"My feet hurt! I am so tired!" Jade wasn't sure how long they had walked or how she managed to make it in her dragon shoes while walking up the rocky hill, but once at the entrance of the castle, she froze upon seeing the six vehicles parked outside, and Zeth's chauffer getting out of Frank's car... Wait.
There weren't six cars here, there were seven.
And that extra car, the blue Camaro... Whose car was that?
"Why the hell did you make me walk all the way here when the cars are here?!" Jade yelled and all the boys' shoulders went up and down.
"Zeth thought you might like to walk through the beautiful Forest of Catalos on your way here." Frank said, "Zeth wanted to make this..."
"Romantic?"
"No Jade, it wasn't romantic,," Finn said, "I think you think..."
"It was definitely not romantic! I'm sleepy and my feet hurt!" Jade yelled as she took off Everett's vest and handed it back to him. "Whatever! We're going into your home now or what?"
"This girl is very dramatic," Everett said.
"I didn't find the point in any of this either," Draco whispered. "I guess the author just wanted a little mystery or something."
"You ruined everything, you morons! She was supposed to pay attention for when she works here!" Zeth sighed and opened a gigantic wooden door for Jade. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
A wide open courtyard surrounded by tall columns welcomed her. This space was three times larger than the university's huge parking lot! It must have taken forever to build such a thing!
"Follow me," Zeth said, taking the lead. Jade quickly caught up with him. "Try not to gather the attention."
Jade walked among pillars that supported no ceiling, on concrete and dust.
"Draco and I came here over a hundred years ago, and we've done everything to modernize it," Zeth said. The wind blew hard, and a wolf howled in the distance, "It took a lot of work, money, blood, effort and poison to achieve this."
"You really live here? Oh! Wow!" She looked up when they reached some huge doors that Zeth opened with a slight push, and a warm light fell from the main hall.
Jade was shocked.
But then... That sound again. A metal cord. Jade looked up and swore she saw, if just for a second, a female silhouette flying through the air from the curtain wall towards a very, very tall tower.
There were already too many coincidences. Was someone following her because she was too special? Was Jade the protagonist of a supernatural romance book that was super important to the plot and the fate of the world?
"Jade? Alex said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"W-What?"
"After you," Zeth said, extending his arm.
As soon as the doors closed behind them with a bang, and they stepped into the Main Hall, Jade's heart sank.
It was a huge place with lots of stairs, a red carpet and classical music playing in the background. There was a lot of gold here, long windows, and a huge glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The place was full of people.
Everyone was as inhumanly gorgeous as the guys she already knew.
All of them had bright hair colours and wore clothes Jade couldn't believe she was seeing. Capes and a Victorian clothes but very much in the faux leather and Goth boots style. This was heaven!
Her eyes wandered from man to woman, trying desperately to take in everything.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"This is Lyonfort," Zeth replied, "A castle, a legend, a safe place to hide and, of course, our home."
"Hey! Miss Kardashark is here!" A voice said.
Jade immediately recognised it.
"Zedrick?!" She looked at him, wearing a green leather jacket, looking at her with a mocking smile.
"You know him, I see," Zeth laughed a little.
"This place is sooooo super dazzling, huh?" Zedrick laughed. "Nice to see you guys. I'll see you next week at Monopoly night."
All the boys waved goodbye.
"You can't say anything about Zedrick or his mum living here or knowing us," Zeth told Jade, "Especially to his girlfriend, Brooke."
"Not that I like talking about him," Jade rolled her eyes, "Is there any way I can't run into anyone else from school here?"
"There is way to Donjon that doesn't involve walking among lots of inhabitants," Everett said. She nodded and followed him and the guys without asking questions.
Everett opened a door to the left and they passed through another room filled with all sorts of things: bookshelves and tables, chairs and vases full of flowers, paintings hanging high on the walls.
Zeth stopped when they reached the end and opened another door.
The long staircase that would take them to their home was there.
Jade glanced over. She couldn't see the end of the stairs from here.
"You don't mind this, right? Or do you... Want me to carry you?" Alex asked, and she shook her head.
"I can carry her too," Everett puffed out his chest.
