She nodded as her face turned pale.
Nothing was making sense to him. “Then this woman cannot be your mother, because I heard this same voice early this morning, and yesterday.”
Tears streaked down Clarissa’s cheeks. “I can’t explain it, but that’s my mother’s voice.”
Ryder gritted his teeth as anger shot through him. What kind of trickery was this? He’d find the culprit and make them pay severely for harming the queen!
He dropped the baskets he’d been holding and slowly walked around the stone wall, listening for any more sounds. In several different places on the wall, he pushed with his hands and his legs, but the wall didn’t budge. There must be some kind of hidden room. Why else would he hear her voice and not see her?
“There’s nothing in here,” he muttered. “Perhaps the secret entrance is outside.”
The items Clarissa had been holding dropped to the floor beside the baskets, and she rushed out of the door. He followed, hoping they’d be able to find something. Ryder needed to settle the turbulence washing through his mind, and he was certain Clarissa was just as frazzled.
“You go that way, and I’ll go this way,” she said, pointing down the path before taking careful steps in that direction.
The dark clouds in the sky blocked the sun, which created more shadows, making it difficult to search for a secret door. But he pressed the palms of his hands everywhere, and even used his feet to try to locate a loose rock that might lead to an entryway. The more he moved along the tower, the more he seethed with anger. If the queen was somewhere in here being held a prisoner, was her captivity somehow linked with the spell placed on Clarissa? And who was the queen at the castle? Ryder was struggling to put the pieces together. How did everything connect?
“I found something!”
Clarissa’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He hurried around the tower until he located her. She stood transfixed, pointing to some bushes.
“Look here,” she said. “The ground looks freshly dug.”
He studied the ground. Most of the surrounding area had leaves and weeds littering the ground, but there was a six-foot section with no foliage—only an odd looking bush. He glanced at her and arched an eyebrow.Very impressive!
“Indeed, it does, my darling Rissa.” He bent and moved the bushes, only to find that the whole bunch of them were not rooted to the ground. He quickly tossed them aside. Close to the ground, there was a door.
“I was right!” Clarissa squealed with excitement and grasped his elbow.
“You were. Now, before we open this, do you still have my sword?”
She nodded. “I sheathed it on your horse.”
He blinked, not hearing her correctly. “My horse is here?”
“Yes. I couldn’t very well take it back to the palace with me and have the other guards asking questions, now could I?”
“No, I suppose not.” He motioned his head toward the door. “Before we enter, I think we should have some weapon to protect us.”
“Good thinking. I’ll go fetch it.”
She ran away from him. He knelt on one knee and examined the awkward door. It appeared the person had knocked the stones away and replaced them with a wooden door, but the workmanship wasn’t very precise. There was no door knob; however, attached to the piece of wood, the rope served as a handle, and there were many holes between the wall and the door.
He leaned closer, listening for any sounds from within. After only a few moments, he detected whimpering. His heart broke. If this was the queen, there would be hell to pay for the person responsible. He’d see to it personally!
Grunts and groans from behind him made him turn. Clarissa struggled with his sword as she hurried toward him.
“I swear, I shall never know how men can fight with these things when they are so heavy.”
Although it wasn’t a humorous moment, he couldn’t stop the grin from tugging at his mouth. “My darling, most men are taught to handle swords from the time they are young.” He took his weapon and turned back toward the door. “Stay behind me.”
He first tugged on the rope handle, but that didn’t seem to do anything. He’d have to kick in the door, and if that didn’t work, he’d cut it to shreds with his sword. Nothing would stop him from rescuing the queen!
Ryder stepped back and kicked with all of his might. Still, the door didn’t move. Growling, he raised his sword, preparing to cut the door to pieces.
“Wait!”
Clarissa’s voice stopped him. She pointed to an oddly shaped rock that poked out of the stone wall farther than the others. Cautiously, she stepped in front of him and pushed the palm of her hand against the rock. A loud grinding noise came from within the walls, and as unbelievable as it seemed, the door actually swung open!
