Blakeshire (Insight #9)(59)

“This is my cell. I will go where I want, when I want,” I said irritably as I eyed the doors Aden kept glancing to. They were black doors trimmed in gold at the far end of the hall. I took off in that direction before he could think to stop me.

For some reason, my hand trembled when I reached for the gold handles. I did feel like I was robbing Drake of something, but then again he was the one that locked me in this wing. With an angry pull, I jerked them open, then stood in absolute awe.

The floor and the walls were a dark gray stone, and it wasn’t a smooth stone; there were ridges and groves all across them. Only a few spare rugs were on the floor; they cut sparse paths across the enormous room.

In the center, there was a massive bed. I was sure it could easily sleep six comfortably. A canopy adorned the bed, and thick, dark purple curtains fell around blankets that were lush and dark.

At three points around the bed—making a triangle—there were large basins. Water from the forever high ceiling was flowing down to the base, and in the center of the water there was fire. It was like living art.

There was a wide window on the other side of the room, but it was set at least five feet in the wall. A sitting area was there, and also to the left of the triangle, framing the bed.

To the right of the room, there were two doors. I assumed a closet and bathroom were where they led to.

“Wicked, huh?” Aden said from behind me.

“Unreal. He designed this with me in mind?” There was no mistaking the doubt in my voice.

“Apparently. Years ago, at that.”

“Are my clothes in there?” I asked before my mind had a chance to ponder my ridiculous doubts.

“Yup. I think Olivia said the right side had clothes for here, and the other was from home.”

“I’m going to wash this day off me, then you are going to tell me what you figured out and we are going exploring.”

He just nodded and turned to go back to whatever he was doing before I showed up.

The closet might as well have been a house. It went on endlessly in each direction. I unbuttoned Perodine’s robe and tossed it on the large table that centered the room, grabbed some fresh clothes, and went to the bathroom—I was impressed beyond measure with this room.

It was solid black. There were three showerheads on the back wall. There was a massive claw-foot tub sided by a vanity with three sinks. If I were any more of a girl, I’m sure I would have done cartwheels in there—especially when I figured out that when you turned on the shower the doors came up through the floor and all the showerheads faced you. I could have stayed in there all day, thinking about how drastically things had changed during the day. How Drake had gone from sweet and caressing to fierceness and angry. I mean, I knew he was a Pisces and had a dual personality, one that the world saw and one that he let only a few see, but still. He almost gave me whiplash before.

Didn’t matter. I was going to find that saltwater, and in the meantime I was going to pinpoint every traitor in his court.

I kinda felt bad that Alamos was one of them. I knew Drake trusted him, but I guess it is what it is.

After I was dressed, I found Aden in my dream library leaning over a table staring at what looked like ancient blueprints.

I assumed he had gotten some of these from either Alamos or Perodine, the oldest resident in the palace—oldest as in, like, over four million years old.

“Can you believe that about Alamos?” I asked him as I glanced over the eccentric outline of the palace. The shape of it made no sense at all; wings seemed to be added on a whim with no thought or reason, and some parts were over ten floors high, others only one or two. I had a massive mystery staring up at me, just waiting for me to obsess over it.

“That is strange. He seemed legit before.”

“Did you see that Britain was here?”

“Excuse me?” Aden said as he glared up at me.

“Saw him downstairs with the priests. Where is Charlie? Draven?”

“Writing. I think.”

That was good for them. I knew they would be distracted for days if they managed to catch a good flow. They needed that release, and they didn’t need any of my drama.

“I’ll worry about Britain later. What did you figure out?” I asked as I sat down in the chair beside him.

“Perodine helped a lot. I wasn’t really planning on asking her because I assumed what you dreamed about was an execution or some kind of dark ritual; seemed more up Alamos’ alley.”

I grimaced at the thought of corporal punishment.

Aden went on. “But she was there when I got here, so I just asked her if there was any massive pool of water in the palace. She told me about the looking glass—which we need to talk about - but anyway that water is not made of salt. When I pressed her for more information and ‘saw’ her perspective, I learned this palace at one time was a solitary island.”

“An island?”

He nodded once. “Get this: there were, like, dams within the palace, and at one time you had to sail from one side to the other. Over time, add anything from extreme heat to ice age climate changes, and you have what we have now: from a palace that was once ten miles from shore to one that is ten miles inshore.”

“Tell me you think that somehow there is still some kind of saltwater damned into this palace.”

He tilted his head to the side as he clearly considered it. “It’s possible. The thing is, when we look into your dream we are going to see what the palace looked like then, not now. And if we consider the amount of time from then to now, it’s easy to think that the water may be gone. What you want is now lodged in the stone that makes up the foundation of the new additions.”