"This sounds like King Zehtt Greak's wives to me, Zeth," Finn whispered in a faint sarcastic melody.
"Shut it!" Zeth ordered. "Frank, Seamons, Draco... If these two fight, stand between them."
Jade didn't say anything as they made their way up the stairs.
The whole thing was strangely comforting.
No small talk meant saving her breath, and that was good.
It took about two minutes to reach the end of the stairs.
"I am nervous," Jade whispered as they walked through a dark hallway with wide arches that overlooked a fountain below.
"Don't be." Everett told her.
"So, where will I sleep, guys?"
"You can stay in my room," Everett whispered.
Jade nodded.
"I promise not to make a mess."
"She'll stay in my room," Zeth said, opening another door, "It's already decided and everyone shuts the fuck up."
They walked down another long corridor, and on the walls hung swords and shields.
"This place is huge," Jade said.
"It is not. It's quite small in fact. House Betancourt's castle was much larger," Zeth said, "The second largest of Evalon after the Titan. It is said that it took Countess Alycandra 'The Immortal' Betancourt half an hour to get from the library of The Full Moon to her bedchamber."
"Don't you guys ever get lost here?" Jade asked and yawned.
"We can always find our way home. This way," Zeth said, turning right, entering another long, dark hallway.
"Why is this place so big?" Jade asked as Zeth opened another wooden door.
"Well, humans usually live in buildings with lots of apartments for each family. Essentially, this place is the exact same thing," Frank explained, extending his bionic hand.
At the end of this dark hallway, Zeth opened a door to the left.
"After you, Jade," he said.
An infinitely long staircase appeared before them, and she started to walk up into an equally infinite darkness.
She feared the unknown.
The uncertainty.
But ignorance was scarier.
She was tempted to ask Zeth if there was any other way up, like an elevator, but she knew old castles didn't have elevators so she didn't ask.
"What are we going to do with Anton and his dogs?" Alex asked, "The guy looks pretty sure he's going to beat us in popularity."
"It seems to me that Anton is an airhead, his mother's puppet," Zeth said, "Just like King Anuber was to Queen Basterina 'the Puppeteer' Rahman."
"I will never understand why King Ozyrez 'The Arrowhead' Rahman chose Prince Anuber as his heir knowing that Commander Heruz was a better candidate," Draco said, "Perhaps the Clash of the Rahmans would never have happened if... Oh! He chose Anuber because he was a puppet and Heruz was not! So far I understand it!"
"Let's be honest." Zeth rolled his eyes. "Heruz 'The Giant' would not have listened to his mother and the Clash of the Rahmans, although it would not have been avoided, perhaps would have been solved with a Death Match."
"I like solving problems with Death Match," Everett said, "I always win."
"That's clear to us... Big guy," Frank said, already out of breath from walking up this long staircase, "Although I'm also afraid... To ask how many... You have won so... Please don't tell me... God! I need to smoke less!"
"It doesn't matter. I've lost count at this point," Everett replied.
"Guys, I don't want to interrupt," Jade raised her hand, "But I need to sleep. Will it take long to arrive?"
"No. Okay, listen. If you want to stay here, there are rules you must follow," Zeth said, walking up faster than the other guys.
"What kind of rules?" Jade asked. She was already dizzy from walking up so many stone steps.
"First... You can't tell anyone about this place," Alex chuckled. "Which is obvious!"
"Why would I?" Jade whispered.
At the top of the stairway, Zeth stood in front of a giant set of double doors.
"Are we there yet?" Jade asked.
All men laughed.
"Oh... Sure!" Zeth giggled and opened the doors. This place was a square, with many doors in each wall, and in the center there was another infinite, dark staircase. "Welcome to the Heart of Lyonfort. Up we go."
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she yelled, her voice echoing, "I'm dying of sleep, and you guys brought me here to do cardio?!"
Up the endless stairs they went.
"Second rule..." Zeth began talking again, smelling like roses while Jade struggled to breathe, like an asthmatic dragon.
"Hold up." Jade took out her phone, "I will tell Erich... Hey!" Draco grabbed it and threw it far, far away. The sound of it breaking infuriated Jade. She took a deep breath and counted to ten.
