Chapter 219: In Search of the Guardian
Annalise stood outside the big wooden doors of the room inside which the supposed guardian of the Cursed Castle was supposed to be living. Only stars knew how long it took her to drag herself to the top floor of the castle and in front of this very particular door, especially when the only other door located on the same floor just a couple of meters away filled her with an uncontrollable dread.
The latter that she received early in the morning contained a message from the King and her parents who had agreed to meet with her after three days at the Royal Palace. Since she had a lot of time left in her hands while so many questions were running rampant through her brain, she decided to distract herself while doing something useful and that’s how she came up with the idea of taking a chance to meet the Guardian.
Of course, she had to convince her husbands to just live her alone and trust her with whatever she had planned, and while none of the three dark lords looked too impressed despite the fact that they promised to give her the space she needed, they still eventually agreed and gave her three hours.
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to calm down her harshly thumping heart that was about to pop out of her chest. She couldn’t tell if she was feeling scared, excited, or anxious, or if it was a mixture of all these feelings.
Her ocean-blue eyes scanned the door which was covered in ancient runes, ones that were hidden from prying eyes but still visible to her due to some unknown reason. There was a ward working on the door just like the one that was present on the second door and in the basement, clearly placed by the same person.
So far, she had been able to pass through all the wards present in the cursed castle, now it was time to see if she could pass through another one without getting hurt. Slowly, she raised one of her hands and reached out toward the door, her fingers slightly trembled as her breath got caught in her throat for the next couple of seconds.
Annalise wasn’t sure if she was actually surprised, or just relieved when her fingers safely came in contact with the door and she felt the energy of the ward shimmering beneath her skin, giving way to her immediately through it without any difficulty.
Taking another deep breath, she placed her second hand against the door and gave it a push. The locking spells working on the door didn’t stop her and the door flew open, allowing her entrance into another secret of the castle.
Despite the door being wide open, Annalise was once again unable to see anything on the other side as a weird brightness was keeping her from looking inside.