Page 76 of Gilded Curses

When Sheree turned and started from the room, Desmond fell in beside her. A collective breath released throughout the space, but no one returned to eating or dared to speak.

Orin followed the two Lords and their contingent of guards from the dining hall as he hunted them from a distance. He would enjoy this hunt a lot more than his last one.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Sahira refused to feel disheartened after searching every centimeter of Orin’s room and discovering nothing. She could still explore her room and the brownies’. She couldn’t let herself think there might not be a trapdoor in either of those rooms… or it might not exist at all.

This gave her something to focus on and a small bit of hope; she wasn’t giving up either of those things. She claimed another piece of bread and a couple of carrots before trudging over to the balcony.

She’d prefer to shut the doors but couldn’t risk locking Orin out. Though she suspected he’d still be a while, she couldn’t take the chance.

The drapes drifted inward as she pulled them apart to step onto the balcony. She should probably open them completely for Orin to return, but she couldn’t take the chance someone could see in. He’d be able to slip past them when a breeze blew.

Munching on a carrot, she pushed the drapes aside and strolled onto the balcony. Resting her arms on the railing, she studied the moon while ignoring the contingent of guards watching her every move.

She was itching to return to her search but compelled herself to stand there for at least ten minutes before retreating again. If they saw her, they would think everything was still perfectly fine and she was coming out to get some fresh air after caring for Orin… or so she hoped.

Once back inside, she entered her room to continue her search. Like in Orin’s, she started in the closet.

Running her fingers over every part of the wall, she examined it for something to lead her out of here. Satisfied there was nothing in the closet, she moved on from it to the walls.

She carried the chair from Orin’s room and stood on it to help her search the higher spaces. Following the walls into the bathroom, she gradually made her way around every surface.

She had to bring in the chair to explore the area over the sink and above the doorway. Standing on the chair, her fingers came across something that didn’t feel quite right above the doorframe.

Biting her lip, she explored the surface to the right of the door. It was so far up it nearly touched the ceiling. While no cobwebs would dare to mar the pristine wood, someone dusting this area wouldn’t feel the difference.

Just brushing the wall didn’t do anything, and she couldn’t see any change in the surface, but when she felt around it again, she definitely detected a small bubble there.

Biting her bottom lip, Sahira pushed her thumb into whatever was there. It depressed until something clicked.

Sahira almost fell backward off the chair as shock caused her to sway a little. Did I really find it?

Her pulse thundered in her ears as she leaned back to examine the spot she’d discovered. The tiniest hint of an indent could be seen in the wall, and she’d heard a click.

With excitement screaming through her, Sahira carefully climbed off the chair and forced herself to remain calm as she looked around the bathroom. She didn’t see anything different, and nothing opened under her hands when she pushed on the walls.

Confused, she wandered into her room, but everything looked the same. She walked around as she searched for any sign of something different. No matter where she looked or what she pressed on, she didn’t detect anything.

Returning to the bathroom, she climbed back on the chair. From a few inches away, she couldn’t see any difference between the wall and the small button she pushed, but when she stood on her tiptoes and looked closer, she saw a small bubble.

With a small click, the button popped out again. Sahira strained to hear anything, but no sound followed.

“Damn it.”

She pressed it again, and the click followed. She hoped whatever this was, it wasn’t hooked up to an alarm of some sort, but if that was the case, the guards would probably already be in her room.

Climbing down from the chair, Sahira returned to the bathroom doorway. Deciding it was time to make another appearance for the guards, she opened the doors to her balcony.

Trying to act casual, she strolled around it while running her fingers over the railing and trying to step on as many places as possible. A trapdoor out here wouldn’t make any sense, but nothing about these monsters did, and she wouldn’t leave any stone unturned.

When she finished, she rested her arms on the railing again and studied the moon before retreating and closing the doors. She hoped the guards assumed she was anxious because of what happened with Orin, but she had no way of knowing what those assholes thought. If they weren’t storming the rooms, she didn’t care.

Sahira returned to the bathroom and waited for the button to pop out again. It didn’t take long before it did, and she pressed it before returning to her room.

She was beginning to feel like a rat in a maze as she continued feeling over the walls and floorboards, but she was determined to find out what the button did. After a few minutes, she returned to the button, waited for it to pop, and hit it again.

Time stretched on, and she had to keep returning to the button, but eventually, she finished in her room and crossed into Orin’s. She stared helplessly around as everything in here looked the same too.