Hollow Earth (Hallowed Realms Book 2) Read online

  After several grueling minutes of stuffing, lacing, and squishing, I was in the gown. If I could still breathe, I guessed I would have been light-headed. I didn’t know how women moved in these things. They were so constricting.

  When one of the servant girls brought the mirror over to inspect the gown, I found I couldn’t speak. I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. Gone were the grubby clothes and soot stains on my cheeks. The tangled strands of my wild red hair were locked in place with pins. I had become the very model of elegance.

  My eyes were wide as I looked at the ivory silk that contrasted against my pale skin in a way that made me gasp. The rouge on my cheeks was the same light coral as my lips. A string of delicate stones unlike I had ever seen were clasped around my neck. If it wasn’t for the severity of the cut of the bodice, I might actually feel beautiful. As it was, I discovered I was, well, spilling out, and it made me feel terribly self-conscious. I attempted to push some cleavage back into the gown, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Well. I guess you’re not in danger of moving then,” I said, accepting my fate.

  “It is time, my lady.” The severe-looking woman was back.

  I nodded and understood I was supposed to follow her. I gathered the fullness of the skirt and followed her through the rest of the house to the ball.

  She led me down a hall that had guards posted at several closed doors. I couldn’t help but wonder if the royal family and Taryn were behind one of them.

  All around me, people were filing into the house. I had no idea who any of these people were, nor did they know me, but it seemed as though everyone was curious to know where I had gotten such a lovely gown. The whispered comments weren’t so quiet that I couldn’t hear them. Ms. Mirabelle would be pleased tomorrow morning when she was flooded with gown requests. Her signature M shaped bow on the back of each dress was her calling card.

  I realised then, that I might not ever see her again. Not that it would be a terrible loss. She wasn’t overly friendly, but she had been the one thing I had been able to rely on since I’d been stuck here. As of right now, my entire future was unclear. Much like how I was becoming.

  “Prince Aed instructed me to leave you here. Help yourself to refreshments,” the woman said. She gestured into a room where people appeared to be gathering. It was a massive room, with glorious wood floors and large windows.

  Not knowing what else to do until Aed and Taryn arrived, I busied myself sampling all the delicious treats laid out for the guests. I wasn’t sure how long I would be exposed to such wonders, so I ate as much as my corset would allow. It was an odd thing to eat. I didn’t need to eat to sustain myself, nor did I have to ever use the bathroom, but still I could taste. Though I swear I felt my stomach rumble with hunger as the first savory pastry hit my lips.

  Once the horns blared, announcing the arrival of the royal family, the butterflies I’d been holding back returned.

  I watched in silent awe, along with everyone else in the room, as they entered the room, but I had eyes for only one of them. The prince took his spot behind the king. His face looked troubled as he looked towards the doors. It was then I realised Taryn wasn’t with him. I had assumed she would be right beside him, but there was another woman draped on his arm.

  I recognized Betha at once. While she didn’t seem to acknowledge the fact I was wearing her bridal gown at first, her family certainly did. I could see their silent murmurings from where I stood in the corner. Aed must have noticed it too because he turned to look in the direction they had been looking. His silver eyes found me instantly in the crowd.

  Even from this distance, I could see the satisfaction in his eyes. The dress pleased him. Blushing, I looked down and fiddled with the embroidery. It was a stunning gown.

  When I glanced back up, Aed was speaking quietly to Betha and her family, who were all glaring at me from afar. A moment later, he broke away from them and walked across the dance floor straight towards me.

  The room fell eerily silent as all eyes watched the prince as he walked away from Betha, the woman he was supposed to be wooing.

  “Alana,” his husky voice said when he reached me. “You look positively stunning in that gown, as I knew you would.” He smiled and then bowed to me.

  Not knowing what I should do, I curtsied. “Um, thank you for purchasing it for me. Though I’m sure Betha was not as happy to see me in it as you appear to be.”

