where we’ll make our oaths,” Councillor Emery corrected, because nothing with the elves could ever be quick or simple.
The door slid silently open as he approached, brightening the dark hall with a rectangle of light that spilled from wherever they were heading. The doorway itself stretched several feet deep, so it was impossible to see the room they were about to enter.
Emery’s spotlight vanished when he reached the threshold, and he had to stoop and shuffle forward with strange, almost pigeonlike movements in order to pass through without conking his head—as did the rest of the Councillors when they followed one by one. They disappeared from sight after a few steps, but Sophie could hear their stumbling footfalls continue on, picking up a hollow tone once they’d entered the room beyond.
“I’m assuming there’s a reason you guys didn’t make the door taller?” Dex called after them, frowning at the abundance of untouched wall that could’ve easily been cut away to make the opening a normal size. “And a reason why the doorway’s so deep?”
“Yes” was all Emery shouted back.
Sophie shared a look with her friends before Stina shrugged and followed the Councillors—and the amount of bending and slouching she had to do was both hilarious and impressive. Wylie didn’t look nearly as graceful when it was his turn. Neither did Dex. But of course Biana found a way to saunter through the doorway like a celebrity on the red carpet. And Sophie was the clumsiest of them all—though, in her defense, her gown was also the poofiest, and the layers of tulle made the process a special kind of impossible.
The strange tunnel-like doorway turned out to have a second door on the other end, which slid shut as soon as Sophie passed through, leaving her no choice but to shove her way deeper into the crowded, tiny room. She bumped so many limbs along the way that she was sure she’d have a few bruises the next day. And her face ended up smashed into someone’s armpit.
She didn’t want to know whose.
Claustrophobia wasn’t something she usually wrestled with, but she couldn’t help staring at the low ceiling and curved diamond walls around her—which lacked any trace of windows or other doors—feeling like she’d just been locked inside a super-blinged-out, elf-size hamster ball, packed with sixteen other people.
The urge to shove everyone out of her way and pound on the only exit until someone let her out reared up hard—but she tamped it down, worming toward the edge of the group and pressing her back to the cool wall.
“This is the Paragon,” Emery explained. “You five are the only non-Councillors to ever set foot inside of it.”
“Lucky us,” Sophie mumbled, sucking in a slow breath and trying not to wonder how the room got any fresh air. She didn’t see any vents, or even any tiny gaps between the wall’s honeycomb-shaped diamond bricks.
And it did not help when Councillor Emery pointed to the golden key securing his cape and told them, “You won’t be able to return to the Paragon—or leave—without one of these.”
“I know it’s bit cramped,” Councillor Oralie added, her lovely eyes flashing with sympathy as they met Sophie’s. “But that’s only temporary.”
“How temporary?” Stina asked, sounding almost as miserable as Sophie felt.
“A matter of minutes,” Emery promised. “Brace yourselves.”
“For what?” Dex asked, but the Councillors were too busy bumping into each other as they struggled to reach their key-shaped cloak pins. Once their hands were in position, they each pressed their right index finger against the bit piece of the key, holding it there until a low rumble vibrated the floor.
“It’s best if you keep your eyes open for this next part,” Emery advised, drawing in a breath before he added, “Here we go.”
The Councillors pressed their keys once more, and the floor rumbled again—harder this time. And then…
… nothing.
Seconds ticked by—so many that Sophie became convinced they’d be stuck in there for all eternity, or until they ran out of air, whichever came first. And she was about to start clawing at the walls when the Paragon rattled hard enough to leave everyone wobbling.
Sophie had barely regained her balance when the room seemed to roll forward and bounce up at the same time, triggering gasps and yelps and a whole lot of squealing and flailing—but only from Sophie and her friends. The Councillors barely seemed to notice as the Paragon blasted up and up and up some more—faster, faster, faster. Her eyes watered and her ears popped