Chapter 10: Tied

"Wait." We were already halfway through the panoramic stairs. My legs were sore and I needed to rest for at least a minute or two. Caius continued ascending without looking back at me. I gently massaged my leg muscles but it noticed that something was missing. Only then I realized that I haven’t seen Namir since I entered the palace. “Where did it go?”

“Hey, hurry up.” Caius called.

“Have you seen my tiger? It was just with me when I entered the gate.” I asked while searching for the shadow of Namir at the foot of the staircase.

“It might have gone back to the woods to hunt. That’s better than chewing on humans here.” He continued to ascend. I glared at his back, not expecting that he would turn around — and he did. He caught my fierce eyes but I smiled at once.

“Were you trying to cast a spell on me?” He paused, his forehead was puckered.

I shook my head. “I was just staring at the stain on your cloak.” I lied. I was not expecting him to fall for that but he h