It was made entirely of ice, a cold, clear blue that shone brightly in the rare sunlight. It was smaller than Castle Lockes but far more forbidding, especially given its surroundings. Inside were many bedrooms and washrooms, a large kitchen and dining hall. There were labs much like Morgan and I had, and a throne room that was rarely used. There was a library, but I’d never been inside. Certain rooms were… off-limits. Morgan had told me of them before we’d ever stepped foot inside the castle.
“You mustn’t attempt to gain entry to the library by any means,” Morgan had said one night when the Northern Mountains had just begun to appear on the horizon. Gary and Tiggy were snoring away, and Morgan and I sat on either side of the fire, the flames crackling between us. “Nor any other room that has been sealed.”
“Why?” I asked, being contrary because I was a sixteen-year-old asshole. “It’s a library, Morgan. You know how I feel about libraries.”
“I do,” Morgan said with a grimace. “You feel the need to touch everything.”
“It’s a sickness. I regret nothing.”
“There are some things that aren’t meant for you,” he said, and I could see by the dire look on his face that this wasn’t to be negotiated. “It’s a great honor to be summoned to Castle Freesias. We must respect the boundaries that Randall sets forth.”
And I had each time, though my curiosity burned through me, bright and consuming. It made more sense now, given everything I’d learned, but it only made the curiosity an inferno.
It also made things worse now. Because I could imagine what must be hidden behind those doors and how it related to Myrin. Castle Freesias had always felt haunted. But until now, it’d never felt like a tomb.
We stopped in front of the entrance, and Randall pressed a hand against the frozen door. A bright light pulsed under his palm, shooting off across the ice in lined patterns, intrinsically complex. There was a deep groan from somewhere inside, and a lock clicked. The lights under Randall’s hand faded, and he pushed it open. The door scraped against the snow and ice, causing a low screech that crawled along my skin. Birds sang in the trees, and there was the briefest of moments when I thought I heard the smallest of whispers at the back of my mind—
wizard
—but it was gone before I could latch on to it. I couldn’t feel Kevin. Zero was long gone. I looked over my shoulder, scanning the tree line.
There was nothing there.
I still felt watched.
I hoisted my pack up higher and followed Randall inside.
“YOUR ROOM is ready for you,” Randall said as we stood in the entryway. The castle looked as it always had, cold and dark and dank. Torches were lit along the wall, but the ice around them never melted. “There’s a fire going in the fireplace. The wardrobe has your clothing from the last time you came. You haven’t grown much, so it should still all fit.”
“I’ve grown plenty.”
“If that’s what you must tell yourself. Every morning, we shall meet in the labs promptly at eight. If you do not eat beforehand, that’s your problem, not mine. You will bring your Grimoire and be ready to learn.”
I cringed at that, seeing as how much I’d neglected it as of late. I’d barely even made entries on the sand mermaids and almost nothing about the desert dragon. Randall was going to find much to fault me with when he looked. Maybe I’d get time to catch up before he saw it.
“We will break for lunch midday, depending upon where we are with training, for half an hour. We shall have our evening meal together in my study. This will not deviate unless I tell you it will, or if certain circumstances arise.”
“Certain circumstances?”
He gave me a bland look. “With you, I find that there is always the potential for certain circumstances.”
I grinned at him. “You flatter me.”
“I do nothing of the sort. Trust me, you would know if I had. Do you have any questions on the schedule?”
“Are we doing this every day—”
“Good,” he said. “No questions. Today will be a day of rest, as my particular form of travel tends to leave me feeling somewhat depleted. I’m not as young as I used to be, you know.”
“Oh, I know.”
His bushy eyeb
rows twitched. “I regret this already.”
“We could always go back.”
“Hardly.” Then he took a step toward me, his robes scraping along the ice on the floor. I stood my ground, struggling against the need to take an answering step back. “We have much work to do and much to discuss, you and I. I suggest you use the remainder of today to get your stories straight so that if I require answers, you have them readily available, and only the truth. I will not accept anything less from you, Sam of Wilds.”