We just spoke about this earlier today, and already he’d locked me out. Unacceptable. I trusted him, I did, but this picking and choosing when to talk to me had to stop. What was the point of the link if he could just turn it off with an instant thought? That made things one-way, giving him all the control, and I didn’t appreciate it.
I grabbed my hairbrush and tugged it roughly through my hair to remove the tangles from our lovemaking. I didn’t doubt what Adrik felt for me. He had my heart, and I had his. But I did want to know his reason.
I finished my hair with a twist of the long tendrils into a knot at the back of my head and secured it with an opulent clip. That would be the only evidence of jewels on my person today, except for my wedding band, of course. The gaudy gold-and-ruby ring had to always remain in place to show I was Necros’s possession.
For now.
I dared to call Adrik once more and again received no answer. Not that it shocked me.
Men were all the same, really. Adrik had broken a promise, just like many others in my short history. I wouldn’t let him off lightly when I found him.
I checked the clock on my bedside table and decided there was only one place he could be—exploring.
Finding the hidden lever on the wall, I pulled it and stepped into the secret passageways of the castle. I wished I’d known about these years ago. I would have loved to explore them while growing up, to find all the secrets hidden within them. Perhaps even illicit love affairs just like the one Adrik and I were indulging in.
I neared our usual meeting place but stopped when voices grew loud in the tunnels.
Guards.
They were searching for something in the darkness.
Adrik? I half whispered inside my head but also into the surrounding air.
He didn’t show himself or reply.
This couldn’t be good. The guards shouldn’t know about these pathways. No one but Adrik and I knew, unless they somehow stumbled upon a door somewhere. Had we accidentally left one open?
It didn’t matter. I could think about it later.
I needed to get out of here. If anyone caught me in these tunnels, Necros would punish me, and given his immunity to my powers, I wouldn’t be able to fight back. Not without Adrik.
I hid my shoes in the darkness so I could flee on silent feet and tiptoed through the passageway toward my room. Ugh, but my skirts kept swishing despite my holding them off the ground.
This was where pants would be useful. I longed for—
Voices.
The guards were gaining on me.
I needed somewhere to hide.
Adrik, I tried again, starting to worry. What’s happening?
Finding a small alcove, I bent down into a tiny ball, thanking my lucky stars I wore a black dress and not a bright-colored one.
Adrik, they’re in the tunnels.
No reply.
Something’s very wrong, I realized. Adrik wouldn’t cut me off without a reason. I knew that. But I’d felt so betrayed that I hadn’t considered the obvious, that something had happened to him.
Footsteps approached. Loud. Penetrating. Demanding.
I held my breath, praying to be invisible, as a trio of guards walked past chatting together. I listened to their words but captured nothing of importance in them. Just that they were searching the tunnels following their discovery to ensure they didn’t pose a threat to the king.
When they disappeared around a corner, I emerged as quietly as possible and fled down the corridors to the entrance of my rooms. I jumped inside and closed the door quietly behind me. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might leap right out of my chest. I needed to get out of my room and find out what had happened with Adrik.
If they’ve discovered him—