"Second rule. No social media, no cell phones," Zeth said, "Not until I get you one that cannot be tracked. Don't worry, we'll tell your dad you're here. We have his number."
"Fine!" she grunted, her hair now looking like a bird's nest, "Can I go to sleep now?! And what about you? Do any of you even sleep?!"
"Sleep?" Zeth made a trumpeting sound with his mouth, "What's that? I haven't slept since my heart was ripped out of my body!"
"I alternate which half of my brain is sleeping periodically so that I can get the rest I need without ever losing consciousness," Finn explained.
"I only sleep after I turn into a wolf. I have permanent Monster Insomnia and I don't know why." Alex explained.
"I do sleep, but I have a backup battery under my back plates in case I need energy," Frank said, "But please don't ask how it works."
"I've not slept in thousands of years," Draco said with piercing eyes and trembling hands, his dark circles more obvious under the light of the torches on the walls, "I don't need any beauty sleep to stay as cool as a daisy. I'm like a beautiful dream of spring." Then he closed his eyes, cutely patting his cheeks.
"We Yeti only sleep once a month," Everett said, "Our hearts are slow, our age is mirage... Time is mirage... Life is mirage. We all die in the end."
The five boys and Jade fell silent, watching Everett with his gaze lost in infinity.
"That explains a lot," Jade whispered..
They all reached the top of the stairs after a minute minutes.
"Here we are," Finn said. There was a wooden door, heavy and with a metallic handle right in front of them. "We all live here, in this small apartment in this huge central tower."
"Donjon," Zeth corrected. "This central tower is called a Donjon."
"Whatever it is! I want to sleep!" Jade threw her hands in the air, "Do you guys go all that way to get here every time you come home?!"
The sound of a 'Ding!' made Jade turn to look at...
It had to be a fucking joke!
An elevator was opening to her right, and from it came two people with colourful hair, chatting in bathing suits and towels as if this were a five-star hotel.
"I hate all of you," Jade lowered her eyebrows.
"Welcome to our apartment," Alex said.
Zeth grunted.
"Alfaro, I've told you a thousand times that this is not an apartment! It's a Solar!"
"Zeth, stop being so dramatic," Alex rolled his eyes.
When the door opened, Jade's jaw dropped.
Did they live here?
It was a huge place, an apartment like no other, as big as most of the houses in her neighbourhood.
There was a big living room on the right side and a very elegant dining room. To the left, a kitchen that looked like it should be in movies. It smelled really good.
It was all fancy, with black couches and furniture, white walls, and white lamps, very modern and minimalist.
The floor was made of marble, and the whole place was warm and inviting.
"Make yourself at home," Frank told her, motioning to a black leather couch, "Zeth always asks Mrs. Wilkes to light incense when we're not around and she leaves when the stick has burned."
"That explains the sweet smell. It's very nice in here," Jade said, standing in the centre of the place, then yawned.
"Follow me," Zeth ordered and walked down a long hallway in the back.
Jade looked around nervously.
They passed many doors.
The first one was made of metal, with lots of wires running through it and tiny lights glowing in a green, electric tone.
The next door was made of a red cushiony material, very soft and squishy, with a black handle.
The next door was covered with some sort of purple fur, with a golden handle and a half moon painted on it.
The next door was made of glass, thick and full of bubbly water, and there were tiny fish swimming in it.
Zeth stopped in front of an enormous golden door, bigger than the others, and Jade instantly knew it was made of actual gold. There were several beetle-shaped sapphires encrusted on its surface.
"This is obviously your room," she said and glanced quickly at the last door. It was made of a translucent material, certainly ice, surrounded by mist, like dry ice.
"Yes, obviously my room," Zeth turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Jade gasped.
The place was huge, bigger than any bedroom she had ever seen before, all made of gold, with a small fountain that became a river running down the side of his big and elegant bed, its water blue like sapphires. There were four big windows looking out over the castle's garden, full of roses.
"You will stay here," he said, crossing his arms. "This room, like all the others, was made with black magic by the Shub-Witch Baphelise Nygurath, so if you see any dark entity that looks like a demonic version of Michael Jackson watching you sleep, just tell it to go away."
