Page 13 of Shadows of Light
Sometimes, she felt incredibly close to her ancestors. She’d never known them, but she could sense them here, moving like ghosts through the barren halls.
At other times, she felt so distant from them that it was as if they had nothing in common, not even blood and abilities. This was one of those times.
By the end of their time in this realm and this palace, they were as monstrous as the Lord. They’d been too determined to be right and to rule that they hadn’t cared who they slaughtered in the process.
She bet the little girl who once occupied this room cared. Or maybe she was too young to understand what was happening when those meant to protect her turned against her.
Feeling sick and fighting back tears, Lexi started across the carpet again. No matter what happened, she wouldn’t let the mistakes of her ancestors’ past replay in the future. With or without Cole, she would repair the realms and bring the peace and security to them thatallthe children deserved.
When Lexi reached the door, she pulled it open and poked her head into the hallway. She tried to figure out where she was, but she’d never been to this area of the palace. She’d barely seen any of it yet, a fact she would have to remedy at some point.
Lexi stepped into the hall and glanced both ways. The open doorway and window at the end were the only sources of illumination. At the end of the hall, to her left, was a staircase.
Her footsteps didn’t make a sound against the plush, white carpet lining the hall. The brass sconces on the walls shone in the dim light; the Lord’s servants hadn’t missed a speck of dust, but she could imagine how he would react if they did.
Gold embossed wainscoting covered the bottom half of the walls while the top was painted a pretty pink.Did this whole wing belong to the little girl?
The possibility intrigued her, but she didn’t open any of the doors she passed to confirm her suspicion. Her heart still ached from what she’d seen in the bedroom; she couldn’t take any more of that.
But she also couldn’t imagine having a whole palace wing to herself. What was it like to grow up here, running down this hall and in and out of these rooms with their countless wonders behind them?
Maybe, if the arach hadn’t been so horrible, she would know the answer, but she didn’t. And she wouldn’t have traded her childhood for anything.
The manor where she grew up was a beautiful, large home, but this place made it look tiny in comparison. Yet, this place was nowhere near as homey and welcoming as her now gone home.
Love filled her manor. A day didn’t go by where she wasn’t certain of that; she hoped the little girl who roamed these halls felt the same before it all fell, but for some reason, Lexi doubted it.
Her mother wasn’t allowed to love her father because he was considered lesser in this society. Such thinking didn’t usually signal a loving community. Lexi wished she could have known her parents but was glad she didn’t grow up here.
And at the end of the hall, the spiraling stairs went up and down. Light from windows above illuminated the beautiful stairs as they spiraled up through at least six stories, but she wasn’t going up.
When she glanced down, she saw about fifteen feet of the stairs before the darkness swallowed them. She had no idea what lay below, besides no windows, but she had to go.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Grasping the glistening,mahogany railing, she descended. With each floor, the air grew cooler, and moisture hung thickly in the air. She had to be beneath or at least even with the river.
The stairs finally ended in a barren hall with a rock floor and stone walls. If there were cell doors, she would have believed she’d descended into the dungeons, but there weren’t any.
It was a long stretch of rocky corridor with a dim, bluish light a hundred yards ahead. That light came from around a bend in the hall.
Resting her fingertips against the cool wall, Lexi trailed them across the damp rocks as she made her way toward the blue glow. The hall smelled of water and fish, but her muted footfalls were the only sounds.
When she rounded the corner, she came to an abrupt halt. Ice ran through her veins as she gazed at the underwater scene.
Beautiful fish darted in and out of the rocks and multicolored weeds. The fish were colorful and exotic; some were two or three feet long, while others were smaller than minnows.
A big pool of weeds danced in the water. No… not weeds. It took her a few seconds to realize it was brown hair.
Long, brown hair that was attached to the queen of the giants. Lexi’s hand went to her mouth as the woman’s head turned toward her. The queen’s brown, bulging eyes were so bloodshot the whites had turned completely red.
Her skin had taken on the bluish-green hue of death, but this woman wouldn’t die; she would remain trapped in this hell as she repeatedly drowned. Lexi had no idea what the queen looked like before this, but she doubted the woman was this bloated and misshapen.
The time that passed since the Lord trapped the queen beneath this water hadn’t been kind to her. And, of course, it wouldn’t be.
Lexi approached the glass and rested her fingertips against it. When the queen opened her mouth, fury etched her features.
Lexi understood her rage; not only was this woman enveloped in chains laden with weights, but she’d also lost her husband. And there was no way to know how often the Lord came to torment her. Lexi suspected it was often.
