Page 53 of The Souls Harvest
I search the sky, moving closer to Galen. He’s changed his clothes since this morning, and his thick, black cashmere jumper looks so soft and warm I’d gladly snuggle inside it like a squirrel.
Resting my forehead against his arm, I whisper, “What’s with the fancy outfit?” I eye his black trousers and crisp white shirt, clearly freshly ironed, peaking out from under his jumper.
Galen gives me a quick side-eye but remains silent.
I step back to take in the whole picture and pinch his biceps before pointing at his head. “Aha! And you did your hair… Are you going somewhere else later?” I narrow my eyes so much I can barely notice a smile stretching on his lips.
“Why do you always think something is going on behind your back, Sof? Always a mystery?” He tilts his head, offering me hishand. “Come on, follow me and no more questions until we are there.”
“But I thought we were already there,” I protest, hiding my neck in my shoulders when a gust of wind blows from behind me.
“Na-ha, no more chatting.”
As I nod and take his hand, he leads me away from the parapet and back to the tower’s door.
But instead of heading back down, he takes the second set of stairs towards the Wise’s tallest tower, added by Roden to the original structure as a statement of his self-proclaimed ownership over the castle.
As I finally understand, I exclaim, “You tricked me!” Even if I can’t see his face, I can hear him giggling.
Still holding my hand, climbing slowly so I can follow without tripping, Galen says, “Did you really think I would have let you come here before me and spoil whatever I was planning?”
“So you gave me the wrong location?”
He stops to look at me over his shoulder quickly. “Not exactly. I gave you the right location that leads to our final destination.”
We remain silent for a few more steps until he asks, “How does it feel not knowing where the next step will take you?”
I open my mouth to answer, but I forget my words when a larger door appears in front of us with the dark shape of Roden’s Tower rising behind it. The mist cannot conceal its thick body as its top soars sturdy and lonely against the dark blue sky.
“It feels—inevitable.” I’m not sure why my answer sounds morelike a question.
Galen’s grip on my hand tightens before he says, “Don’t lie to me. I know you need to know every single detail of your day. Even if you’re going for a run. You need to know the path, obstacles, and weather forecast. I know you’re dying to stop and force me to tell you what’s on that tower.”
My answer doesn’t come as promptly as I’d like it to, and I fall silent at the irony of his words. At the monumental pile of uncertainty my life has turned into in the last forty-eight hours.
I take a deep breath, letting go of his hand to step before him and crossing my arms over my middle. “I just…like to be ready—” My voice breaks when I focus on what’s waiting behind the door’s metal bars.
Roden’s tower’s roof is only accessible on special occasions, but Galen managed to have its gate unlocked tonight. It matches the size of the room hosted inside the tower, which was converted into a vast ballroom and floored with white marble veined with real gold.
“Galen, how did you…?” I pirouette, giggling, and find him leaning against the side wall, staring at me with a satisfied smirk.
“Someone owed me a favour, but don’t get too excited; we only have access to the roof, not the ballroom,” he states with a pinch, well - a spoonful - of pride.
He pushes away from the entrance without taking his eyes off me and saunters over. “Let me show you something…” He offers me his hand and, without warning, spins me in his arms, covering myeyes with his free hand. “Trust me…” he whispers, his breath warm against the shell of my ear.
I put one foot in front of the other, letting him guide me.
Until he lifts one finger at a time. “Keep your eyes closed.”
For a moment, there’s just me and the chilled night breeze.
“You can look now…” Galen rests a finger under my chin and gently lifts my head as I open my red Harvester eye first, then the green one.
It takes me a few seconds, but when my eyes adjust, I gasp. The stars seem to have reverted to their course. Instead of growing darker, the sky lights up with the warming tones of dawn. But I soon notice that the tower itself is igniting the sky with a myriad of white and purple fairy lights that run along and across the walls.
Joy bursts out of my mouth as I start twirling with my arms open to take in all the magical, unexpected scenery.
“Did you do this? When? How?” I chirp like an excited child.
