“Ready?” Sonah asked a second before she lowered her legs on the other side. She looked up at Lerek’s alarmed expression and pushed off from the wall.
Her heart rose to her throat as she fell. Seconds later, her feet landed. She fell to her knees and cried out, falling awkwardly onto her right side, her thigh smacking against the cold grass and bracken.
“Come on!” she called up to Lerek, even as her feet and knees ached and her thigh burned from the fall. She moved back when she heard Lerek’s movements above. With a loudoomph, he landed and rolled, knocking into her. She fell back onto her bottom, trying to stop her momentum with her hand stretched back. She cried out when her hand twisted and a razor sharp pain shot up her forearm.
“What the fuck, Lerek!” Sonah clutched her bruised wrist to her chest as she glared up at Lerek’s shadowy form. He bent close and helped her up, mumbling apologies.
“Now what?” he asked when they were both upright. Sonah looked around, blinking to adjust to the dark now that the torches on the other side of the wall no longer lit their way.
“We continue down this slope and it’ll lead us to the gate near the stables,” she answered as she turned to start down in that direction. Lerek followed close behind.
“We’re going to steal horses?”
Sonah’s face twisted and she exhaled in frustration. “No. That would almost certainly ruin our escape. We won’t be able to get horses until we’re out of Sparta.”
“How long will that take?”
Sonah muttered to herself about patience and the uselessness of spoiled princes.
“I don’t know, Lerek,” she said through gritted teeth. “I told you, I’m not good with stuff like that. Just follow, all right?”
A long time passed as they continued down the mountainside. They took it slower when the decline steepened, ducking low so if they slid, they wouldn’t go careening to their deaths.
When they finally stepped onto a cobbled stone path, Sonah breathed a sigh of relief. She looked back at the prince and flashed him a quick smile.
“See? Not so bad.”
“Aye,” he whispered, smiling back at her.
Shouts reached them a few minutes later and Sonah grabbed Lerek’s cloak and ducked behind bushes near the large stone steps leading back up to the castle. They crouched low, huddled together as a group of soldiers rushed past, torches held high. Sonah waited another minute to see if anyone else followed. Satisfied no one was near, Sonah darted out of cover, Lerek close behind.
As they neared the gates to the castle at the bottom of the mountain, Sonah turned right.
“We’re not going through the gates?”
“Go ahead if you want to get caught,” Sonah sneered. Without a backward glance, she continued, feeling along the stone until she found what she was looking for. The grate in the wall was old and worn but still intact. Turning, she motioned for Lerek to come closer.
“Can you pull this out?”
“With what?” he asked with a quizzical frown.
Sonah pulled a face. “With your hands.”
Lerek scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, can youtry?”
“Gods, Sonah! When we get out of here and are somewhere safe, you really need to fill me in on what happened to you since Metilai!”
“Agreed. Now get this open.”
Lerek shook his head, then grabbed hold of the bars and tugged, his feet sliding on the dewy grass. When the grate didn’t budge, he braced his feet against the stone and tried again.
“Here,” Sonah said as she reached for the sack around his shoulder. Rummaging around, she frowned until she caught something and grinned.
“Aha!” she held up a long iron bar with a hooked end at him in triumph.
“What’s that?”