  He waved a dismissive hand. “She was never going to have a chance to wear it. Not in the way her parents hoped, at least. Now, would you care to dance?”

  I gaped up at him as he extended a hand. Behind him, I was sure I heard someone gasp.

  “There isn’t any music,” I pointed out.

  He smirked at me and it made my knees go weak. What was it about this man that turned me into a lovesick fool?

  “The music will play once we step foot on the dance floor.” His outstretched hand was still there. I couldn’t help but think that no woman had ever dared to let the prince linger this long without an answer. With the exception of Taryn, that is.

  Not wanting to cause a bigger ruckus by refusing royalty, I slipped my gloved hand in his. I marveled at how his hand seemed to swallow my own.

  As he predicted, the second our feet touched the dance floor again, music appeared. Violins and flutes produced a light and airy song I had never heard.

  “Would now be a good time to let you know I don’t know how to dance?” I asked, very aware of every pair of eyes on us at present.

  “Well, it’s a good thing I do. Follow my lead. I won’t let you fall.” He stopped us in the centre of the floor and slid his hand around my lower back, sending a tingle up the length of my spine. My eyes grew wide when he exerted a firm pressure against my back. He forced my torso far closer to him than I would have assumed would be proper for such an event, but I wasn’t about to resist. His other hand gripped my palm.

  “Ignore everything but me. Focus on my eyes,” he whispered. That wouldn’t be a problem. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to look away from him if I tried. “My hands will direct you,” he instructed, “but your line of focus should always be on me. Otherwise, you’ll get lost. Understood?”

  I nodded, unable to resist any command he might want to give me, which I realised was a very dangerous thing indeed.

  “Not that I mind dancing with you, but shouldn’t your first dance be with Betha?” I asked as he moved our bodies around the dance floor. “I mean, this is her night.”

  Aed brought his head closer to mine so we were almost cheek to cheek. He breathed in once before he spoke.

  “Probably,” he confessed, “but the only person I want to dance with tonight is you.”

  I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe it. Eivin had already told me about Aed’s womanizing past. I had no desire to be another prize for him to claim, yet, at the same time, I couldn’t deny how my body was reacting being this close to him. It may be only a passing moment for him, but I knew full well, that if I allowed myself to fall for Aed, recovering from the inevitable broken heart would take me several lifetimes. Couple that with the fact I was disappearing, and his plan to marry Taryn, and I knew it was a fool’s errand to even consider our coupling.

  And yet, I didn’t want to ever leave his arms. I knew, once the song was over, I’d need to let him go, physically and mentally. The prince wasn’t mine, and he never would be. I wasn’t even supposed to be in Netherworld. When the music ended, I would retreat back into my room and stay there to await word from Taryn. I had to focus on what mattered.

  For now, though, I was content to stay lost in his silver eyes.

  Chapter 12

  Devlin

  The passage on the ship went smoother than any of us anticipated. Those on board, both workers and passengers, were so self-involved with what their own agendas were that they paid no attention to us. The only two reapers who seemed to have no idea how things worked in Netherworld.r />
  Tris had been right about us earning our way by working. Bartering seemed to be the way many were travelling on this vessel. We were given quick orders to move casks of ale from the dock to the ship. Lifting barrels I could do easily enough. In fact, I did it for the both of us because Seamus was battling the fever. He was useless. I didn’t mind. The repetitive labor kept me focused on the task at hand instead of letting my mind wander to how Taryn was doing, and more disturbingly, what Aed might be doing to her.

  The Olde Port Inn Tris found us to stay in was actually owned by a family friend. She had worked with Tris’s mother and took pity on our weary band of travellers. She provided us a housekeeper’s room on the ground floor next to the privy house. It wasn’t much to look at and reeked of piss, but it would serve our needs well enough.

