The Darkest Crown (The Eternal Darkness Duet #2)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

W hen I stepped out of my room the following night, I was surprised to see one of Marius’ guards standing in the hall, in front of the door next to mine.

He smiled and bowed his head to me. “Good evening, my lady. Your sister has arrived and is resting within.”

I looked to the door behind him. “She’s in there?”

“Yes.”

“Can I-” I hesitated, and he stepped to the side, freeing my path to the door. “Thank you,” I said, stepping past him to open the door.

I entered the room and saw Allie sprawled sideways across the bed, fully dressed, and snoring softly. She looked younger when she slept, reminding me of when we were kids, and I smiled at the memory.

I crossed the room and sat on the bench at the foot of the bed. Probably two hours passed before she woke up, but I was content to watch her sleep.

When she finally opened her eyes and saw me, she smiled sleepily. “Hi.”

“Hi,” I replied, smiling back. Then my smile fell. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

Allie sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “Me too.”

I swallowed at the sudden lump in my throat, and Allie scooted towards me and pulled me into a hug.

“What happened to you?” she mumbled against my shoulder.

I glanced at the door, knowing the guard outside could probably hear us through the door. “Let’s go for a walk and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Allie pulled back to look at me, and I held a finger to my lips, telling her to be quiet, then I pointed to the door. She frowned, then nodded.

“Come on,” I said loudly as I stood. “I’ll show you around. You’re not gonna believe this place.”

We walked out of the room and Allie froze when she saw the guard. He smiled, and she looked back at him fearfully.

“I’m gonna show my sister around,” I told him, taking Allie by the hand.

He nodded. “Of course, my lady.”

I started down the hall, pulling Allie along after me, and quickly realized the guard was following us. We headed down the hall, and turned towards the stairs, and he did too. When we reached the great hall, I turned to look at him.

“Um, did you need something?” I asked.

“No, my lady.”

We stared at each other for a moment, then Allie and I started walking again. I heard him follow, and I spun back around. “Sorry, I forgot your name.”

He bowed his head to me. “I am Godwin, my lady.”

“ Okay. Well, my name is Sarah, not my lady . And my sister and I would like some privacy.”

Godwin smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but I have orders to guard Allie with my life, and I can’t do that if I’m not with her.”

Beside me, Allie gasped, and I squeezed her hand to let her know it was okay. “That's kind of you Godwin, but I can look after her.”

“I must follow my orders,” he replied.

I exhaled roughly, growing angry. “My sister has been through a lot, Godwin. She’s frightened, and your presence is only making things worse.”

His lighthearted demeanor instantly turned serious. “I am sorry, my lady. I would never wish to cause discomfort to you or your sister.” He glanced at Allie, then back to me.

I sighed heavily, annoyed. “Can you at least give us some space? You guys move fast enough, if we were in trouble you’d get to us in time.”

He bowed his head again. “Of course, my lady.”

“Sarah.” I ground out through clenched teeth. I tugged Allie’s hand. “Come on.” We started walking away, and I glared at Godwin over my shoulder, making sure he stayed back. He nodded, understanding.

“Well, fuck,” I muttered, when we were finally far enough away. Allie glanced at me nervously. “It’s okay,” I assured her. Then I had an idea.

I took Allie up to the walkway at the top of the castle. Godwin followed us, and I made him wait at the top of the stairs. The walkway went all the way around the castle, and you could see straight across from one side to the other, so Allie and I were able to get quite a ways away.

“Oh my god!” Allie exclaimed, when she saw the cliffs below us.

“Yeah,” I said, remembering my climb up the side of the tower. I glanced across the distance to where Godwin stood, hoping he wouldn’t be able to hear us.

Allie leaned against the stone half-wall and looked at me. “Have you been here all this time?”

I nodded.

“With the king?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah.” I swallowed. “What about you? I was so worried, not knowing what happened after I left.”

Allie’s eyes widened. “Julian went crazy , Sarah. You just disappeared into thin air, and he went ballistic. Adam too, but he was chained to the floor, so…”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Julian fought like eight vampires at once. Someone took me into the basement and locked me in a room, like a prison cell, and a while later they brought Julian and Adam down too. I could hear them arguing.

“Julian knew the king took you,” Allie continued. “He said he could feel his power in the room. Him and Adam got into a huge argument. It sounded like they were trying to break through the wall to get to each other.”

“What were they saying?”

Allie gave me a sad look. “They were blaming each other for what happened to you. And they kept talking about someone named Valentina. Apparently Julian was in love with her and Adam killed her.”

I frowned. They were fighting about Valentina? I was being tortured by a madman, and they were fighting over a dead woman? I stepped away and started pacing. I knew their history with Valentina, but was this really the time to fight about it? I could be dead for all they knew. What the actual fuck!

“Your eyes are black,” Allie whispered, and I stopped pacing. “Like, completely black.”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “Don’t be scared.”

“I’m not scared. I was just letting you know.”

I huffed and shook my head. “How did you get so brave?”

She slowly shook her head. “I wasn’t though. I thought I’d lost you again, and it terrified me. I pretty much cried the whole time.”

I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around her. “You’ll never lose me. I promise.” She snuggled against me, and I looked over her head, across to where Godwin stood. He had his back to us, probably trying to give us a semblance of privacy.

After a moment, Allie pulled back and looked at me. “What happened with you?”

I rolled my eyes. “God, where do I start?” I filled her in on everything, and her eyes grew wider with every detail. I told her about the king’s powers, and how in the beginning he thought I was a witch and almost killed me, but now he thought I was his dead wife, so he was being nice. By the end of it, Allie’s face had gone so pale I feared she was going to pass out.

“Are you okay?” I asked, touching her arm.

“Yeah, it's just a lot to take in.”

I huffed. “You’re tellin’ me.”

“So what now?”

I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.” I glanced at Godwin again before lowering my voice to a whisper. “I planned on escaping, but now you're here, and I don’t know what to do.”

Allie frowned, and for a while we both stood quietly thinking.

“I say you play along,” she finally whispered, breaking the silence. “Stay on the king’s good side, and eventually he’ll let his guard down. Then, when we see our chance to run, we run.”