Karlol by Phoebe Nix

Author:Phoebe Nix [Nix, Phoebe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Karlol rolled his talons back as he cautiously snuck through the main hall, his bare feet padding across the granite floor.

He heard something squeak, and looked over his shoulder, glancing at Jocelyn’s shoes and shooting her a playful glare.

Really?

She shrugged, lifting her ankles up to undo her sneakers and slip out of them. She held them by their laces in one hand, and clutched onto Karlol’s fingers with the other. He held a finger to his lips, and she nodded.

He slowly folded his wings back, making sure they didn’t unfurl and clap like soft thunder and alarm the guards. Karlol planned to go straight to the throne room to surprise his father with his discovery before anyone else gave him the news.

He swerved right into the waiting room, hiding behind a decorative tree trunk as a servant passed by.

“Why are we hiding?” Jocelyn whispered.

Karlol gestured another hush with a mischievous grin.

Jocelyn pressed her fingers on her mask to secure it, then followed Karlol’s cautious steps, and he imagined her face wrinkled with worry behind her mask. Her lips were curled in a shaky frown, clearly concerned of what would become of her if they got caught.

“If I’m not allowed to be here, I might as well leave now before it’s the courtyard execution shit all over again.”

“No one will ever harm you again. Now, will you be quiet?” he whispered, tiptoeing to another empty hall.

His father’s voice echoed behind the great double doors that led to the throne room, but just before he pushed them open, Fareej came trotting from behind.

“Where on Lookar have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you,” he said, before his eyes fell on the human. “Well, what do we have here?” His eyes scanned her from head to toe.

Karlol had already gotten a good beating by a human in a cell. He certainly wasn’t prepared to get scolded by his uncle in front of Jocelyn.

She quickly pulled her hand away from Karlol’s grasp and attempted a curtsey, her knees wobbling under her coat. “Greetings, my King.”

Karlol smiled at her attempt. “That’s my uncle. Fareej, this is,” he paused to clear his throat, “a human the twins and I found.”

“A human you found?” he queried, crossing his arms.

Jocelyn straightened her back. “Sorry, hello, erm, Your Majesty?”

He raised his chin. “You’ve been gone for days, and you come back with a human you so casually come across. What is this tomfoolery?”

“I can explain,” Karlol replied, his tone firm, glancing at the double doors behind him.

“I’m waiting.” Fareej folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

His gray moustache was curled at the ends, and his teeth were a shimmering bright white. Around his neck was a long chain, a human tooth hanging from it and encased in glass. His head was clad in a wide-brimmed feather hat comprising of his own plumage – such was a tradition that Karlol never followed. The idea of collecting his own fallen feathers and handing them to the Palace’s dressmaker was too narcissistic for his liking.

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