Souls Entwined

Chapter Six

Chapter Six
Elle's POV

Tucked out of the city, in the foothills of the mountains, the hotel sprung from the soil. It reminded me of the beanstalk from fairytales past. In part, it played the same role.

Kaden had told me the hotel was just outside the city limits. I'd imagined a quaint hotel in the suburbs, but instead, I stared up at the three-towered building, wondering just how much land it could claim as its own.

The towers were connected by concourses every three flights. They were like ribs spanning across the three structures. The building only had four ribs stretched across its towers, ending on the twelfth floor. After they ended, each tower took on a different height. The shortest was fifteen storeys, the next, eighteen, and finally, the last shot into the sky, swallowing both towers in its shadow as it climbed a staggering thirty-eight stories.

It was a stunning eyesore. A gleaming building misplaced in the natural wilderness of the mountainside.

The edges were too sharp against the lush background, and it was almost as though it had been superimposed in post-editing. It belonged in the city, not out here.

The inside was gorgeous, though. Modern, with a hint of traditionalism, it had long since become a resort for travellers around the globe. Renowned worldwide, its only acclaimed flaw was the distance from the country's beautiful beaches.

What the hotel lacked in beaches, it made up with prize-winning facilities. Boasting a large conference hall, the hotel was always a top pick of the Committee of Elders. However, it wasn't the only reason there was such hype surrounding the hotel. Other distinctive features chosen to dazzle hotel guests included the larger-than-life windows on each floor; suites that overlooked the valley as the sun painted a pastel sky each morning, which were always booked out a year in advance; and an industrial-sized gym which was every gym-junkies dream. Additionally, an infinity pool, accessible from the twelfth floor, cut into the mountainside, which allowed guests to do the unthinkable—swimming into the mountain or looking upon a garden landscape with a birds-eye view.

It was my absolute favourite part of the hotel, the luscious garden. In the sixteen hours spent stranded at the hotel, I had found myself hiding away for at least three of those, escaping the scrutiny of it all.

Those three hours had been well-spent as several locations, hidden little corners, concealed my whereabouts. The hideaways gave me the freedom I couldn't find in the confines of the hotel and gave me the space to lose myself, to forget why I needed to hide away in the first place.

I was grateful that I had found a place to hide away the night before because as I'd woken, I'd quickly realised that I wouldn't be welcomed downstairs. I was the only one in our three-room suite, Kaden's room was empty, and breakfast was on the table.

I'd quickly erased my hunger, and while the other dignitaries had spent their time poolside or on the 29th floor having breakfast with a 360-degree view, I retreated into the far reaches of the hotel. Burying myself in a book, I tried numbing the thoughts following me around. The brutal sting of rejection hung over my shoulder as I awaited Kaden's confirmation that I would not attend the conference.

Fallyn was the only one nearby, and even she walked a perimeter around me, nowhere nearby, monitoring my surroundings from all angles. I hadn't given her much of a job to do. Having found myself settling onto a bench, far removed from other guests, I gazed upon what I was sure to be the smallest pond of the estate.

Two ducks paddled in the artificial pond—though it was so well constructed that it looked almost natural. The edges were hidden with rocks and pebbles and had leaves of Creeping Jenny spilling over the rocks and into the water. At first glance, a plant that looked like lavender but was really purple pickerel flowers daintily overtook a third of the pond. A patch of waterlilies rolled over the pond like a carpet, leaving hardly enough room for the ducks to turn as they skimmed the surface. They bobbed beneath the water devouring the algae below. They bumped against each other each time they tried to go under, their wings flailing in aggravation.