Seize the Day

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Suffice it to say that I had no intention of staying in the same vicinity as Clarice Faretra. When she discovered that she was set to marry Titus, that girl would bring the whole castle crashing down.

I decided to act upon Philippa’s permission to visit Nezira. It was something that needed to be done, anyway, so I might as well do it now rather than later.

I was able to make my way to the prison hall with the help of several guards. The guard posted at the prison entrance was the same guard who Nezira had possessed. He gave no indication of knowing me, so I assumed that he forgot all about what transpired that night when Nezira took over his body. The guard let me into the prison, and stood as a surveyor just beyond the cells.

I entered the now brightly lit portion of the prison that Nezira stayed in. The familiar sound of shackles clinked together as I stepped in front of the cell. “Nezira?” I whispered, low enough to where the guard would not hear. I couldn’t have him seeing me talking to a nymph. Then again, he was probably wondering what I was doing here in the first place.

The dryad’s figure, malnourished and dirty, turned to face me from where she lay on the floor. Her condition angered me—it was far worse than what it had been when I first met her in the prison. She glared at me from beneath long, blue lashes. “You again.” Her words were bitter with an anger I couldn’t understand.

“Why are you so angry with me?” I remembered the glare she gave me as she passed by after I saved her from the guillotine. “I saved you that day.”

She barked a laugh as she stood shakily, one hand on the iron bars of the prison cell to support herself. “You are an idiot.”

“Well, excuse me for trying to save you.” What an ungrateful creature! “I had to climb out of the prison and get through murderous naiads trying to drown me, you know. You could at least thank me for risking my life to save you.”

Nezira laughed that bitter laugh again. “You truly have no comprehension of who you are, Lannie Brackenbury. Your condition saddens me.”

“Well, you’re in no condition to say that,” I told her knowingly (and I had to admit, a secret part of myself applauded my intellect, though I silenced it immediately).

She grimaced at me, her pointed ears twitching beneath tangled black hair. “By petitioning my innocence, you put yourself in a world that will consume you whole. You are not prepared to face it.”

Her words sent chills down my spine. They reminded me disturbingly of what my father had said. “What do you mean? I can’t be prepared if I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about!”

Nezira sighed. “You… As of yet, I am truly unable to tell you who you are. But I can tell you that you must be prepared, Lannie.” She gripped the iron bars, her blue eyes piercing me with unnerving fervency. “Because of what you have done, they are now aware of you. You are not their main goal, but if you interfere with their plans in any way, you will undoubtedly be disposed of.”

I faced Nezira and lowered my voice even more. “Who knows? What plans? Nezira, if you don’t tell me more than ‘You’re in danger,’ then you can be sure that I’ll die because I wasn’t prepared enough.”

The nymph shook her head silently. Her gaze drifted to the door, then back to me. She ignored my requests and continued, as if she were in a trance, “Either way, I am of no further importance to this world. You, however…” Nezira chuckled suddenly, as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You are necessary for the survival of this world.”