“Do you hear that? Justice.” Grim crosses his arms, tilting his head to the side as they all watch the dogs tear into his tissue and muscle, shredding him in a furious mist of crimson.
After the hounds finish their meal, Slode examines the remains. “Barely left any bones.”
Sigvid watches the hounds scamper off to the woods.
After releasing the crates of screeching cats, the group reconvenes to sneak into the castle.
“Avina said she has a secret escape stairwell leading to her chambers, which should allow us to get close toSamson.”
Slode halts them. “Can we take a moment to appreciate the irony of what we are about to do?”
Sigvid and Grim both turn around.
“Sig,” Slode continues with a bitter chuckle, “you and I spent every evening planning to breach the gates and storm Scarwood City. I am sure you had no less than twenty ideas for Avina once we captured her. Yet, now, we are using her secret stairway to sneak inside her castle, retrieve her pet, and apprehend the man trying to kill her.”
Sigvid sighs, massaging his temples. “Trust me, the irony is not lost.”
“At least you recognize that.” Slode claps his back. “Alright, we can go now.”
They slide under the forest's darkness until the city walls connect with the side of the castle. Sigvid finds the hidden door and enters an abandoned servant's quarters.
Slode’s words reverberate in his mind as he concedes how easily they could have taken the citadel.
How annoyingly real his fantasy could have been of binding her helpless while he ravaged all of her holes.
For denying me my fictitious vengeance on her throne, I will bind that woman in every room of Blackwood and fuck her until the only name she knows is mine.
It becomes clear that the intention of this secret passage was not to enter the castle but to escape it.
Following Avina’s carefully detailed instructions, they wind through the cobweb-infested steps, dodging the occasional rat. Eventually, they reach a pale white door that leads them to the back of a closet.
“Samson took up residence in the King’s quarters beneath us.” Sigvid breathes to Grim and Slode.
Considering her current state in Blackwood, no one should be inside the Queen’s Chambers. Regardless, the trio remains silent lest Samson set a trap.
“She suspects he will take his morning meal alone in his study. We will grab and bind him swiftly. Then, take him straight to the horses. I will meet you with the cat.” Sigvid puts one finger to his lips and then gently opens the back of thecloset.
Her tantalizing scent immediately accosts him. Awful flowing Timber gowns in bright colors nearly trip them on their way to creak open the closet door.
He makes a mental note to commission her a dozen Salt-style dresses when he returns to Toftlund.
Confidently, he strides into her bed chambers with far more intention than he should have. He expected a dark staleness in the air from her absence. He was definitely not expecting a lit candle and a woman sitting on the edge of the bed in a salmon-colored nightgown.
Her groggy eyes, weighted from sleep, squint at the trio of Salt warriors now invading her room.
Slode has a hand covering her mouth and the other squeezing her throat before anyone else can react. He applies just enough pressure until her eyes droop, and she slumps back onto the bed.
“Did Avina lead us into a trap?” Slode uncharacteristically snarls. “Keep your enemies properly cuffed, Sigvid.”
“What are you insinuating?”
“Fellas,” Grim interjects, keeping his baritone voice smooth, “not the time.”
Slode nods his head, but Sigvid does not relent.
“No, speak what you mean!” Sigvid hisses, fighting to keep his voice to a whisper.
“You kidnapped a Queen and locked her in your version of a castle. Considering everything we went through with the war, it was only a matter of time before her Ridge smarts bled through, and she sabotaged you.” For once, Sigvid wants Slode to rant at him. Yet, in his typical style, he is calm and respectable.
