“I wouldn’t put it past my ancestors. The record book is full of stories detailing their bravery. After the first few tales, I didn’t have the stomach to learn more about my barbaric forebears.”
“If we find this alley, we should be able to break into the dungeon with no one suspecting a thing. That’s as long as this dungeon is where they’re holding Gwenyth.”
Leo jumped to his feet.“Let’s investigate now. You know, my gut told me not to bring Gwenyth. I thought she’d be safe because I’d keep her with me. I didn’t want to leave her alone at my home.”
“Should havesoffer no benefit,” Jakab said. “We’d better shove all these plans back in a drawer. I’d hate to give anyone a heads-up.”
With the plans tidied away, Leo and Jakab left the library. They took a route to avoid his family, their guests, and most of the servants. Or at least the servants loyal to his parents. Leo led Jakab down a set of stairs reserved for the servants and into a secret passage the old cook had shown him before she died.
He remembered the day since he’d raced through the castle to escape his brothers and ended up lost. The cook had found him, crying as he meandered through the original castle corridors.
Luck was not their friend.
“Damn and blast,” Leo muttered. “What the hell is Telus doing here? He never lowers himself enough to visit the ancient rooms.If anyone requires something from this area, he sends a lower servant. This way.” Leo directed Jakab into a cupboard.
Leo wrapped his arms around his friend and squeezed inside. He drew the cupboard door shut just as Telus exited the room he’d stood inside. Through the tiny gap, Leo spotted his second oldest brother, Nemyr, The Scary, leave the room. With a murmur too quiet for Leo to hear, the pair parted and went in opposite directions.
As Telus reached the cupboard where they hid, he paused. Telus sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring.
Every muscle in Leo tensed.
Telus sniffed again, shook his head, and departed in rapid steps.
For long moments, Leo didn’t move. The last thing he wanted was for Nemyr or Telus to discover their presence. Telus had always struck him as sly and a dragon seeking to fill his coffers. As for Nemyr, his brother had killed a dragon servant because she’d refused to lie with him. Rumors had also reached Leo about the way Nemyr treated the human females if he trapped them alone.
Without warning, Jakab squeezed him. He made a kissing noise. “Leo, I didn’t know you cared. Have you told Gwenyth of your feelings for me?”
Leo checked the corridor outside the cupboard and scanned what he could see of the room almost opposite before he inched open the door. Jakab bumped him, as cramped as Leo.
“Quit messing around. Telus and Nemyr almost caught us.”
“Your brother?” Jakab asked. “The plot thickens and makes sense in a twisted way.”
“How so?” Leo opened the cupboard and stepped into the corridor. “I think they’ve gone, but we’d better take care.”
“You haven’t been around during the last year. From the few things I’ve overheard, Nemyr resents Russays, The Magnificent. Nemyr believes he should be the heir rather than your oldest brother.”
Leo shook his head. “The pair were close during childhood.”
“That might be true, but it’s when we reach adulthood that situations become more important. Things like status and race. We lose our innocence as we gain knowledge of the world.”
That was true. He’d learned with life experience. “The best thing I ever did was leave my family and Hissing Isle,” Leo said. “Gaining my independence from my family made me into the dragon I am today.”
“What’s with all the soul-searching?” Jakab’s grin held teasing.
“I met my mate.” Leo peered around the corner into another passage. A set of footprints showed in the dust. “It looks as if Telus walked this way. We’d better take care not to come face-to-face with him. The kitchen is up ahead. I don’t understand what Telus is doing down here.”
“A mystery for another day,” Jakab murmured. “Gwenyth is our priority.”
Leo led the way along the passage until he came to the kitchen door. Telus’s footsteps, or at least he assumed they belonged to the butler, kept going. He made a mental note to check with Cook what was along that way. He didn’t recall. Leo eased the door open.
Since the evening meal had ended, the kitchen was quieter. Cook was working on prep for the morning meal and was showing a junior maid the correct way to peel and prepare a jagger fruit. The honeyed scent of the pale yellow flesh filled the kitchen.
“Cook, could we have a word?” Leo asked.
The junior dragon squeaked and dropped her knife. She grabbed at it, sliced her finger, and yelped.
“So sorry.” Leo grasped the adolescent female by the shoulders, intending to check on the cut. The girl screamed, and two male kitchen hands came running.
