Part 4 (1/2)

Silence followed, then Lord Valafar said, ”It will all come back to you.”

He said that a lot, but so far nothing from my past had popped up. On the other hand, it had only been a week since I woke up. Sir Malax watched me with narrowed eyes as though trying to understand.

”I only remember certain things,” I explained.

He nodded, and I had a distinct feeling he was relieved. I couldn't explain how I knew that. Maybe I was an empath. From the clairvoyant crystal movies I'd watched, I knew empathy was one of those special abilities that some of our people had.

”How many stories is the castle? How many people live here? How was it built?”

Lord Valafar smiled. Twice in one day. Progress. ”I think you have toured enough for today.”

”No, please. I don't want to go back upstairs yet.” I was so tired of being cooped up in my quarters. ”I can explore alone if you have to leave and do some kingly stuff.”

His smile became a chuckle. ”No, we'll finish the tour, but if you feel fatigued, let me know.” He nodded at Sir Malax.

”I'll show the princess the first sublevel, sire,” he said.

The library took up half of the first sublevel. It was huge and packed with shelves of books and cases of clairvoyant crystals. It was bigger than the one upstairs. Through the windows, I could see some of the streets and children in the playground. A door opened to stairs leading to the eastern side of the courtyard.

People noticed us and did the whole bowing thing, except the ones in one of the smaller rooms, who appeared to be having a serious discussion. They wore a uniform of some kind-navy-blue pleated skirts and pants, light blue s.h.i.+rts, and red-and-blue-striped ties.

”Students from the Academy,” Sir Malax explained.

Lord Valafar handed me a few books. ”You might enjoy these.”

History? Was he serious? ”How long did it take to build the city?”

”A year.” Sir Malax explained how the Prime Earth Hermonites built the castle and the city by using their ability to manipulate solids, turning rocks into gla.s.s and various building materials. ”Air vents open to a ravine and the water supply comes from the waterfalls.” He lost me as he went on and on about the infrastructure. I sighed with relief when he said, ”I'll show you the kitchen.”

A large hallway separated the library from the kitchen. The cooks and their helpers looked up in surprise when we appeared, then stopped whatever they were doing to bow.

The kitchen was huge and very modern, like a restaurant kitchen. I didn't know how I knew that, either. The place was busy, the scent of freshly baked pastries mixing with spices. Lord Valafar introduced me to Bilal, the head cook.

”If you need any special dishes, just send word to her,” he added.

”There are so many workers,” I whispered.

”They're preparing for next week's banquet,” Sir Malax explained. ”Continue with your duties,” he ordered.

One guy carrying a sack on his shoulder caught my attention. Maybe it was his thick, long, wavy black hair, or the way he carried himself, but something about him was familiar. As he left the room, he turned his head and our gazes met. He had startling green eyes.

I felt a ping, then Hey.

I recognized his voice. He was the same guy I'd seen staring at my window, the one who'd said Lil. Then he'd worn a green s.h.i.+rt with matching pants like all the gardeners. Today, he wore white pants and s.h.i.+rt like the kitchen workers.

He winked and my jaw dropped. As though my reaction amused him, he smiled and a lone dimple flashed on his cheek. He was gorgeous.

I smiled back. Then I remembered I wasn't alone.

My eyes flew to Lord Valafar to see if he'd noticed the guy, but he was busy talking to Bilal. Sir Malax stared at the door through which the guy had disappeared. Had he seen the green-eyed guy wink at me?

”Sir Malax, does this floor lead to the city, too?” I asked, effectively distracting him.

”Yes. This way, please.”

We went through the door Green Eyes had used. They opened to stairs leading to the western side of the courtyard.

We moved to sublevel two, then three and finally four, which were warehouses packed with barrels of water and crates of food. Were they expecting a war, or total world destruction? I met Ka.s.set on the second sublevel. She was in charge of food and seemed nice.

The castle workers lived on the fifth sublevel, which had broad tunnels that led to the sixth sublevel and homes in the underbelly of the Mount Hermon City, Sir Malax explained.

”Who lives down there?”

”The minions,” he said.

”Are there more floors below the sixth?”

He hesitated, glanced at Lord Valafar and said, ”Just the dungeons,” then he led the way back upstairs. I guess the subject of the dungeons wasn't open for discussion.

I chose several books from the second-floor library before my father escorted me back to my quarters. It was nice to read something instead of watching doc.u.mentary on CCs, as Lady Nemea called the clairvoyant crystals. I already knew about the four different groups of our people-the Neteru, the Werenephils, the Nosferatus, and the Lazari.

The Neteru were humanlike. Most of the people I'd met so far were either Neteru, or the other groups taking humanlike form. Werenephils had the ability to s.h.i.+ft into human form, some animal or half-human and half-animal form, or into smoke. The smoke s.h.i.+fters were called the Lazari and were considered a group, not a subgroup of the Werenephils. They controlled humans by possessing them. The Nosferatus were what humans called vampires. They enjoyed drinking warm blood from living things.

All the groups could teleport and use telepathy, but some had special abilities and controlled elements. These were the Primes. The Primes' powers came from having strong psi energy.

The more I read about psi energies and Nephilimic abilities, the more I wanted to see what I could do, but Lord Valafar and Lady Nemea discouraged it. They had a way of encouraging me not to try or do certain things that sounded more like orders.

-3-.

It was the day of the party and I couldn't contain my excitement.

I stared out the window at the sun-kissed valley and grinned. No matter how beautiful the underground city was, I loved sunlight and fresh air. Not that the air in the city was stale. Sir Malax had explained about the ventilation system. Since I was forbidden to explore the city, I'd found a spot by the ground-floor window where I could watch the children and their parents on the playgrounds un.o.bserved. Watch and envy them their freedom. Today, I was finally going to mingle with others.

There were so many people on the grounds and I was bombarded by their excitement, further confirming that I was an empath. I fought the insane urge to teleport to the grounds and mingle with them. Run around barefoot on the lush gra.s.s and pick up flowers. Talk to people like a normal person without the bowing and ”Princess, do you want this” and ”Princess, do you need that.”

People were erecting something huge to the left of the castle. It was so tall and wide, it blocked the waterfalls. Colorful tents dotted the grounds under it. I couldn't wait to mingle. Maybe I'd see the green-eyed guy who'd winked at me.

I hadn't seen him since the kitchen. Maybe Malax had thrown him in the dungeons. I was sure there was a law against minions winking at the daughters of the king.

I chose to test my powers despite my father's warning not to. I looked at my bed, kept the image in my head, and closed my eyes.

Teleport to bed.

One second I was seated on a cus.h.i.+on by the window, the next I was floating. I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see me. Instead, I was surrounded by energies of various objects in my room.

Lady Nemea never said I could float around. I just a.s.sumed I'd hop from one place to the next. She'd also said I had to know exactly where I was going. Maybe I teleported differently. My way was much cooler. I could control my teleport, go slow or go faster. Maybe I could float out the window and drift away without anyone noticing I was gone.