A creaking noise drew his attention. The cat rolled her head on the ground near the black gate, twisting and turning in the dirt.
“What are you doing?”
The cat ignored him. Tahki saw a small brass lever, something he’d missed before, click forward, and the gates opened an inch. Tahki ran to them. He set his hands on the sturdy wood and heaved. The gate gave way just enough for him to fit his body through. He fetched Rye’s clothing and squeezed out. The cat wiggled through as well. He found the stairs and started up. The cat followed.
Tahki halted. “They can’t see you. You’ll send everyone in a frenzy.”
The cat swished her tail and continued upward.
“Listen,” he said. “If you want me to help you, you need to stay out of sight.”
At this, the cat stopped. She regarded him with a humanlike irritation. For a moment, he thought she might bite him. Instead, she slunk back down the stairway and vanished. After he was sure she was gone, he headed up, unsure how he’d explain his escape to Rye.
Chapter 13
HE FOUND Rye, still wet and gathering supplies for Tahki’s rescue, and gave him his clothing, explaining that he’d found a thin part in the wall and dug through. He said he’d ended up on the other side of the black gates and was able to open them and come through.
“So what’s behind there?” Rye asked after Tahki changed into dry clothing.
“Where?”
“The black gates. You were wondering about them, weren’t you?”
“Oh. There isn’t anything, just a dirt room.” Tahki hesitated, and then said, “Would you mind not telling Dyraien I was in there?”
“Why?”
Tahki shrugged. “It just seems like somewhere he wouldn’t want anyone to be. I’d rather not upset him after I’ve already thrown us off schedule.”
“I don’t think Dyraien would mind,” Rye said. “But I won’t say anything, if you don’t want me to.”
“Thanks.” Tahki sat on his bed and rested his head against the wall.
“Dyraien and I will ride to Edgewater to check the order. You should rest.”
“All right,” Tahki said. Physically, he felt better and should have gone with Rye, but he needed to sort out what Nii had told him.
Rye hesitated and then said, “When I get back, let’s have that talk.” He left before Tahki could reply.
A few moments later, Dyraien appeared in his doorway, dressed for riding.
“Rye said you felt guilty about falling in the river,” Dyraien said, posed with his hand against the doorframe. “I wanted to tell you not to worry. We’ve only been delayed half a day. Nothing to fret over.”
“I’m sorry I’ve delayed our work,” Tahki said.
Dyraien’s blue eyes drifted over Tahki. “We have a busy next couple of days, and I’ll need you fresh and ready to work when I return.”
Tahki forced a nod.
It felt strange talking to him, pretending like nothing had changed. Of course in Dyraien’s mind nothing had. But to Tahki, the prince’s eyes appeared darker, his golden hair a little less lustrous. Tahki had known from the first day something was off about Dyraien’s plans for the castle, but could he really be trying to open the Dim? It sounded too unbelievable. And yet, wasn’t everything that had happened to him unbelievable? The castle flooding. A resurrected cat. Talking to a spirit. It was all too much. Nii expected him to act, but his mind spun in so many different directions, he could think of nowhere to start.
Tahki thought about confronting him. All these secrets and games hurt his head. They were civilized humans, weren’t they? What would happen if he outright asked Dyraien about his family, about the Dim, about the true purpose of the castle? It wasn’t like Dyraien had royal guards waiting to arrest him.
But he didn’t know anything for sure, except that Dyraien was hiding something, and he couldn’t risk both his life and possibly Sornjia’s by exposing himself.
Dyraien lingered. “You really need to be more careful, Tahki. We can’t have you drowning on us now, can we? Not before the rebirth of our castle.” He said “our castle” like he and Tahki were having a child together.
“I’m excited to see her completed,” Tahki said.
“You should be.” Dyraien smiled. “You’ve worked so hard, and soon you’ll be repaid for all your efforts. I promise.”
AFTER DYRAIEN and Rye left for Edgewater, Tahki took a long bath, washed the mud off his face, dressed, and went to find Sornjia. The sun dimmed, and a low haze covered the orange and pink sky. Evening approached.
Before he reached the bottom of the cliff, he heard heavy steps behind him. He glanced back. The black cat followed at a distance. He didn’t try to chase her away.
When he reached the house, he told the cat to wait outside until he made sure Gale was gone, but the cat ignored him and pushed inside the home with her snout.
“Hold on a minute!” Tahki whispered. “If she sees you—”
“Gale?” Sornjia called from the kitchen. “Did you forget something?”
Sornjia stepped into the room and froze at the sight of the black cat. The cat looked even more monstrous inside the house. If she stood on her hind paws, her head would break through the low ceiling.
Tahki hadn’t seen his brother surprised by much. In fact, he couldn’t remember his brother ever looking so shocked. It felt like a small victory.
“That’s her?” Sornjia said. “The cat who attacked you?”
Tahki nodded.
“She’s beautiful,” Sornjia said in a breathless voice.
“Beautiful?” Tahki frowned. “She’s a monster.”
“I want to pet her.”
“What? No. Sornjia, she tried to drown me.”
Sornjia reached out a hand. Instead of growling or
