A Fever Dream

CHAPTER 23. The Second Letter

Castle windows cast no light on the cobblestones. For miles and miles ahead my only companions were the beating of my heart and the clicking of my thin-soled shoes.

At the outer gates, I threw one last look over my shoulder. The castle's dim fang-like spires pierced the night clouds, and above them, untouchable, pale blue moon was almost full. Half-heartedly I tried to convince myself that the world would get back to normal when I return. As if there was anything normal about it in the first place.

Not for a human like me, at least.

Leaving Narjar behind me, I crossed a bridge and trod down the hill, cutting through the little forest to get to the city faster.

"Humans of Summer have not forgotten."

A branch of thorns hooked the hem of my dress and I tugged on it with undue wrath, leaving a patch of cloth hanging from a gooseberry bush.

We want you to become the queen.

Little shivers still covered my body, despite the run and the air slowly regaining normal summer night temperature. From this point on the hill, I could see the faraway fields and mountains on the horizon. Below, the Neversnow center sprawled in between the boisterous forests.

And, thankfully, it wasn't drowning in the darkness. Whatever happened at the castle stayed at the castle - for now.

Just as I thought it, a bunch of lights went out in the houses before my eyes, leaving a whole neighborhood pitch black.

I really needed to hurry.

I sprinted down the steep hill, half hoping to be quicker than whatever turned off those lights, and half wishing to avoid the main roads.

Squeezing between two barns, my dress hopelessly soaked with the smell of cattle, I broke into the cobblestone street, lined with taverns. The echo of its daytime vibrancy reverberated through eerie silence as I passed by the black windows, wondering why the inhabitants weren't wreaking havoc about the blackout. But a grim suspicion told me that they were frozen just like those people in the castle.

What sort of power could do something like that? And the more important question - what mess did Alexander get himself into? What sort of bargain did he strike?

Did he really think it was safe - striking deals with the other side?

Thoughts whirled in my head, but I tried to focus on the matter most pressing. I rolled my sleeve, unclasped my bracelet, and took out the envelope, smoothing it between my palms. It was cold, like ice, and I almost cut my finger with the sigil.

I put it in my mouth and tasted salt and metal. Strangely, it made me calm down.

Skimming through the address once again, I didn't recognize the name of the street, nor the name of the addressee.

Could Elliot imagine me standing in a dark ghost of his native town, trying to decipher his words back when he was writing the address with quick strokes of his pen? Probably not. He would have laughed his snotty ass off.

"Oh." I winced from a sharp pang in between my ribs. I pressed a palm to my chest and counted the beats, taking short, forced breaths.

I would have never imagined I would miss him.

But running up the streets, which ran up like rivers defying the natural law, with gusts of wind rattling my hair, as the lights in the houses went out one by one, I had to admit - I really wished Summer went back to how it was before.

Including the boy that I used to hate.

***

The streets led me higher and higher away from the royal quarters. Drops of sweat blossomed on my forehead, as summer night became warmer with every step I took.