"Stupid pig," I shouted back.
"She's locked herself in the inner eastern watch tower and jammed the lock!" Blue Eyes' voice sounded farther away. Other voices responded, but I couldn't make out the words.
Let them stew. I needed tomove. Another ragged burst of pain shot up my leg as I tried to put my weight on it.
This was getting worse faster than I’d expected.
The rack on the other side of the room held gloves, scarves, and other similar items. Nothing I could use to block the door, but I could bind my leg enough to stop the blood trail.
I yanked a scarf from the rack and wrapped it tight around my calf. The wool scratched my skin, but the pressure dulled the pulsing sting a little. The wound wasn't too deep, but fleeing was still going to hurt like hell. I tied off the scarf, then straightened.
The tower door shook with another blow and an angry yell. The arrows I’d jammed into the seam shook as well but held for now. Dust sifted from the stones, and the lock rattled. Metal scraped like someone was testing keys, then forcing it. I jammed the arrow deeper, taking a little pleasure at the annoyed grunt.
“Wretched hellion!” Blue Eyes growled.
“Thanks for the compliment!” I rubbed my lower leg, braced myself, and then ran to the other side. No one was beating on this door, and the only footsteps I heard were the ones coming from above.
Safe or not, I had to go. I found the right key, opened the door, and peeked outside. The cold was so sharp it felt like a bite.
Snow whipped into my face, stinging my cheeks. I slipped through and pulled the door shut behind me, hands shaking. The outer wall path ran straight for another couple hundred feet before it reached another junction and split again. The warm glow of the town was just beyond that.
I locked the door behind me and started moving, faster now. No point pretending I was invisible when half the castle knew I existed. My sneakers squeaked on the snow, and each step sent a sharp jab of pain through my wounded leg. I kept my pace just short of a full sprint—fast enough to eat distance, controlled enough not to wipe out.
Shouts carried from behind me, muffled at first.
Armor clanged. Boots hammered.
Biting down hard enough to make my jaw ache, I ran.
The horn blasted again, echoing in my head with more shouts following. I was almost to the junction. Beyond it, I saw what looked like a medieval city sprawling before me, lamp posts burning with large braziers fastened to the tops of metal poles beneath small triangular caps and small fires flickering at regular intervals. People were running with torches too.
I rounded the corner and kept going in the direction of the light and the outer wall with its jagged pattern like broken teeth. Just as I skidded up to the wall’s edge, the door to the tower I’d left behind slammed open. I looked back in time to see Blue Eyes and two others.
Shit. My heart skipped a beat.
I set aside the dagger, threw the rope coil off my shoulder, and looped the end around the stone post. The gloves made my hands clumsy, and the wind tugged at the rope, trying to rip it out of my hands.
“Come on.” I cinched the knot, then tested it with one hard pull.
It held.
For now.
I peered through the jagged pattern of stone blocks and gaps, my heart pounding against my ribs. Down below, the city was in a panic. People ran in knots, some looking back and forth as if terrified while others peered into the sky. The wall overlooked a dark alley between the castle and a stretch of thatch-roofed buildings. It was at least forty feet from here to the ground.
My stomach somersaulted, and my body tensed as I tested the knot one more time. Heights didn’t usually bother me, but the thought of free climbing down a straight drop with angry guards and a bad leg scared me.
“Stop!” one of the guards yelled.
“She’s going over the wall!”
Yes, I was. Because risking becoming a splat on the stone below was better than being a prisoner. Head spinning and leg throbbing, I climbed up between one of the gaps, tightened my grip on the rope, and started down.
The rope jerked.
My stomach dropped with it.
I stopped dead, heart hammering. From here, I could still grab the edge of the stone wall if I had to. Had the knot shifted, or had the natural pressure tightened it? It scraped stone, a gritty, ominous sound, but it was holding.
