black hair. The same hair Cass had.

The King.

Before I could get a better look, Cass pulled me further down the hallway. My head kept flipping back to the half-open door. What was King Dreux doing in there? Something important enough to put off his dinner with the court, although that likely didn’t matter to him. Whatever he was doing, Cass didn’t want his father to know we were passing by, so it had to be something I shouldn’t know about.

I had to find out what was going on in that room.

Cass took me all the way to a pair of slim cream-colored doors. He grabbed the small handles and swung them open, then stepped aside for me to enter.

It was a library. Compact shelves stuffed with books of every shape and color stacked up the walls. Cozy didn’t even begin to describe it. The room wasn’t even the width of Kat and I’s bedroom. But it made up for that in height. The shelved walls extended up and up, like two high-ceilinged floors were stacked over each other. A black iron spiraled staircase hugged one of the corners, leading up to a wrapped balcony halfway up the room. Both levels hosted ladders that were propped against waiting shelves. Two plump armchairs and a small table brushed against each other in the center of the bottom floor.

Stepping over the faded red carpet, I craned my neck up to admire the little library, hearing Cass click the doors shut behind us.

“Not very impressive, I know.” Cass breezed past me and ran his fingers across a row of books on a nearby shelf. “Our library back home is a thousand times more apt.” He slid one of the ladders over to the center of the shelves and hopped up the steps. “The organization here is horrendous, but I managed to work out some sort of logic in it.”

Cass scanned over the shelf with a trained eye and pulled two books out.

“Were librarian skills also something you were born with?” I asked.

He jumped down from the ladder, books in hand. “Maybe, just not from my father. My mother’s family owns a small bookshop near their residence. My mother told me she used to work there when she was younger, just for fun, really. She used to spend hours in our library at the palace. Made sure every book was perfectly placed.”

From book shop clerk to Queen—now that was a story I’d like to hear.

Cass held up the two books in his hands. Not just any books. I recognized the burgundy trim on the spine.

“Volume twenty-two and volume twenty-three,” he said. “Now that you’ve finished twenty-one.”

“You remembered.” I took the books from his hands. The covers were dusty, but the spines were barely cracked. Nothing like the well-loved condition each of my volumes was in. “If you had these volumes here all along, why haven’t you already brought them to me?”

He faltered for a moment as an adorable light red wisped across his face. “Honestly, I was keeping them in case I needed an excuse to visit you.”

I smiled. This was the Cass I knew.

“So, Sir Librarian, how long do I have before I need to return these? I wouldn’t want to keep any other patrons waiting.”

“Well.” Cass rubbed his chin. “Given the number of readers this library services and the demand for these particular volumes, I expect them back no later than half a century.”

I saw a shining opportunity to get myself back into the castle if need be—no mistress-ing required. “And if I finish them before their due date,” I stepped closer to Cass, “Can I come to return them myself?”

Cass’s mood sunk, and so did mine. I understood in a second that, for whatever reason, he wasn’t planning on inviting me back, and I would only embarrass myself by asking again. He crossed his arms. “Keep them.”

I forced a smile and settled into one of the reading chairs. The style of these armchairs compared to the furniture downstairs was refreshingly simple. The same could be said for its accompanying table. They must have been leftovers from when our king occupied this castle. I suppose the reading room went overlooked when the castle’s interior was replaced with the imported Ryland decor.

Cass collapsed into the chair next to me. His thick hair flew around his face before settling back into position. It was quick, but for a moment, as his hair danced through the air, I thought I saw a light purple mark hiding at the edge of his forehead.

“Are we ever actually going to have dinner?” I asked, ignoring my observation until I could get a better look.

“Eventually.” Cass crossed his boot over his knee. “Whenever my father decides to come down.”

Down from his mysterious little room that we couldn’t be seen crossing. “What exactly is he doing that’s so important?” I dared to ask.

“What he always does; whatever he wants.” That was all the answer I was going to get from him. If I wanted to know more, I’d have to investigate for myself. But how?

Until I worked that out, I needed a reason to stay on this floor.

“Read to me, Cass.” I reached over the arm of my chair and offered him the twenty-second volume.

He hesitantly took the copy. “Out loud?”

I nodded, snuggled into the cushions of my chair, and pretended my skirts were a blanket over my legs. “Please?”

He obviously wasn’t eager to do so, but I pleaded with my eyes, and he soon succumbed with a slight smile. “Do you remember how the last volume ended?” He cracked open the book to the first of its many pages.

“The ivory thieves abandoned Taliver on the island of stars, with no chance of escape and half a healing potion. I genuinely have no idea how he’s going to get back to the mainland.”

Cass smiled in the way he did when he wasn’t trying to spoil anything for me. “Allow me to enlighten you.” He began to read. A monotone narrator at first, I could tell he wasn’t accustomed to reading for others. But within only a few pages, Cass shifted into the most enthusiastic of orators. From our first meeting, I remembered him naming volume twenty-two as one of his favorites. It wasn’t hard to see why. All the magic in the world was encapsulated within those pages, and his passion for the words only drew me in further. For a while, we were on an adventure together. Cass, Taliver, and I.

Someone rapped against the doors. Cass stopped mid-sentence as the slim doors flew open. A maid—a full-figured, very dark girl with her hair pulled back into a tight bun—stepped inside but jumped back when she saw us.

She bowed her head. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your highness,” she squeaked. “His Majesty and the court are waiting for you. It is time for dinner.”