Princess Of Darkness (Editing)

Thirteen: Hell On Earth (Edited)

I slept deeply after staying up so late, talking with Lucian. For once, no dreams chased me through slumber, and, when I woke, much later than normal, I felt well rested and rosy. I was twisted in the sheets, struggling to open my eyes, as though there was a weight on them forcing them closed, the cosy confines of the bed beckoning me to stay. At last, I managed to free myself from the warm comfort of the sheets and sit up, searching for Lucian, but he was no longer in the room.

Pitch, however, was perched up on an arm of the chandelier, preening his glossy black feathers. He peered down at me when I stirred, watching me as I gazed around my surroundings.

"Good morning, beautiful bird," I called to him, my voice bright and happy. "Where is Lucian, this morning?"

He turned his head, fixing his white rimmed eyes on me, then took off from the chandelier. With several beats of his pitch black wings, he closed the distance between us, landing on the canopy of the bed and tilted his head at me.

Lucian had left a few hours ago, before I'd woken up, Pitch told me. He is outside with his soldiers and souls, as always. He would be back later.

The vision faded, and I swung my legs over the side, touching my toes to the cool floorboards beneath, stretching as I stood, not a trace of stiffness in my limbs. I made the bed, pulling the sheets taut, removing any wrinkles from it, and followed Pitch from Lucian's room, closing the door behind me.

The minute I stepped away from the door, I felt the absence of power, like there had been a constant, low humming in my skull that was gone, now that I was no longer in the room. Now, the air felt devoid of the energy I had quickly grown accustomed to, and I almost missed it's comforting familiarity.

I descended the several flights of stairs to the level my room was on, Pitch flitting and gliding ahead. Outside my door was Eve and Nidia, with matching looks of disbelief written across their face, which quickly turned to smugness.

I felt my cheeks burning as they took in my bedraggled appearance, having just risen, knowing that they both knew where I'd spent the night sleeping, figuring that they'd assume the worst; that Lucian and I had done much more than just talked innocently throughout the night.

"We've been searching for you," Eve told me, quirking a sharp eyebrow suggestively, causing my blush to burn even hotter. "We couldn't find you anywhere in the castle, but I wouldn't have thought to search in the Master's bedroom..."

"He's taken an unusual liking to you," Nidia observed. "There's only one other he has ever spent the night with, that I know of..."

"We talked," I said defensively, eager to the shatter the illusion of what they were both assuming had happened between Lucian and myself. "Then I fell asleep, and he stared at the fire for hours, I assume."

"At the fire, or at you?" Eve studied me.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be vulgar."

"We were searching for you yesterday, as well," Eve told me. "Pitch says you went to the dungeon, with the Master, then practised magic with him some more."

"That's a relief." Nidia rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Hopefully you wont nearly kill anyone today."

My face flushed the colour of crimson again, and I looked at the ground sheepishly. "I think I'm getting a good handle on it, actually."

"She didn't nearly kill anyone," Eve defended. "You do go on, don't you?"

She turned to me once again, as Nidia made a face, an eager light brightening her expression.