Carrying an entire stack of books in his arms, Silas pushes open the door with his hip and carefully walks into his chambers. The only thing able to take his mind off this hellacious situation is reading; even if that involves more information about the kingdom's past. He wants to learn every lie, everything covered up with a false truth, the history of the original witches—everything.
His father has kept secrets for too long and Silas, dropping the books onto his neatly made bed, will find out the truth. The kingdom he loved as a child and still has a respect for is nothing like what they taught him. The king has honed leadership through cruelty, not at the grace of Esaria's citizens. Enough of them have died that they cower in fear, afraid to stand against their leader any longer.
The prince isn't afraid to admit he's been blind. He's turned the other cheek and allowed his father to do these terrible things, one after the other. Not anymore, the drastic measures of his leadership will change once Silas figures out a way to put the pieces together; getting Celestine and Dalis to Lona, finding Renit, and somehow—through ways of his own power—kicking his father off the throne.
He sifts through the books, stacking the oldest and weakest of the bunch in one pile and saving the newer volumes for a later time. One journal is empty, perfect for note-taking, and he places that gently on his bedside table.
Movement shifts in his bathing chamber, the light shuffling of feet. Silas freezes, looking to the door to find it cracked open. He catches the sight of someone moving through, the color of their clothes darkening the pieces of split wood in the door. Someone is in his chambers—waiting on the other side of the door.
Carefully, Silas opens the door to his bedside table and removes the dagger from underneath another journal—that one being full of notes. The others, completed, are stuffed in the back of his armoire so no one can see his obsessive note-taking that took over his life after the battle in the courtyard. It was the only activity that got him through, besides Hallie's long talks in the middle of the night.
Random notes, about anything and everything; became his life. It soothed him in a way, and it wasn't until he found clarity that the notes became unnecessary. Wanting to forget every little detail, Silas shoved them into hiding and threw clothes over the box to keep from noticing them. Those journals are his deepest, darkest secret.
On the balls of his feet, walking silently, Silas crouches low across his chambers. The glass bottles of his colognes and shampoos rattle—they're searching for something. His bathing chamber must be a mess, personal belongings thrown everywhere, his towels ripped to shreds, mirror broken from the culprit searching for something on the other side.
Silas waits until silence has returned and brings up his leg, slamming the sole of his boot into the wooden door. It flies open, slamming against the wall behind it, and Silas rushes in, dagger raised and poised to strike.
The servant, a young woman that tends to his chambers, releases a shrill scream and stumbles over the rug in the middle of the room. She falls back, landing hard on the wooden floorboards.
"I am so sorry," Silas blurts. He sheaths the dagger at his hip and rushes to help her up from the floor.
As he gets close, she holds out her hands. "I'm fine," she promises. "I can get up by myself." She does, slowly twisting to adjust the rug before standing completely.
Silas looks around the bathing chamber. It's completely clean, she hadn't been in here to steal anything but to organize his belongings. The clattering of glass was her putting them back into place after he had been very indecisive with what he wanted to wear. He's come back to his chambers at least once every couple of days to find everything organized, but the crown prince has never walked in on her doing the job; she's either been on her way out or gone entirely.
YOU ARE READING
Aligning the Forgotten ✓
Fantasy[Book 3 of the Grounding the Storm series] Renit's worst nightmare has come true. Roux isn't at his side, and he's banished from his throne and his crown, leaving him nameless and on the run. While trying to escape his father's cruel reign, he has t...
