Chapter 256
~ NYSSA
I never thought the king would actually go through with his end of the bargain.
The next morning, Irina was in my room early, helping me into another dress that itched like crazy but according to her was in the latest fashion.
The king was nowhere to be found at the breakfast table so I sat opposite Allister in silence. He watched me carefully the entire time, his brows knitted and his eyes unfocused as if he were deep in thought.
At the end of breakfast there was no mention of the nursery so I returned to the room, once again silently mapping out the paths.
I’d come to realize that the guards took a different path each time. The aim was probably to confuse me but I’d always had a good memory and I was already silently mapping out a way out of here.
I sat alone in the room for a few minutes after breakfast when someone knocked on the door, snapping me right out of my thoughts. I glanced up just as the door opened revealing Irina and another guard.
“Come with me,” the guard said, voice cold. “King’s orders p>
I rose to my feet slowly, eyeing the cloth in his hand warily. “What is that for p>
“You’re going to be blindfolded p>
I frowned. “Excuse me p>
“Are you refusing?” he asked, head cocked to the side as his lips grew wider in a smile.
He glanced over at Irina, but only for a second… a silent warning.
Gritting my teeth, I made my way over to him and allowed him place the stupid fabric over my eyes. It was incredibly unsettling to not be able to see, but Irina kept a firm grip on my hand the entire time as they led me down a new hallway.
“Any idea where we’re going?” I asked.
“No, I’ve never been down this path before,” she admitted. “I wonder where it leads to p>
“I wonder if they’ll finally try to kill me p>
She snorted. “I really doubt that. If they wanted you dead, they’d kill you in the room p>
I tried to build a mental map of the turns we made but it proved difficult especially considering that I couldn’t see.
After a few minutes of walking, we finally came to a stop. Rough hands undid the knot at the back of my head and I braced myself for bright lights but to my surprise, the hallway was dark.
In front of us stood a simple wooden door.
The guard didn’t say a word, he just stood to the side, his hands folded in front of him.
“Weird,” I mumbled, before reaching for the doorknob.
If I was lucky, it would be the king honoring my request yesterday. If not, well p>
I pushed it open and the smell of talcum powder and fruits hit me square in the nose. I was surprised by how fucking quiet the room was but I stepped in, slowly taking in the light pink walls and the carpet beneath my feet.
Irina gasped behind me, her hands flying over her mouth. “Is this p>
“The nursery,” a woman said.
She stood at the far end of the room. Her hair was held back in a slick ponytail and her eyes were sharp as she assessed us. In her arms, she held a little girl, no older than a year with ginger hair and wide doe eyes.
The resemblance was uncanny and next to me, I felt Irina shudder. “Can I p>
The woman frowned, but to my surprise, she obliged, handing the baby over to Irina who immediately broke down in tears. She whispered soft words under her breath to her daughter who just stared up at her.
“When the King said you would be vising the nursery, I wondered why,” the strange woman began slowly. “I suppose I can see it now p>
I turned to her, keeping my face completely devoid of emotion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about p>
“Is that so p>
I shrugged, turning my attention to the other children on the floor. There were only two others much to my surprise. I thought for sure there would be more.
I turned back to her. “I wanted to know how many children I’d have to save when I burn this whole place to the fucking ground p>
She grinned. “You’re sassy. You will bear good children for him.” She leaned forward and took a sniff of me.
Placing both hands on her shoulders, I shoved her back hard. “Stay the fuck away from me p>
She merely grinned wide, her eyes glinting with mischief. “I presume you know how to take care of children. Try not to kill any of them while I’m gone p>
Without another word, she walked out, shutting the door behind her with a click.
As soon as she was gone, Irina turned to me. “You did this for me, didn’t you? Why? You don’t even know me p>
“That’s true p>
She wiped at her cheeks. “Thank you. I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again after this but thank you p>
Before I could respond, the door opened again.
A male walked into the room, his brows knitted in confusion as he looked around. He seemed young, barely older than twenty-five if I had to guess and in his hand was a small phone.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I was just looking for someone. The… woman who stays here p>
I turned away, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “She just left p>
He lingered for a second before shutting the door quietly behind him, leaving Irina and I all alone with the children once more.
I had no desire to be around vampire children, but for Irina, I would stay. I eyed a chair in the corner and made to head over when I felt something tug at the bottom of my dress.
I glanced down, locking eyes with one of the children. He’d crawled over from where he previously sat and held the hem of my dress in his mouth. His eyes were an intense shade of grey that reminded me of Rowan.
“Well hello there,” I whispered, crouching down to his level.
He held out his hands immediately and against my better judgment, I picked him up. He clung to me and I couldn’t help but smile softly.
I’d never given much thought to having children, mostly because Rowan had never brought it up, but the thought seemed more appealing the longer I held the child who somehow had Rowan’s eyes.
Maybe after this we would sit together and have a child because having one now would p>
I turned to Irina. “What’s the date p>
“Twentieth, why p>
Well fuck.