Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven
Arcane drags me from my thoughts and back to the present as she grumbles, lumbering back to me once she realizes that we’ve stopped following her down the hallway. She rubs her head against my torso, nearly pushing me over in the process. I’m sure she didn’t plan to, but the action makes me hold onto the wall to remain upright, the feeling of the cold, yet somehow warm and pulsing marble of the wall. The sensation is grounding, each beat of the magic within the very foundation of the Palace reverberates through my fingers, to my arm, pausing within my chest. Whatever fear that remains from the vision that I witnessed is suddenly gone as if the pure light disintegrates that which was instilled into my heart.

I place a hand over my chest, taking a deep breath of the energy that surrounds me and allowing it to purify me. Though I haven’t gotten very far with my studies yet, I do recall my current book of interest describing how to begin working with magic. The basics require one to first become familiar with noticing the presence of it, feeling the tingling sensations that it brings with contact. Once you can recognize its presence, you will eventually be able to draw it out of any source around you, almost like water from even the molecules in the air. Magic is quite literally everywhere, just like moisture, so being within a building whose stone was lain heavily with it certainly helps.

Toshiro remains standing a few paces away, watching me with intent. I have little doubt that those quick, golden eyes of his can see the magic the way Ascian was trying to teach me, and since I have no idea how to control the fluctuation of it the way that he could, probably means that I’m glowing like a light in the dark. Toshiro doesn’t say anything for a moment, though, just stands watching me silently beneath the torchlight of the corridors, his eyes blazing in the flickering embers. Once he sees that I’ve gathered myself enough to step away from the wall, simultaneously breaking contact with the warmth of the magic, he finally speaks. “You’re quite certain that you’ve never done that before?” He asks, surprising me with the softness of his tone. The usual sarcasm is missing, replaced with something serious.

I swallow, feeling lightheaded from the sudden lack of contact, or maybe from the wine. Either way, I’m grateful for Arcane who remains beside me, allowing me to lean against her shoulder for balance as I need it. I always knew that she had much more value outside of being my mount. I nod slowly, turning my gaze from Toshiro’s ears back to his face. “Never. What was that?” I hear the panic has finally subsided from my voice, but I keep it lowered nearly to a whisper, cautious of being too loud. The silence in these hallways, especially at night, is quite eerie, and you never know who might be listening.

Toshiro seems to hold the same thought like me, because his ears swivel around the corner behind us, though he never moves his eyes away from mine. He shakes his head once, narrowing his gaze enough to alert me that my instincts were correct and someone is near enough to be within earshot. Thank god for his acute senses. Toshiro places his slender fingers on the black-wrapped hilt of his sword, caressing it gently as he jerks his head in a motion to follow him. “It must be a sudden onset of migraines. They happen to humans quite frequently in the human realm. They can be triggered by alcohol occasionally, so that is likely the explanation.”
I follow him as he begins to head in the direction we were walking in before, his strides more purposeful than before. I wonder how he knows where he’s going as he takes a turn down another hallway, venturing into a wing that I have yet to become familiar with. “Oh, of course,” I say, trying to play along with his false conversation. We both know that whatever it is that I just saw was not caused by any headache, but it isn’t me that he is trying to convince. Whoever is within earshot is incredibly stealthy, since not even Arcane has picked up on their presence yet.

I watch Toshiro from the corner of my eye as he continues to lead me down the corridors, seeming to take random turns down unfamiliar hallways. All that I can assume is that he’s trying to lose whoever is following us because we somehow wind back up at an intersection of corridors marked by a particular vase and portrait combination. My steps falter for a moment as I assume that we’re safe now, but Toshiro places a hand at the small of my back and continues to usher me forward. “Anyhow, we must get you to bed. You need to sleep it off,” He says, keeping his voice even as he casts me a tense look.

Still? It feels like we’ve been wandering the hallways for at least an hour now. Surely whoever was trailing us has realized the game Toshiro is playing and given up. I sigh and continue to walk with him, finding myself winded by his break-neck pace. For someone hardly any taller than myself, he certainly has a long stride. “Yes. If only I could find my door,” I say wistfully, glancing at Toshiro pointedly. I remember what Ascian had told me about the rooms moving around occasionally to keep them hidden, which I assume is the reason why we’ve been wandering around aimlessly. Perhaps whoever it is following in the shadows is seeking out the current location. Why doesn’t Toshiro just confront them, then? Why bother playing this tiresome game?
Arcane yawns as she keeps pace, exercising my thoughts exactly.

Toshiro presses his lips into a tense line as his ears swivel behind us again, listening for inaudible footfall or breathing, or anything that might alert him to anyone still following our bizarre trail. I’m not sure what he discovers, but he directs me down another hallway that is lined with doors. He drags me a few paces before halting at one four doors down and gestures to the wood, giving me a pointed look.

I furrow my brow, not recognizing the darkened door. The wood is the wrong shade and the engraved markings are different from the ones on my bedroom door. I frown but do as he silently instructs, pressing my hand flat against the unfamiliar grains. The warm magic purrs against my skin, bringing my ring to life with a silent hum. I reach for the golden nob and the door swings open with ease, revealing my bedroom despite the outward appearance. A shove on my back topples me over the threshold, but Arcane’s body in front of mine prevents me from falling completely. Toshiro strides in behind me and softly closes the door without so much as a squeak from the hinges, pushing the deadbolt into place as soon as it latches.

“Oh, yes. Please, come in,” I say sarcastically, giving him a dirty look as I straighten my spine. Giving the room another look, I can confirm that it is indeed mine, assuming that not every one of the bedrooms looks exactly the same.

Toshiro levels me with a gaze as he leans his back against the door, which has suddenly returned to the amber shade that I remember. “You were taking too long,” He grumbles, eyeing the bedroom as he speaks. “You really couldn’t even find your own door?”

I lift my chin and turn away from him to face the fireplace, greeted by the warmth that blazes in the hearth, just as I left it. “I didn’t know I would have to. It isn’t exactly a well-known concept that doors wander wherever they please, you know. It takes some getting used to. How did you find it, anyway? Ascian said that it remains hidden to everyone except those who placed the glamour.”

Toshiro seems to be listening to something outside of the door that I can’t hear, but I notice the way he holds his breath for a moment before responding. I know that no one can hear anything from the outside in, so it never occurred to me that it would be different the other way around. Either way, no one except for Ascian and I can open the door, as he explained to me. After a long beat, Toshiro finally exhales and steps away from the door, taking up a seat at the small table by the hearth. “I could smell it,” He reveals as if it should be obvious information. “Humans leave their stench all over the place, everything they touch or breathe on. Even the glamour can’t hide that from someone like me.”

My frown returns as I settle into the chair opposite him, closest to the flames of the fireplace. “Who was it that was following us then? Surely you could smell them.” I bristle at the mention of my “human stench” but try not to dwell on it. I know I do need a proper bath, anyway, so I can hardly take too big of an offense. It helped us locate my bedroom again, after all.