Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
But there would be other ways to do that rather than sneaking in a balcony door.
I sigh and throw the rest of the covers back, pivoting until I’m sitting on the side of the bed. Solla lent me a nightgown too, loose, comfortable, and modest. I wonder how long I’ll go on wearing her clothes. I wonder how long I’ll be here.
Last night I asked Andor to let me go.
He said no.
If he doesn’t let me go willingly, I don’t have a chance of escape. Not here, not with Torsten or Kjell, or even Vidar, not in a land that is so foreign to me that even rain feels like a religious experience.
If I want to get out of this, if I want to make it back to my aunt in one piece, then I have to play by the rules. I have to play the game, be the person that Andor and the Kolbecks need me to be. I’ve seen the darkness in Andor’s eyes, seen how quick he is to hold a blade to his blood, and part of me thinks that he might be promising things like my aunt, like freedom, that he never intends to give. The captain of his ship said he’s honest, but of course he would say that.
As much as I want to, I can’t trust Andor. He’s going out of his way to treat me well because he wants to lure me into a false sense of security, have me become beholden to the Kolbecks’ side, at least until I’m no longer useful.
I have to find my own escape, at the first opportunity.
The Midlands.
The next egg raid.
I know that place better than I know this one. I’ll do what I can to put Andor down, hopefully without killing him, and escape with Lemi. If I play my cards right, if I prepare with enough food and water, perhaps I can steal one of the rowboats and take it to the Banished Land. It’s a long shot, but freedom might be worth that price.
My father taught me that freedom is worth every price.
With that thought, I get up and start getting ready. I use the bathroom across the hall, the rest of the castle quiet in the morning. After we came in from the rain last night, Andor took me to the kitchen, where I met the cook Nels and was able to feed Lemi some leftovers, which he happily scarfed down. I managed to sneak a bread roll with that herbed butter and bring it back up to the room to eat later. Andor escorted me but I have a feeling it was because he was avoiding going back to dinner. I have to admit, our goodbyes at the door were strangely awkward, perhaps because both of us suddenly remembered the last time we were in this area—he was smelling me and I was totally nude.
I change into one of Solla’s dresses, this one light blue with velvet trim along a V-shaped collar that goes off the shoulder blades, bringing out the warm tones in my skin, then put on the backless slippers Solla had placed under the bed, the toe beds pinching and my heels hanging off, but they’re wearable for being inside the castle.
If I’m going to stand a chance at escaping Andor, I’m going to need to figure out how he and the whole suen operation works. I’m going to need to talk to the brains of the family, Steiner.
I gather my hair into a loose bun and then step outside my room with Lemi at my side. I walk down the hall, taking my time to peer inside some of the open doors. They all seem to be guest rooms like mine, in various colors and themes, their beds all neatly made. I wonder if the Kolbecks often entertain people from out of town, if they throw lavish parties and dinners, if perhaps the royal family of Norland even comes to visit. They seem so guarded, I have a hard time imagining them at a ball or entertaining people, though I suppose I can’t base everything on the dinner last night.
I make my way down to where the hall meets a wider corridor, where the main chambers seem to be, their doors all closed, the air humming with silence. Perhaps the Kolbecks sleep in. Then I go down the stairs to the ground level, just as a door below slowly opens across from the staircase with a low creak.
Incense wafts out into the hall in a cloud of light smoke, and through the half-open door I see many candles lit, flames flickering against red velvet tapestries. Both Lemi and I have come to a halt at the foot of the stairs, waiting for someone to step out.
A man does, though at first I think it’s a woman because of the grace of his movements and his slight build. He’s dressed in a gray robe, his hair red and waving to his shoulders, eyes deep-set, bright gold and piercing.