“Hey, Tag. What are you still doing here?”Was her voice calm, or did she sound like someone gearing up to tell a lie?She was terrible at lying and ended up saying something ridiculous if put on the spot.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said with an amiable smile.
Fiddling with her skirt, she considered pretending to faint because he would carry her to the infirmary and away from Patrick and Keith, but instead, she rambled, and that was never good.
“Last night was chilly, and I forgot my jacket at home,” she said.Shut up, Stassi. Just walk away.“Luna let me borrow her jacket because she said it was hot. How can anyone be hot in this place? It’s freezing.” Why didn’t she just say she was looking for another maid? She wanted to weep, but she was too far in now, and he was watching her with suspicion. Or maybe it was amusement.
Seraphim, please let it be amusement.
“Well,” she laughed nervously, wondering where in the hell she was going with this story. “I was cleaning the king’s office, and it was hot in there, so I took the jacket off and forgot to grab it before I left.”
No. No. No. No. No. No.Why did she say that? He was going to take her exactly where Patrick and Keith told her not to go. She was never lying again. It never resulted in anything positive.
She held her breath, and when Tag laughed, she tried to release it without being obvious. “You are something else,” he said, still laughing. “You can run in and get it. The king isn’t here.”
“Thank you,” she said, marching to her death. Keith and Patrick must have hidden when Tag appeared. She glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see them.
They saw where she was going to turn, meaning they could find the office and didn’t need her help anymore. She would pretend to look for the jacket, say she must have forgotten it somewhere else, and leave without incident.
She hoped.
Dume headedfor the stairs to search the second floor of the east wing after having no luck on the main floor. He poked his head into every room he passed but found nothing except a few maids cleaning empty rooms.
He grabbed the knob of the last door in the hallway but remembered it was the head guard’s office. Before he could run up the stairs, the door swung open, and a youngAatxeguard stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her.
She caught sight of Dume walking away and called out to him. “I’m sorry, sir, but I need you to stop and show me your badge or pass. No civilians are allowed within The Capital without one.”
Dammit. He pivoted on his heel with a flirtatious smile. “Hey. I don’t recognize you. Have you worked at the palace long?” Women hit on him often, and while he never gave much thought to his looks, he hoped they got him out of the deep shit he’d stepped in.
The guard tossed her red braid over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. “Show me your badge or pass.”
He was screwed.
Holding up a finger, he reached into his back pocket, feigned confusion, and checked his other ones. He pulled out his wallet and pretended to search through it. “I must have dropped it,” he lied. “I’ll run back to the gates and have them print a new one.”
Before he could leave, she grabbed hold of his elbow. “I don’t think so.” People usually believedAatxebecause they’re known fortheir honesty. Unfortunately, they’re also loyal and thorough employees. “I will take your mystic card and call the gates myself, but until then, you’re going into a holding cell.”
Lauren told them to incapacitate the guards, but he couldn’t bring himself to hurt an innocent. Once in the cell, he would request to speak to Adila. If what Rory told him about the Scales of Justice was true, she was on their side. Maybe she’d even help him look.
When they stepped into the palace courtyard and turned toward the judgment chambers, Adila herself and another woman were walking in their direction.
Dume looked at the guard holding his arm. “I need to see the Scales of Justice.”
She pushed him faster. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I can’t let you near her.”
Fine. “Adila!” he yelled, making theRoyalturn, and the guard dragged him along faster. He was bigger than her, but allAatxewere strong, no matter their gender. “I’m friends with Sam and Lauren,” he shouted over his shoulder. “It’s important that I speak to you.”
“Please, stop and let him speak,” Adila said to the guard holding him, who looked at Dume curiously.
She steered him over to theRoyaland her companion. “You have a message for me from the commander?” Adila inquired regally.
Dume’s eyes slid from the guard to the other woman standing beside Adila. “It’s best we speak privately,” he said carefully. “It concerns a newly released inmate.”
Adila’s lips tightened, and she nodded. “Heather,” she addressed her friend before turning to the guard. “Jenessa. Please, excuse us.”
Heather looked at Dume with narrowed eyes but nodded and walked to the palace with Jenessa.
“Follow me,” Adila said and hurried into a back door of the judgment chambers. Once inside, she took him through a series of doors before they stepped into a dark hallway underground, lined with old, rusted cells, and pulled out her phone to use as a flashlight. Dume did the same.
