Chapter 47: Through the Front Door

Rowan

“We’re not that far from the castle, Rowan,” Dad said sternly as he bent to tie his boots. He looked up at me, catching my annoyed expression.

“It would be faster if we shifted-”

“And show up naked to confront whoever’s in the castle right now? No, I think not.”

He did have a point.

I surrendered, leaning against a tree as the rest of the warriors caught up to us, their backs heavy with sacks full of supplies. Dad had said in passing that he meant to take over again, but I hadn’t believed it at the time. Seeing the warriors outfitted for battle made a hard lump form in my throat. We were actually going to do this…

It wasn’t long before we reached the outskirts of the castle grounds. I could see it rising out of the darkness, amber colored light spilling from several windows.

We crouched in the tall grass, Dad motioning for us to move forward a few feet at a time, the group of us spread wide across the field.

“Do you think Maeve is being held in the castle?” I whispered. Dad shook his head, his eyes shining in the moonlight.

“No, she wouldn’t be here. They are holding her somewhere less obvious.”

I opened my mouth to question his thinking, but he held his hand up to quiet me. We moved forward.

Suddenly, a shout came from somewhere near the castle, then laughter. I held my breath and winced as a woman began to scream, pleading with whoever was laughing. I winced, my fingers digging into the earth beneath me as I tried to maintain my composure.

Dad motioned to one of the warriors, who took off through the grass towards the noise. I heard a whooshing sound, then a cracking thump.

The woman was crying, gulping for air as she sobbed a desperate thanks.

“Come on, let’s move,” Dad said, crouching as he walked through the grass, leading up closer to the castle.

“What was that?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t care. We just can’t risk anyone seeing us approach,” he answered.

“How are we going to get inside?”

“Through the front door, of course.”

I stopped, gaping at him. “What?”

“This is my castle, remember?” He gave me a knowing look, his eyes flaming with long subdued fury.

He wasn’t wrong. He was just going to waltz in like he owned the place, apparently

I had heard stories about my father, but those stories didn’t reflect the man I knew. It seemed I was going to meet the man from the stories tonight, however

We walked out of the grass and onto the pathway leading up to the castle. Dad led the way as we approached the door, and opened it wide, stepping in before the warriors.

It was quiet inside the castle. The front hall was dimly lit by lanterns placed in the corners of the area and on the stairs.

“Why aren’t they using power?” I whispered.

“Because these idiots cut the power to the entire city of Mirage and inadvertently drained the power banks while doing so,” Dad said loudly, his voice booming with purpose and echoing through the front hall. “They don’t know how to fix the mistakes they made. And they will pay.”

Footsteps sounded in one of the hallways. They were light, their tread soft against the stone pavers as they neared.

A woman appeared, her glossy platinum blonde hair falling thinly over her shoulders, her black eyes shining in the lantern light. She swiveled to a stop in front of Dad, her fluffy, emerald green gown rustling against the stone floor.

“Who are you?” Dad demanded.copy right hot novel pub