"Ooookay. Why the hell would a demonic entity look like Michael Jackson?"
"Baphelise is a big fan of the King of Pop." Zeth replied.
"Wait. You said you didn't need to sleep," Jade said, stepping inside, "What is the bed for?"
"A bed has many uses," he inspected his nails, standing under the doorframe, "Do you want details?"
"Ignorance is bliss," Jade turned quickly, flipping her hair.
"The bed is the only thing in this room you can touch, understood? All this gold is not for wearing or selling. It is all amulets that work with my life force," Zeth said and closed the door. The room lit up by itself with some torches on the walls. Well, that was fancy. "If you touch anything, trust me, I'll know. I've got traps everywhere. Only my chief bodyguard, Egor and I know how to deactivate them."
"You are so paranoid... Wow! This is incredible!" Jade had never seen so much gold in her entire life. Everything here was beautiful. There were paintings on the walls, some old-fashioned looking things like golden collars, bracelets, and crowns, statues that were surely made of thick gold, a huge solid gold sarcophagus in a corner, and a statuette of a cat in an elegant sitting position in the centre of the room just for dramatic effect.
"That's Sphinx, my cat," said Zeth, "Her ashes are inside. She will always be here with me, I like to believe."
"She was very cute."
Everything was impressive.
But there was something that didn't fit here.
On one of the many dressers, there was a pair of earrings. But unlike everything else in this room, those were not gold, but rather silver, set with heart-shaped sapphires and diamonds, looking expensive, very Swarovski. Had a woman been here before?
"Why is that here?"
"Oh! Shit," Zeth ran over and grabbed the earrings, putting them in a drawer, "They're not mine."
"Obviously," Jade said. Then she saw a small glass box on the same nightstand with rings of many colours inside. "What is this?"
"Oh! Those are the Paragon Rings, but don't touch them." Zeth said, "Each one is the materialization of a singularity."
"Singularity?"
"A singularity is a force without which the universe could not exist," Zeth explained, now beside her, "For example, the green ring is life, the scarlet one is chaos, the purple one is attraction, the turquoise one is evolution, the golden one is wisdom, the black one is probability, the white one is..."
"And what are they for?" Jade interrupted.
"Did I interrupt the beginning of your sentence with the middle of mine?!" Zeth took a long, calming breath. "As I was saying! Each one has a special power, but it can only be accessed if the bearer is also the embodiment of a singularity. If the ring accepts you, you will be blessed with eternal life and powerful magic, but if the ring rejects you, you will be cursed and damned for all eternity suffering unimaginable..."
"So it's not likely that I'll put one on and get powers. Got it. I'm not interested anymore," Jade rolled her eyes, turning away from the dresser.
"Hey, Jade." Zeth said, opening a closet.
"What?" She asked.
"I bought you this, to help you fit in more with this new life you will have here," he told her, placing a few shopping bags on the bed.
"You... Bought that?"
"I have some friends who have great taste, like me of course, but I was too busy so... I bought them, but not personally."
"Friends?"
"Fashion designers," he told her.
"Well, thanks," she nodded, "Um... Zeth."
"Yes?" Zeth was about to leave but stopped at the door.
"I'd like to take a shower before I sleep," Jade yawned and scratched her butt.
"I have my own bathroom. It's in the back. Just make sure you don't get your hair all over the place. There's a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and everything you need in there," Zeth said, "I always have new stuff in there just in case..."
"In case you bring a girl here, of course. Well then... Thanks," she said, "I won't leave a trace of my presence if it bothers you so much," she took the bags in her hands and walked to the golden door at the end, opening it.
Oh, God.
If this was a bathroom, she was a potato!
It was... Huge!
There was no way a normal person would be able to walk around this entire space without stepping on some kind of expensive item.
There even was a Jacuzzi in one corner of the room.
The entire bathroom was made of gold and diamonds. Even the floors were golden and shiny.
So Kardashark.
And the shower? It was so luxurious she almost felt guilty just looking at it! An entire football team could shower here and there would still be room for the cheerleading team!
