Page 55 of How Does It Feel?

Glittering black vines from an onyx crown seemed to command their own respect upon her head. The vines dripped down her stunning face, snaking elegantly around her fragile-looking throat before blending into a black velvet dress that clung to her feminine curves. Blood-red lips pulled up in a sinister smile as if she truly had been gifted a present.

The woman took a step toward us. The dress elegantly trailed behind her as the people closest to her bowed their heads and stepped farther back. This continued as the crowd parted, and she walked closer to us.

“My queen, I—” Walter stuttered, placing himself between the two of us.

Closer now, her eyes scanned me, and her nostrils flared slightly. Something in her eyes seemed to light with fire suddenly.

Black wings, like those of a butterfly, shot out of her back, casting a menacing gray shadow over her face. She moved fast, instantly thrusting a bare arm toward me. Black painted the tip of her graceful finger, quickly bleeding as it grew down her hand until it dripped across her skin like she had dipped her fingers into ink. The air crackled with power. Smoke rose from her now inky hands. Her blood-red lips pulled into a malicious smile.

“Run,” Walter whispered to me with quiet urgency as he shoved my shoulder so hard toward the hallway I almost fell onto the floor.

The action shook me out of my trance of panic, and I spared a last look at Walter. The smoke from the queen’s black hands shot toward him. I heard a loud pop, and the sound seemed to shake my eyes as I watched Walter transform into a larger-than-average dark-gray wolf.

“Walter!” I shrieked, barely hearing my cries over the hard slap of marble under my feet.

There was only one opening at the end of the hall, and I took it. It was another large archway that led to yet another luxurious and expansive room.

Shit!

I spun around inside it. It was just a room, there was no exit to the roof!

There! Tucked in the back corner. A small door to the roof.

My breath threatened to stop completely as I slammed into the door, and I struggled desperately to use my shaking hand and turn the knob. Finally, it gave way and opened.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness and saw a large flat roof surrounded by a portcullis, the gray stone now a charcoal color with the drizzle of falling rain. I closed the door behind me and pressed my back against it as I struggled to catch my breath. The roof was empty. I was safe for the moment.

The night sky was a dreary bluish gray, only brightened slightly by small eruptions of lightning that backlit the clouds with a warm yellow. The soft pitter-patter of rain filled my senses. It was almost peaceful. The taste of fresh air in my lungs felt invigorating. I was outside again.

I was so close.

Thoughts of Walter flashed in my mind. Was he dead? I callously shook the thoughts off. I needed to find the portal. He could handle himself.

I stumbled to the front corner and leaned over the portcullis to see what lay below the castle.

Panic shot through me, and I fell to the hard floor. My butt slid back against the rough rooftop as I scrambled to get away from the short wall. The drop was so much farther down than I ever could have imagined.

The castle was nestled against the farthest edge of a mountain. It was huge in and of itself but was made even taller and more frightening by the precipice of the mountain’s edge.

Where was the fucking portal? Where was it!?

Nothing was on the roof but short walls and a drop to your death.

I pushed myself farther back, and the roof scraped against my rear as I sought to get farther away. I had expected it to be a steep drop, but I had no idea just how high.

I continued to scoot farther back. I just needed away from that ledge.

Please get me out of here, anyone—I just want to go home.

Sobs racked my body. The hot tears that fell down my cheeks were a startling contrast to the cold rain that fell upon the rest of my body.

A low note of thunder rumbled deeply across the expanse.

Goose bumps rose across my skin, paired with an unsettling feeling, as I slowly turned around.

A shadow fell over me, blanketing me with terror.

My eyes traveled up from his black boots as they dripped with the falling rain.