  The location of the inn was ideal in that it was a short walk from the manor house Taryn would be staying at. We were lucky to land a room at all. People had travelled far and wide for a chance to see the royal family up close. It wasn’t like the royal family on Earth. Tris had told me there were some in Netherworld who had never laid eyes on their rulers. Talk about a different world. Normally, I couldn’t go a day without seeing ours on the tele.

  That was something different here, too. There was no technology. No electricity. It was like we had jumped back in time. It took some serious getting used to. I hadn’t realised how dependent I’d become on it all. Despite all the fear of lorcan and the threat of the king discovering us, there was a certain calm that lived within the townspeople. It was a simpler life, one I could easily see myself getting used to. It was thoughts of making such a life with Taryn that kept my mind occupied while I worked.

  Once Seamus was settled, Tris left me with him while she went to find the root he’d need for the most painful part of his withdrawal. This was the part of the healing that even their kind had trouble enduring. This root, she said, was instrumental in making sure Seamus survived the pain of it all.

  “You’ll be okay, mate,” I told Seamus, who was already delirious again with a fever. It was amazing how fast he’d taken ill again.

  “Yeah. I know. Tris will see me through it.” His dark curls were matted down with sweat, but he still smiled.

  For a full two hours, I waited for Tris to return as I reapplied the poultice on Seamus’s arm. As he slept, I kept watching for her. I felt uneasy. Something was wrong. She told me she should be back within the hour.

  I was about to leave the room to try to find her when I pulled the door open and saw her approaching.

  “What’s wrong?” I said. I knew from the look on her face she was upset.

  “Nothing. Everything is fine,” she said, pushing past me to check on her patient.

  “So why did it take you so long then?”

  For a moment, she ignored me as she worked on bringing out a knife to chop up a small white root.

  “It was harder to find than I bargained for.”

  I walked over to her to get a better look at the magical root. It didn’t look like much. Barely the size of her ring finger.

  “That’s it?” I said, reaching out to touch it.

  She smacked my hand away.

  “Oy. What was that for?” I said, pulling my hand away.

  She didn’t look at me but kept her gaze on the root.

  “It’s not going to be enough,” she sniffed. “This won’t be enough to get him through, Devlin.” Tears started to flow from her eyes.

  “Okay…so we’ll get him some more. No big deal,” I said, not understanding what the issue was.

  “You don’t understand. This is an expensive root. I never realised how expensive as they always provide healers with the items they need to heal the reapers. I’ve never had to buy it myself. And with all the extra lorcan attacks, they’ve driven the price up even more because there’s a shortage.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  I pulled up a chair and sat next to her as her gaze held fast to the limp root.

  “How did you get this, Tris?” I knew she didn’t have much money left on her after she paid for her ticket here. The money we’d saved on the room may have been enough, but I had a sick feeling it wasn’t. “Did you steal it?”

  “No! I’m not a thief. Stealin’ things here gets your hand chopped off.”

  She felt her neck and I noticed that the thin bejeweled necklace she had worn earlier was no longer there.

  “I pawned my mother’s necklace for it.”

  Even though she didn’t say it, I could tell the necklace had meant the world to her. She had sold a memory of her mother to help save Seamus and it wouldn’t be enough.

  “When this runs out…what do we do?”

  She went back to chopping the root. “Leave that to me. Ya need to go. The ball will be startin’ and ya dunna want to be missin’ yer chance. This will be enough for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll have figured somethin’ out.”

  “Tris…”

  “Go, Devlin. I won’t let him die,” she said with a fierceness that couldn’t be doubted.

  She was right. This was my one chance to find Taryn. I had to take it. Seamus was in good hands. I trusted Tris to take care of him. “Where do I go?”

  “Follow the crowds. They’ll all be makin’ their way to the manor house. When ya find other reapers, fall in line with them. They aren’t a chatty bunch, so just march with them and do as they do. Once inside the manor, the rest will be up to you.”

  “Aye,” I said, heading for the door.