"Hey Jade! There is no WC in there!" Zeth shouted from outside, banging on the door. Well, she hadn't noticed that, "I don't know if you know but, I don't have most of my internal organs so I don't need it."
"Zeth."
"What?"
"Go away!"
Once Jade was under the warm water of the shower, she ran some expensive-looking shampoo through her hair. It was a woman's shampoo, a royal blue bottle that smelled delicious. Even the water in this shower was crystal clear like no other.
It was a very good shower for just one guy...
Oh wow! What was that thought?
Was Jade imagining Zeth taking a shower here?
She was under the shower where Zeth always stood naked, and that was so amazing and exciting!
Did he ever make love here? Because she could picture him doing that... To her!
"Oh yes, Zeth. It's so interesting to imagine you like this," Jade pictured Zeth tracing her skin with his fingers while his mouth devoured her neck. She imagined her nails tracing his abs and pecs. She imagined how he would moan and how much she would enjoy him sinking himself into...
Ooohhh!
"Oh yes Zeth!" she moaned involuntarily, "Oh Zeth! You're so sexy I'd put chocolate all over you and..."
"I'm still here and I'm listening!" Zeth knocked on the door again.
"Damn it! Zeth! Don't you know what privacy is?!" she yelled.
"The bathroom is so big that your voice echoes!" Zeth shouted.
Whatever!
Jade stepped out of the shower, wrapping a sand-coloured towel around her, trying to keep it from falling.
Then she started rummaging through the bags of clothes he had bought for her.
There were so many things in there, from jewels to faux leather jackets and a pair of black ripped jeans, from tuxedos to gowns, from dresses to pumps, stilettos, and heel boots.
All of them were exclusive designer clothes, according to the labels.
But the fanciest thing she found was a black dress that looked like something out of a magazine, with tiny diamonds adorning the fabric, and she was sure they were real.
Soooo Kardashark.
She couldn't believe he had paid for all these things, but at the same time, it seemed like money didn't mean anything to him.
Of all the expensive underwear that was as transparent as his arrogance, she chose the least revealing.
She decided the black pyjama pants and shirt looked nice, and the golden nightgown looked good.
Jade quickly put them on and went to find Zeth with the bags of clothes he had bought for her in her hand.
Zeth was sprawled on his bed, reading something on his tablet, and he was shirtless, with only his black boxer briefs covering his body.
The first thing she noticed was that he was more muscular than she remembered or expected, and he had some rock-hard abs. Oooohhh. That chest. Those arms. God!
The next thing she noticed was the bulge under his boxer briefs.
She gulped.
"You can stop biting your lip and ogling," he said, still looking at the tablet, "And I know what you're wondering... My lucky number is nine."
"Gross! I wasn't thinking about that!" She made a disgusted face and saw him raise an eyebrow and chuckle.
"If you say so, but your eyes were between my legs and you can't deny it," Zeth said, standing up, stretching. His back muscles looked so irresistible! "What took so long? You're such a diva!" He glanced at her over his shoulder, smirking as his sapphire blue eyes travelled across her, checking her out. "Yeah, that looks better on you. You have to admit I have good taste. Now. I'm going to brush my teeth, take another shower and I'll ask my chauffer to take you to school in the morning."
"I won't go to school," Jade replied. "It's four in the morning, and classes start at nine. I won't sleep at all!"
"I have an ancient amulet, the Solar Bracelet, it has orange diamonds in the shape of a sun actually. It can give you energy. Where did I put it?" Zeth said, looking around. "If you're sleepy in the morning, I'll give it to you, and you'll have enough energy. But when you take it off, you'll fall asleep instantly."
"I'd rather not go to school," she yawned. "Now step aside, I want to sleep."
When Zeth entered the bathroom, Jade propped herself up on the bed. It was too comfortable and soft, like sinking in quicksand. Not to mention, the pillow smelled like vanilla with just a hint of smoke.
By the time Zeth came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, Jade was already asleep with a trickle of drool coming out of her mouth.
He quickly went to his huge, deep and golden closet, got dressed, and came out with a smile on his face.
"Hit by a truck." Zeth said, taking the earrings out of the drawer. "There's much to talk about."