Number two: Because of me, Duchess Hedri knew that Queen Ysabel might have a stake in this matter. My sister’s friendship with Donya was less well-known—if anything, they had a reputation for being political enemies. But because she’d been tipped off to possible foreign interference, Duchess Hedri had placed guards on every Bookmaker in the city. Not the gambling kind—the gifted who could create enchanted books that transmitted words to linked books around the world. As a result, Ysabel wouldn’t find out about the execution until it was too late.
Finally, number three: If Donya hadn’t been covering my retreat, she might have been able to escape out the window herself.
That last one alone made her arrest feel like it was entirely my fault. I’d decided to exorcise this guilt by saving Donya.
If only I could get out of the city, then I could find a Bookmaker and send a message to my sister. If anyone had the political power to rescue Donya, it would surely be Ysabel.
I didn’t have the skills to sneak past the heavy watch around the gate. Instead, I bribed a guard to let me onto the wall. I pretended to be one of the young women who slipped up here on a regular basis to visit their lovers. As I walked along the wall, no one challenged me. The guards must have an agreement to cover for each other’s love affairs. The top of the wall was much less heavily guarded because the only way out was a rather fatal fall.
Except for me, with my gift to bounce.
I reached an empty bit of wall near the corner tower with no guards in sight. I grabbed the wall with one hand to lift myself up, struggling to get my leg over. My wool skirt itched against my stockings. Down below, I could see snow, bushes, and tiny trees. The height made me feel faint. Steeling myself, I put one foot over the edge.
“Wait! Miss!” An elderly guard with a long white beard and mustache ran out of the tower.
I tried to leap over, but I wasn’t fast enough. The guard grabbed me and wrestled me down the wall. “Please, stop! No matter what you’re going through, suicide isn’t the answer. Come inside with me. I’ll make you a nice cup of tea and call a priest to talk to you.”
Suicide must be what it would look like to anyone who didn’t know about my ability. I saw no advantage to myself in admitting that I’d actually been trying to escape the lockdown—that would only get me sent to jail instead of getting sent to the priests.
Instead, I kicked, elbowed, and bit the guard’s hand. His winter glove prevented me from doing any damage. He continued to smile. “I’m Sergeant Laurent. What’s your name?”
I grunted around the taste of leather.
A young, extremely muscular guard ran down the wall toward us and shouted, “Whoever dumped you, he’s not worth dying for! You’re a lovely and attractive woman. I don’t even have a girlfriend. Please date me instead!”
What in the name of the Sun God was he talking about? Oh, right, this was the guard I’d bribed earlier to get access to the wall. I’d told him that I was meeting a lover.
“That’s not tactful,” Sergeant Laurent said. “This poor young lady has just suffered heartbreak, and you’re already hitting on her?”
“Excuse me?” The young man scowled. “It was a compliment.”
“You’re making her hardship all about yourself. Can’t you help someone without wanting something in return?”
“Why are you always criticizing everything I do? You act like you’re my father!”
Sergeant Laurent frowned. “I’m imparting the wisdom of my experience to you.”
“I never asked for your wisdom, you self-righteous old coot!”
I took advantage of their argument to headbutt Sergeant Laurent and break free. I lunged for the wall.
The younger guard tackled my legs. “Stop! You should definitely consider dating me as an alternative to suicide.”
Sergeant Laurent grabbed my arms. “Lovers come and go, take it from someone who’s lived much longer than you. Ignore this young fool. Enjoy being single for a while and find yourself.”
I was thoroughly pinned. I didn’t have a chance unless I could make at least one of them let go. Inspiration struck. I batted my eyelashes at the sergeant. “Actually, I prefer older men like you.”
“Huh?” Surprise made him loosen his grip.
“You criticized me when you flirted with her, too?” the young guard shrilled, pointing accusingly, which also required him to let go.
Freed, I ran past them, straight for the wall. Desperation gave me new strength. Ignoring the shouts behind me, I grabbed the top of the wall and yanked myself up.
No matter how many times I flung myself from a great height, I could never quite make myself believe I’d land safely. Survival instinct did its best to take over my body and freeze my legs. The very first time it had happened, I’d leapt to grab my little brother Benoni after some bullies shoved him out a window. I’d been trying to yank him back, not fall myself. When I’d wrapped my body around him, it had been a desperate attempt to cushion him. Instead of splattering on the ground, we’d bounced all the way to the town hall. I hadn’t entirely believed what had happened, and it had taken me months to work up the nerveto try again, even with a pile of pillows below. Twenty times, I’d stared at the drop, then turned and left, before I finally psyched myself up.
On this occasion, I didn’t have the time to chicken out. I flipped myself clean over the wall. Wind and small flakes of snow pelted my cheeks as I plummeted face first. The ground came rushing up very fast. That didn’t stop my mind from going into overdrive.
What if my gift only let me fall safely from smallish heights, and I was about to be squashed against the ground below? Why did I only think of that after jumping? Wouldn’t it be ironic if I died falling from the walls my own sister had built and bragged so much about in her letters?
