‘You just have to trust me,’ Rmí said. ‘I could’ve taken you to the Lord General. The crown heir arrived yesterday. I know you’re the prince Àlùfáà, I saw your tattoos as soon as you climbed the wall. I saved your life and now I’m asking you to save mine.’ He tossed a bag at them. ‘These are the keep’s guard uniforms. Wear them, and no one will recognize you.’
Alawani walked up to Rmí, his face close enough to the soldier’s that L’?r? thought he might head butt the man.
‘If you do anything to put her in danger,’ Alawani said, pointing to L’?r?, ‘I will kill you.’
L’?r? stared into the soldier’s eyes, looking for something to give her a reason to call his bluff or uncover whatever lies he was peddling.
‘I’m not lying to you,’ Rmí said as if reading her mind.
L’?r? leaned in closer to him, her full weight pressing against him and her knife at his throat.
His lips curved into a sly smile, ‘You don’t have to kiss me. I already said I’ll help you.’
At that she shoved him off. ‘I hope for your sake you’re not lying.’
As they moved up the stairs, they crashed into a horde of servants who were running down them, rushing to hide from the incoming storm in the dungeons while the three of them fought their way through to the ground level.
‘The crown heir and his group are on the roof, watchingfor you,’ Rmí said. ‘We should be able to sneak out if we stay under cover.’
The hallways and corridors were clear of soldiers with only the random servant occasionally passing by them without glancing in their direction. But the keep was a massive fortress and as confusing as a maze. They went through corridors that led into a myriad of rooms, and out into stairwells.
The last of these landed them in what looked like a ballroom with swinging chandeliers, broken windows through which the building storm was starting to howl, and the stench of food that had been left to rot after what looked like an incredibly raucous party. In the middle of the room, tables were pushed aside to create what looked like a makeshift fighting pen. The patches of dried blood sprayed across the floor showed a glimpse of the chaos.
‘Across here,’ said Rmí. He pointed to a set of double doors on the opposite side of the room. ‘Once we’re through those doors, we’re nearly out of the keep.’
An explosion blasted open the double doors and L’?r? shielded her face from a sudden light. When she recovered, she recognized a figure running towards her, hands and eyes aglow with agbára.Milúà.
‘Run!’ L’?r? shouted. She turned, heading back towards the stairwell.
Milúà’s energy blast exploded against the entry to the stairwell and knocked the trio back against the tables. L’?r? staggered towards the stairs again but another blast from Milúà hit the ceiling, raining sand and glass on them and blocking the stairwell.
Now, the only exit was the door Milúà had come in through. L’?r?, Alawani and Rmí ducked beneath the nearest table, crawling through puddles of spilled palm wine,rotten food and what L’?r? could only imagine was vomit. Clouds of dust from the collapsed ceiling temporarily hid them from the maiden.
‘How does she keep finding us?’ L’?r? whispered.
‘It doesn’t matter, we’re trapped,’ Alawani said. ‘We’re never going to make it past her to those doors.’
The storm outside bellowed and howled now, kicking against the ragged windows with everything it had picked up. A crash of hail broke through and the heavy winds sent Milúà flying against the side wall. This was their chance.
‘Let’s go!’ Rmí said, jumping onto the tables and racing for the windows. L’?r? followed, using all her strength to fight against the wind. She didn’t dare look back to see if Milúà had found her footing. One moment, Alawani was behind her, and the next, he’d slipped and went down quick, tumbling onto the floor.
‘Alawani!’ L’?r? turned to help him but Milúà was already at his side. Rmí grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the broken windows.
‘You can’t help him if you’re dead!’ he shouted over the wind.
L’?r? glanced back and saw that Milúà had knocked Alawani unconscious with her spear. The maiden stood defiantly staring them down with a sly smile on her face. As L’?r? moved back towards them, Milúà stretched forth her hands, and the sand rushing in swirled around her. Using her agbára, Milúà ignited the sand, turning it molten hot, and shoved a wall of glass shards at L’?r?. Rmí pulled L’?r? by her collar and they jumped out the window just as the glass wall shattered behind them. They escaped the worst of it, but they both had to pluck out burning shards from their hands and legs. Outside, the wind was like a wild animal flinging itself against her body and the sand grated painfully against herskin. Rmí pulled her around the side of the building and they hid behind a huge stone statue, providing barely enough shelter to talk.
‘Curse the sun! They weren’t supposed to be here. The keep was meant to be empty. We have to go back for him,’ L’?r? said to Rmí. ‘Do you know if they have any guards with them? How many?’
Rmí looked in the direction of the last wall and shook his head. ‘We’re so close. We need to get out.’
‘Not without Alawani,’ L’?r? said, frowning.
‘No one is worth dying for,’ Rmí replied.
‘You said you’d help us.’
‘And I did!’
