Heir Untamed - By Danielle Bourdon Page 0,63

or from an errand for the Royals.

Uneasy, Chey turned around and broke into a jog for the gate. The first drop of rain fell just as she slid behind the wheel of the truck and started the engine.

. . .

“Are you sure it's safe to go in there in this weather?” Chey asked.

Sander glanced out the front windshield, wipers swish-swishing away the rain. “Sure it is. Once you get inside, the only place the rain will get to you is if you step out into an open courtyard or something.”

“I'm not really worried about the rain so much as it making stairs or the flooring slick. There are probably a thousand leaks in that thing.” Chey stared at the ruins through the downpour. Darkness hadn't quite swallowed the landscape, though it might as well have for how well she could see. The old castle was more silhouette and looming shape than anything else. She made out the deeper recesses of windows without panes, the top of the high wall, and a tall arch protecting a broad door that appeared to have iron hinges stretching across the surface. It didn't seem so 'small' to Chey. The castle wasn't on par size wise with the main family seat, but it was by no means a paltry dwelling.

Sitting in Sander's Jeep, she gauged the distance between the lowest floor of the castle and the tower she had to climb to get to the room Sander mentioned. It was probably five flights of stairs. At least.

“You'll be fine. Having second thoughts?” he asked with a knowing grin.

Chey swatted his arm. “No. It's just rain and an abandoned castle.”

“An abandoned haunted castle,” he corrected. “You take the first set of stairs you see up to the third floor, then follow the main hallway back to the end. There is another doorway, you can't miss it, and a second set of stairs that wind around up to the tower. Here, take the flashlight. I put new batteries in before I left the cabin.” He handed the flashlight across the Jeep.

She took the flashlight and covered her camera with a plastic bag he had on hand. “I got it. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.”

“Of course you will. Remember, I'll be there shortly after you start screaming.” He lounged against the seat, knees parted casually, one elbow propped against the door.

Chey snorted. “You're enjoying this, aren't you? I'm not going to start screaming, because ghosts don't exist.”

“Mhm.” That was Sander's only reply.

Chey counted to three and got out of the Jeep. The rain pelted her at a pace that would leave her clothes drenched if she didn't hurry. Breaking into a run, she approached the stairs and trotted up with care. The stone wasn't as slick as she thought it might be.

Under the cover of the immense porch, Chey uncovered the camera and glanced back at the Jeep. Sander had cut the headlights some time before. She could barely see him past the windshield, a vague shape obscured by the rain. Nevertheless, she waved the bag and went to the heavy wooden door. As she'd thought, iron hinges spiked across the surface from one side, heavy rivets holding them in place. Sander told her the castle wasn't locked, so she had no trouble getting inside.

A large foyer opened up to a high ceiling and an enormous great hall to her right. Although gloomy, she could still make the general shape out. Stuffing the plastic bag into the pocket of her jeans, she snapped on the flashlight. Gasping at the sheer beauty of such an old structure, Chey breathed in the musty, old smell of the stone and wandered further in.

Not usually a woman prone to fantastical ideas, she could easily imagine men in armor and women in long gowns decorating these halls. The castle, she discovered, was rather well preserved. None of the walls appeared to have holes in them that weren't there by design, and thus far, she found no puddles on the floor from leaks in the ceiling.

A certain poignancy pervaded the air, as if the souls of the past were reaching across time and space, welcoming her into their home. A much more volatile time in history, she imagined the triumphs and tragedies that must have happened within these walls.

Don't let your imagination run too far away with you, she chided herself. That was all she needed. She would start seeing ghosts before she knew it and freak herself out.

Thunder growled beyond the