“I’m sure you’re lovely when you’re not throwing people into dungeons.” I tied their bound hands to one another and then to the legs of the bench with the tails of the blue scarves.That should keep them for a while and keep them from banging and making too much noise. Then I backed toward the door, keeping them in sight. My boot nudged the keyring. I scooped it up, the metal heavy and cold in my palm. Then I grabbed the other weapons.
Lilac Eyes made a muffled, furious noise and jerked at his bindings. Thankfully, the knots held.
At least one thing had gone my way today. “Yeah, I know. You’re going to hunt me down. It’ll be terrible. I’ll regret my life choices. We can schedule that trauma later.” My stomach twisted. Bold as my words were, I had to figure out how to escape this place. That portal in the sky I’d fallen through had closed, but everyone had acted as if it was common knowledge that portals like that existed, so that had to mean there was another.
I slipped out into the corridor, every hair on my arms rising at the feel of open space behind me. Heart hammering, I carried the weapons to a safe distance, set them down, then returned and closed the cell door.
The iron clanged into place, the sound echoing down the hall and making my heart jolt.
Scar Jaw lunged as far as he could with bound wrists, which resulted in a useless, furious motion. Lilac Eyes leaned forward too, eyes burning holes through me.
I found the right key and jammed it into the lock. The mechanism turned with a heavy click.
Locked.
We’d officially traded places.
I swallowed, my throat tight. “Well, that’s about all for now. Don’t cause any trouble, okay?” I forced a smile.
They glared. I didn’t give myself time to think about it.
I shoved the keys into my pocket and sifted through the weapons. The crossbow was solid but too heavy to be a good choice to take on the run. Besides, I didn't trust myself to get off more than one shot without wasting time on figuring out how to reload. Daggers were straightforward enough. The short swords, while nice, needed belts and sheaths to be carried effectively.
I settled on one of the sturdier black metal daggers in place of the knife I’d swiped off King Grumpy Face. I cut off a strip ofcloth from the coat and wrapped it around the knife blade, then slid it into my pocket and palmed the dagger. The keys rattled in my pocket against the covered blade.
“Okay, Hannah,” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder at the cell. Both men glared death at me, twitching and wriggling against the bonds. “Time to not die.”
I turned toward the dark corridor that the guards had dragged me down. Farther down were the stairs to the courtyard. It had been surrounded by walls with guards on top. There was little chance of making a break for safety from there. And if memory served me from a couple of Dungeons and Dragons runs I’d attempted with an ex, castles typically had one courtyard with walls around the main building and then often additional walls outside of that. Best to assume I’d have to get through multiple walls. If I could get up higher, maybe to the next floor or two, I could scope out where I was. And if these chuckleheads got free, they'd probably assume I'd head straight for the courtyard and be trapped.
I retraced my steps to the junction where the corridor split, straining my ears for any sound of concern. The torches burned lower with thinner smoke than the ones near my cell, as if even fire itself was afraid to draw attention. I paused at the corner where Kai and Ashren had turned, pressed my shoulder to the icy stone, and listened.
Nothing.
The two men I’d locked in the cell might be the only ones on patrol. I might have asked them, but I couldn’t trust their answer.
I edged around the corner, scanning both directions. To the left lay a longer stretch of cells, the glow of torchlight fading into blue shadow at the far end. To the right was a short passage and then an enormous black iron door studded with silver spikes.
The torches flickered, but the flames didn’t bend in one direction over another to suggest a draft of fresh air. My heart hitched. The scent of blood and sweat filled my lungs.
Chains clinked down the path to the left, and I guessed there were prisoners down there beyond what I could see. I continued forward the way I’d come in, looking around cautiously. Up ahead, maybe another hundred feet, was the start of the staircase. As I scanned the space, I noticed a small, narrow corridor that cut into the wall to my right. I’d missed it when I’d been dragged here. It looked like it might lead inside the castle.
An iron-banded door with a lock stood at the end of the narrow corridor, just a couple of yards away. Maybe it led to the kitchens or another way out. Either way, it wasn’t a path they’d expect me to take.
My gut said it was the safest choice. The iron key with two flares on the blade and three grooves fit into the door’s lock. It turned easily, as if it had been opened many times. The hallway beyond was warmer, the stone floor cleaner. Cautiously, I made my way into the hall. Gazing down it, I could see that other hallways intersected it, but I didn’t hear anyone. On the left wall were cubbies filled with boots, gloves, rope, buckets, and so on. Thinking it might be useful, I grabbed a coil of rope and looped it up over my arm and shoulder like the world’s most uncomfortable purse. The buckets were also tempting, but I didn’t want to weigh myself down too much.
As I continued down the hall, bootsteps echoed faintly beyond me. I stopped and pressed myself flat against the wall. The steps were heavy. Unhurried. Two guards making rounds, if the footsteps were an indicator.
My chest squeezed.
I waited until the rhythm faded, counting breaths—four, ten, thirty—before peeling myself away and moving again.
They were probably going to check the cells holding prisoners. I had maybe minutes before they realized I was gone.
A stairwell loomed ahead like a gaping wound of stone. I hugged the inner wall and climbed carefully, wincing every time my shoes squeaked.
Still no one.
Any minute, I expected to hear shouts and alarms.
