Chapter 101

The rain that had begun to fall soon after the hunt was over didn’t let up for the next several days. While Kit was thankful that it gave her the opportunity to get to know the Representatives a little better inside of the castle where they were less spread out and easier to access in groups, by the fourth day of torrential downpours, she was beginning to feel a little cooped up.

She was also frustrated with her search for more information about the house in the woods. Having already asked every person she could think of that she even remotely trusted and been turned away with either a response that they didn’t even know what house she spoke of or no answer whatsoever, Kit was aware there was more to the tale than others were letting on. Even her own beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother, wouldn’t speak of the place. When Kit snuck to her room one afternoon, aware that her mother’s guards would notice but hopeful that they wouldn’t alert the queen, Junno had pretended that she couldn’t hear the question almost a half dozen times until Kit caught on and finally gave up. If she couldn’t trust her own father or grandmother to reveal the secret, who could she trust?

Finally, it occurred to her that she had other friends and allies who were not people, and on the morning of the fifth day of the rain, she escaped to the library alone for a few moments. Walking into the room, she was reminded of the day Eli had returned from Eastbury. It hadn’t been that many days since she’d sat on the windowsill and asked him to kiss her, not knowing at the time she wasn’t breaking the law, and he was her new Representative, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. She’d hardly spoken to him the last few days. He seemed to have something on his mind. Or perhaps he was still upset at her for going up the stairs of the burned out house when she’d indicated she was going down the hallway. She couldn’t blame him for being angry, but she knew he’d get over it eventually. He had been the first to jump to her defense when that horrid Teodric had stepped toward her the day she’d let him go.

Kit hadn’t cut anyone else since that day, though she had gained her mother’s permission to release five other Representatives, including Merek. After his behavior during the hunt, even the queen wasn’t willing to put up with him any longer. Kit was only awaiting the right opportunity. There had been no outside events planned for the rest of the week after the hunt, though they had all enjoyed a concert a few nights ago, and there was to be a play in a few nights. She thought perhaps she might do it at the dinner after the theatrics were over, though she had a feeling Merek might engage in some theatrics of his own.

She also meant to Room Reeve. She’d invited him to her chambers a couple of nights after she’d first experienced a night with Landon, and she knew her relationship with Reeve was beginning to grow. It was difficult to juggle so many men, to get to know the ones she wanted to while still keeping the ones she knew she liked content. The whole situation made her head spin, and she had to keep reminding herself that she had plenty of time, that there was no reason to rush. Still, Rooming Reeve was the right decision, and she hoped to have an opportunity to make that announcement soon as well.

The scent of binding glue and paper filled her lungs as Kit walked through row after row filled with books of all ages, sizes, shapes, and textures. She let her fingertips graze their leather covers, let her senses explore the worlds that lived beyond those covers. If only she had more time to sit and read, as she had often done when she was younger. Any of the Representatives who mentioned a love of books would certainly win points with her, though so far only Jate had come right out and said he enjoyed reading. She supposed many of the others were too busy engaging in activities that built their muscles, not so much their minds.

Kit was looking for a specific sort of book, not the made-up stories she typical indulged herself with. She was hoping she could find a history of the kingdom, or the palace, perhaps a book full of maps. She knew there was one section of the library that held nonfiction books, but she had never spent a lot of time there, so when she found it, she had no idea what to look for on those particular shelves.

Hours passed as she pulled one volume off of the stacks and then another. While she often lost herself in interesting tales about the queens of old, her ancestors, nothing about the forest or the lands around the castle were mentioned anywhere. Nor did she find any useful maps. She did find one that showed the realm when there were only thirty-five provinces, before the western territories had been won in the Great War for Peace, a name she had always found ridiculous, but nothing gave any sort of clue whatsoever as to what the house might be.

Eventually, she gave up, sliding the last book she’d found that held any promise back onto the shelf. Kit crossed over to the window where she usually sat to let the sunlight illuminate the pages and watched the rain run down the thick glass and pool on the ledge outside. It had been raining nonstop, and the ground was saturated. Even the flowers in the garden looked as if they’d had enough.

The queen had organized a labyrinth run for later in the week, and Kit was looking forward to it, but she hoped the rain would let up in time for the ground to dry out. In fact, if the rain didn’t stop within the next few days, Kit thought she might have to put on her thickest, most durable habit and venture out anyway. She could hardly stand being stuck inside much longer.