Curiouser And... by Maria Jillian

Author:Maria, Jillian [Maria, Jillian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-28T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Through the Hedges

THE CASTLE SEEMED to grow larger all too quickly, as though it were moving toward them with the same speed they moved toward it . Red stone towers slashed the night sky like an open wound, their jagged edges calling to mind the gaping maw of some predator. Before it, rows of green hedges seemed to almost slither like serpents.

Beside Ashlyn, Azalea made a quiet noise. Ashlyn did not have to be a mind reader to see the fear in her eyes, or the anxiety in her gait. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “I wouldn’t judge if you wanted to wait out here for me.”

Azalea appeared to seriously consider this prospect for a long moment. But then, slowly, she shook her head. “No. I want to stay with you.”

Ashlyn’s heart fetched up against her ribs, stumbling in its steady rhythm. Impulsively, she reached out, taking the other girl’s hand in hers. “It will be okay.”

Azalea smiled, some of that fear draining from her expression. And, for a moment, Ashlyn thought that her cheeks might have turned a light pink. Maybe that hadn’t been a refusal, back in the grass—or if it had been, it was one of nervousness and not dislike.

Well. There would be time to figure all of that out once this was over with.

The castle grew closer, then closer, then closer still. Red spires grew large enough to blot out the sky. Trees gave way to hedges, clipped in the neat sort of walls that reminded Ashlyn a little too much of her parents’ home.

Caul waited there in front of the rows of greenery. Their eyes darted around beneath the hood of their cloak, and every few seconds they turned to look behind them, as though expecting the queen to materialize in the hedges. Which wasn’t, Ashlyn had to concede, an impossibility. She really knew very little about what the queen was actually capable of. Her chest twisted uncomfortably at the thought as Caul frowned at her.

“I can’t stay long,” they said. “Here.” They held out two necklaces, each with a pendant that seemed to disappear and reappear as the silver chains swung. “These will make you unnoticeable.”

Ashlyn took the necklace and put it on. When she turned, Azalea had already fastened the clasp on her own necklace, and she stood with her hands wound tightly together. Ashlyn looked back to Caul. “I don’t understand? I can still see her.”

“It doesn’t make you invisible, it makes you unnoticeable ,” Caul explained. “So long as you don’t announce your presence or make it obvious, you’ll be fine. People will overlook you. Most people, anyway.” They glanced over their shoulder. “I’d try to stay out of the queen’s line of sight, if I were you. I can’t say for sure how well these will work against her .”

Ashlyn took a deep breath. This was frightening, but she’d gone too far to turn back now. She turned to Azalea, putting on what she hoped was a brave face.

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