  “And, Devlin?”

  I stopped and turned around.

  “Don’t be getting yourself killed. I’m not sure Seamus would forgive me if ya did.”

  I nodded once and left her to tend to her patient.

  Once I was out of the safety of the inn, the reality of where I was set in. I wasn’t in Moneyglass anymore. This was a place no human had likely ever laid eyes on before. I was a fish out of water and I struggled to memorize every detail, while also trying to appear aloof.

  Tris was right about knowing which way to go. There was a clear path people were travelling, so I adjusted my pants one last time and folded myself into the crowd.

  As we made our way down the cobblestone street, we passed dozens of vendors trying to peddle their wares to the travelling pedestrians in the dimness of torch light. None of them seemed to notice the human walking among them.

  I was relieved to have the distraction of the event to keep eyes off me. All around me women and girls in fine gowns. Their hair trimmed with ribbons, and cleavage busting out of every bodice. The men wore dark shades of, essentially, the same thing. Snug pants tucked into tall boots, long jackets with long lace cuffs and gold buttons. The only pop of colour was the slim lines of an embroidered vest poking out of their unbuttoned jackets.

  For several paces, I felt very much underdressed. So much so, that I almost turned around and called Tris out for embarrassing me. That was when a group of four reapers joined the procession. Their outfits were identical to mine except for one major difference. They were all pubescent boys.

  “Oy! You there,” one of the tallest boys asked as they got close. “Why aren’t you on the Wall?”

  “Why aren’t you?” I asked, stalling for time.

  “Because we ain’t old enough yet, ya dolt,” said the freckle-faced brunet beside him. “You could be in serious trouble. The king has sent reapers to the Wall.”

  I was going to murder Tris. She didn’t say anything about levels. “Not the ones left to guard over the king.”

  The boys looked at me in shock as we continued forward. I was hoping against hope that was a good lie. It seemed to work because they stopped talking to me, perhaps realizing I was above their station. Oh, the irony. I was the fish out of water here, but I had to pretend to be a shark.

  The ruse worked. Right up until we reached the bottleneck of the manor entrance. I anticipated things to get interesting when I saw the guards watching over people as they entered. Without fail,
each person held out an ivory invitation with a red wax seal on the top. There were two men on either side of the guards examining each invite before allowing the guests to enter.

  I cursed. I had no invitation.

  Hanging back, I watched to see what happened to those who tried to enter without one. Not surprisingly, there were a few attempted forgeries and they were not met well with the guards. They were dragged off to an unknown location to be dealt with. Right, well. I was buggered.

  I was about to try to find a way to sneak in when I saw the gaggle of boy reapers approach the entrance. None of them had an invite. I smirked, waiting for their punishment. But it never came. They walked straight by the men examining the invitations and the guards didn’t bat an eyelash. Tris was right. The reapers were like royalty. They worked for the king. They didn’t need an invite.

  With newfound courage, I tossed my shoulders back and joined the line again to wait my turn. This was my one chance to find Taryn. I wasn’t going to give up because I didn’t have a silly piece of paper. I was a reaper today. Not a human. I needed to walk in there, playing the part. Pushing my feet forward, I watched an older lady with three girls. It took several minutes and careful examination of their invitations before access inside was granted.

  “Enjoy the ball,” the man on the left said in a tone that indicated he didn’t give a rat’s arse if they had a good time or not.

  Holding my breath as I approached the guards, I tried to appear aloof. Taking my cue from the boys, I didn’t stop. I kept walking. I expected a round of shouting, or at the very least a pair of hands yanking me back, but there was no resistance. No questions asked about my entrance.

  It was good to be a reaper.

  Safely inside the manor, I made my way to where everyone seemed to be gathering. It was a great hall of some kind. As Tris predicted, there was a lavish display of wealth at every turn. Tables were set with food piled high. The number of jewels hanging from the necks of women was enough to make even a rich man swoon.