Page 19 of Chasing the Night
Chapter Eight
What the Krypt Wants
Chalice
The Villa sprawled room after room. Floor after floor. It was a fucking palace compared to half the houses around. I had stuffed my feet in a pair of wooden heels at Reverie’s insistence. Each step I took made me contemplate if she didn’t hate me as well. The sides where the leather met the wood pinched with every step. Forget the stairs—my heel caught the edge of one on the way to the parlor, and I nearly broke my neck.
Thankfully, Ender caught me with our elbow lock and nearly dislocated my arm instead. I was jerked back to his chest with so much force, the breath flew from me with an indignant sound.
I slapped his chest where my hand had landed on it and hissed in his ear. “I thought the point of you assisting me was to keep that from happening in the first place.”
“It is,” he admitted with a smirk that met the mossy green windows of his soul. “I just wanted to see the look in your eyes when I saved you.”
I threw my elbow in his ribs and ground it so hard he squealed my name through gritted teeth.
At the bottom of the stairwell, a carriage lay in wait. I’d never been on a carriage ride. Excitement mingled with trepidation. What if the animals bolted? What if we fell under attack? Would we be trapped in the closet on wheels? All the questions flashed in my mind, but I felt too foolish to voice them, so I kept them to myself and shakily took Ender’s hand when he offered to help me up the steps.
I sat stiff as a statue as we started off. The first bump and jostle had me clutching at the window with one hand and the ceiling with the other.
Ender bellowed with laughter. “Are you really that nervous? By all that is sacred, Chalice, I’m not going to hurt you. Fuck.”
I squinted at him, unsure of what he was babbling about. “Not everything is about you, Ender,” I quipped before shifting so that my shoulder was to him and my focus out the window. His eyes burned against my back; but he was like me, he had too much pride to continue the conversation. We rode the rest of the way in a cold silence.
When the carriage jarred to a stop before the intimidating fanged entrance, I reached out and grabbed Ender before he had a chance to slide his ass from the seat.
“She can’t get married in there… it’s a fucking earthen tomb!” I spat.
He snorted, patted my hand like I was too simple to understand and hauled himself from the carriage. His hand hailed before me, but I didn’t immediately take it. For a moment, I thought maybe it was another of the Krypt family’s jokes.
The only thing that convinced me it wasn’t was the desperation Reverie had displayed. No one could fake that. And no one should be made to suffer such a thing alone. I scooted after him, swatting his hand away and found my own feet.
People slowly started to trickle in from every direction. Ender’s excitement grew the deeper we went into the mountain. He took me to the lower level, and then we climbed up the ramps just as I had seen Atticus do during the assembly. It sloped back and forth until we arrived at a set of double doors that had been left wide open.
Beyond it lay a blanket of rich green grass and ancient looking trees, and a breathtaking view of the mountain below. Three canopies were arranged near the scenic side. The middle tent had an altar.
From what I had made out, the Krypt family was gathered under one canopy, and I imagined the other were the groom’s people. Ender led me to the row behind Isabella and Atticus. We were shrouded by family, but far enough from the important ones to whisper amongst ourselves.
“So, who is he?” I hissed. A neck or two craned, but all they were met with was the sight of Ender’s hand dutifully patting mine and that political Krypt smile that stretched across his delicate features.
I ground my back teeth together and fought the urge to elbow him again. Weight settled onto the bench next to me. I wasn’t expecting it and nearly leapt into Ender’s arms until I noticed it was Messiah.
“He is a Kantor,” Ender muttered, under his breath.
“What, pray tell, is a Kantor?” I felt like he was purposely making me dig for details and I really wasn’t in the mood.
“Bottom feeders for the most part.” He sniffed and tipped his head to the occupants of the other canopy.
Messiah’s throaty sound of confirmation rang from my other side.
“They actually think by forging a union between their son and our sister, they will somehow gain power and knowledge from House Krypt,” Messiah whispered, with a snort of amusement. His hazel eyes held firm on the couple who appeared to be the center of the family.
My gaze settled on the woman. Her hair was so black it was almost a blue color. Her dark brown eyes were lifeless. When she wasn’t engaged, her face settled into an annoyed scowl, and bird like eyes would scan her surroundings.
“Wh -why for the love of all, would they union her to someone who only wants to use her?” I asked, glancing between the pair.
“Because, unlike the Kantors, collecting information comes easy to us. Collecting resources does as well. If the Kantors grow bold and try something… we will have their son in our possession,” Messiah slowly explained.
“He is a potential hostage?” I whispered loudly.