She awoke with a start. She had fallen asleep slumped against the wall by the door, her makeshift club still clutched in her fist.
She blinked her eyes open, wondering what had woken her, then jumped to her feet. What was that sound? Was Lorna coming down here? Was it all about to start?
After a moment the sound came again, growing steadily louder. Footsteps. Lots of footsteps, but not outside her cell. Above her in the great hall.
It must be morning. And the sound of so many people tramping into the great hall could only indicate one thing: the war council was about to start.
Caitlin went cold. That would mean—
“Hey!” she yelled, climbing back onto the box in the corner and smacking the chair leg against the ceiling. “Hey! I’m down here! Help!”
But they couldn’t hear her. Caitlin let out a groan of frustration and slumped back onto the ground. There was nothing for it: she would have to wait for Lorna and the others to come down and try to fight her way out.
Positioning herself by the door and grasping her club, Caitlin waited for what felt like forever, straining to listen to what was going on above her. She could hear the drone of many voices, some raised in anger, others laughing, but without pressing her ear against the ceiling, she couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Was Kai up there? Had he thought about her at all? Or was what Lorna told her true and he’d been lying to her this whole time?
He comes to my bed every night.No. She did not believe it. Lorna was lying. She gritted her teeth and waited, forcing herself to focus.
Finally, after what felt like hours, she heard the distinct sound of footsteps echoing down the hall towards her cell.
Caitlin braced herself. This was it.
As the footsteps grew nearer, Caitlin realized there was not one set of footsteps, but three. Tobias and Alice had come too.
“Are ye sure this will work?” Alice asked nervously. “We dinna want anything to go wrong.”
“It’ll work,” Lorna said firmly. “Besides, it isnae like we have a choice; this is our only shot at getting what we want.”
The footsteps came closer and Tobias’s voice said, “Alice, ye will guard the prisoner while Lorna gets the fuses ready. I will stand watch at the steps to make sure nobody comes down here. When all is ready, we will meet at the rendezvous.”
“And ye are sure this willnae bring down the whole keep?” Alice asked.
“Leif is an expert,” Tobias answered. “He’s set just the right amount of powder in just the right place that it will destroy the hall but not the rest of the keep.”
Caitlin’s heart skipped. Suddenly her plan didn’t seem so feasible. She was not a warrior and the thought of confronting these three with nothing more than a chair leg filled her with terror. Even if she managed to overpower Lorna, there was still Alice. Even if, by some miracle she managed to overpower both of them, Tobias would be waiting down the hall. How would she get past all three of them?
She couldn’t. She would be killed. There would be fire and smoke and—
She curled her hands into fists, dug her nails into her palms. She would not give in to terror.
Courage isnae about not being afraid. It’s about being afraid and doing what ye need to do anyway.
And there was still one thing she could do. It would likely mean her own doom but she could still save Kai and the others.
As quick as she could, she tossed away the club, tied the gag around her mouth and replaced the ropes around her wrists and ankles to make it look like she was still tied up. Finally, she positioned herself in the middle of the floor, trying to look like she hadn’t moved an inch since her captors had left.
It wasn’t hard to look terrified. Her pulse was racing so hard she felt dizzy and she could feel sweat trickling down her forehead as she heard the bolt being pulled back. The door opened and Lorna and Alice stepped into the room, glancing at her briefly.
“Let’s get this done quickly,” Lorna said curtly.
Alice marched over to Caitlin, pulling out a small knife. “Keep quiet and dinna give me any trouble,” she growled.
Whilst Tobias kept watch outside, Lorna knelt by a small box near the wall. Caitlin kept her eyes on the ground, not wanting them to notice any change in her expression as she realized what the box contained: fuses, and strikers—all the materials necessary to blow up the great hall.
Alice gave Caitlin a hard look before stepping back to watch as Lorna began to lay the fuses efficiently, as if she’d done this before. Alice seemed captivated by Lorna’s movements and didn’t pay Caitlin any attention.
Lorna finished what she was doing and announced it was time to leave. She paused and looked at Caitlin, her eyes flashing. In response, Caitlin began shouting against her gag and struggling to make it look like she was trying to get free.
