“Ryolas?” he hissed, poking his head around the wall. “Basilla?”
The siblings stopped in their tracks, eyes wide. “We were just about to come and find you!” Basilla said in a hushed voice. Eerily, she was dressed in a maid’s outfit, and Ryolas also wore a guard’s uniform. “Arolas sent one of the guards into Ryolas’s room, and he was nearlyassassinated!”
“It’s a damn good thing I took your advice and had one of the dogs sleep with me,” Ryolas growled. “He would have slit my throat if the barking hadn’t woken me up. Bastard killed the dog before I could get to him.” He shook his head in disgust. “If Arolas can manipulate our guards and servants even from behind bars, I am not safe here, and neither are you. We must leave,tonight.”
“And you?” Alistair demanded of Basilla. “Are you really willing to leave your home andfamily?”
“Until I am certain Arolas is no longer a threat, yes,” Basilla said firmly. “Come quickly now—we cannot afford to loiter. There is a secret passage that was built so our family could escape if ever there was an invasion. If we get to it now, we can slip out before any alarm issounded.”
29
Lucyan stared at the ceiling,wide awake as he listened to the tinkerer snore in the bed next to his. He would have given almost anything to have a room of his own, but unfortunately the inn was almost completely booked up—they’d only managed to get this room because of the tinkerer’spopularity.
Of course, he probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep even if he had quarters of his own. Lucyan had been plagued with anxiety since the moment he’d left Castle Whitestone. Alistair was doing much better now that he’d had time to heal, but how long until he succumbed to the anti-dragon spell again, even with Dareena by his side to draw strength from? If the two of them didn’t find a way out of the castle before Alistair fell ill again, Lucyan would have to resort to drastic measures that could very well get them all killed. Horrific scenarios played out in his mind of all the things that could go wrong, nearly driving him mad withfear.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered, throwing off the covers. What was the point in lying abed if he couldn’t sleep? Careful not to wake the tinkerer—although how the man could hear anything above his own racket, Lucyan did not know—Lucyan pulled on his clothes, then slipped downstairs to the pub. It was close to two in the morning, and there weren’t nearly as many people seated at the bar and tables as there had been when Lucyan had returned. He found a table easily enough, then signaled a waitress for a mug of ale and a plate ofchicken.
As he started on his third ale, two royal guards strolled in, a pair of beautiful women on their arms. Lucyan nearly choked on his brew—the woman closest to him had her hair hidden under a cap, but he would recognize those emerald eyes anywhere. And the man whose arm she wason…
“Hello,” Alistair said, grinning at him from beneath his cap. He’d angled it carefully to shield his amber eyes. “Are you Ramsey, the tinkerer’s apprentice? We were told to seek you out if we wanted to have a good time in thistown.”
“You dog!” Lucyan cried, jumping up from the table. He embraced Alistair as if he were a long-lost friend—and indeed, he was much more than that. He ached to hug Dareena as well, but that would have been wildly inappropriate, so he kept his hands to himself. “It’s been far too long. Come, have a drink, and introduce me to yourfriends!”
They did so, and the waitress brought more drinks for the rest of them. “How did you get out?” Lucyan whispered as the four of them leaned in close. “And what are you two doing here?” he demanded of Ryolas andBasilla.
“Helping you escape,” Basilla said coolly, “and coming along for theride.”
Lucyan scowled. “Why would you want to come with us? Your place is at CastleWhitestone.”
“Please, Lucyan.” Dareena squeezed his hand beneath the table, sending a current of warmth up his arm. “Arolas tried to have Ryolas killed tonight. He and Basilla are not safe here. Didn’t you promise Tariana you would rescue him if youcould?”
“I did,” Lucyan said grudgingly, eyeing the elven prince. There was no reason not to trust him, Lucyan decided. “But I did not bring enough horses for all ofus.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem if you can shift,” Ryolas said. “We’ll double up on the horses for now, and once we’re out of sight, you can take dragon form and carryDareena.”
“We don’t have much time to debate this,” Alistair reminded him. “Every hour I remain in these lands weakens me. And we only have until morning before the guards discover we’remissing.”
“You make a good point.” Lucyan drained his glass. “I’m going to leave a note with my traveling companion to tell him I’m taking off,” he said, standing up. “Meet me in the stables—I’ll be down in ajiff.”
Agreed, the four of them parted ways. Lucyan hurried up the stairs and packed his scant belongings, then left a note by the tinkerer’s bedside table informing him that he had “collected the package and was returning home.” Ambiguous enough that someone else would not suspect the truth without leaving any doubt in the tinkerer’s mind as to what he meant. For a moment, Lucyan felt a pang of regret that he could not say farewell face-to-face, but he shook it off; the tinkerer would come to Dragonfell in the near future, and Lucyan would be able to thank himthen.
By the time he got to the stables, the horses Lucyan had purchased were saddled and ready to go. “It was easy enough to pick which ones were yours,” Alistair said while Lucyan fastened his bag to the saddle. “They all have your scent onthem.”
Lucyan smirked. “What can I say? I’m a cuddler.” He ignored Alistair’s rolling eyes as he tossed a shirt at him, and another one at Ryolas. “Put these on,” he ordered. “The last thing we need is for the guards to think you two aredeserters.”
The two men did as he said, hiding their uniform shirts beneath piles of hay. Ryolas helped his sister mount their horse while Lucyan assisted Alistair—he could tell that his brother wasn’t thrilled about his help from the way his jaw was clenched, but he was still getting used to maneuvering with only onehand.
With any luck, he wouldn’thaveto get used to it for muchlonger.
“Would that I could cuddle with you,” Lucyan said, circling Dareena’s waist with his hands, “but I think you’d be better served helping my brother with thereins.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to cuddle once we’re out of danger,” Dareena said, leaning up to kiss him. Lucyan held her a little tighter as their lips met, and even though they’d slept together last night, it felt like an eon ago. Under different circumstances, he would be carrying her to the back of the stables for a roll in the hay,but…
“I’m not an invalid, you know,” Alistair grumbled, breaking the spell. “I can manage the reins with onehand.”
“No one is calling your masculinity into question,” Dareena said gently as Lucyan helped her up. She settled between Alistair’s legs and patted his thigh. “I’d simply feel better if I stayed close to you fornow.”
Lucyan hid a smirk as he mounted his own horse—the annoyance had melted from Alistair’s features the moment Dareena had touched him. None of them could withstand her charms. “Are you ready?” he asked the elvensiblings.
