“No time.” I shake my head and dodge past him, snatching up my valise and, after a moment’s hesitation, the scarlet cloak. While Elianna packs her leather satchels, I carefully fit the case of poisons into the valise, self-consciously pull the cloak over my shoulders, and pull on my new boots.
Four minutes later, arms filled with our gear, we’re racing down the halls to the dungeon, where Kaelen says we’ll find a passageway to escape the castle. Already, though, we can hear the triumphant yells ofPallanhold’s soldiers that let us know they’re defeating the intruders.
I breathe out a sigh of relief. I don’t want anything to happen to Kaelen’s sister, or to Neville or Bern or Maisie … not to anyone I’ve met in the castle.
Well. Maybe Flack. Or the king.
The small party that waits for us in the dungeon bristles with weapons. Sergeant Neville and two other guards, dressed in nondescript traveling clothes now instead of their fancy uniforms, each hold a naked sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. The Sylvan, still all in black, carries a bow, while a quiver of steel-tipped arrows rises over one shoulder. The pale-haired desert woman from the throne room is here, too. She wears daggers strapped to every limb, more in a belt around her waist, and carries one in each hand.
When she sees me noticing, she grins at me. “Exciting days ahead, riverlander.”
“I’ve had enough excitement to last me a lifetime,” I mutter, but it only makes her laugh.
Bern races into the room, still pulling on his jacket. “You sent for me, Sergeant Neville?”
“Yes, lad,” the sergeant says gruffly. “You’re coming with us. Nothing is better for coping with loss than hard work. And we’ve got a very hard journey ahead.”
Bern clamps his mouth shut and closes his eyes for an instant, then salutes Sergeant Neville. “Yes, sir.”
When he walks farther into the room, I catch sight of Trick, standing a few paces down a corridor with his back to the bars of a cell. He’s not holding or wearing any weapons that I can see, and he’s hunched over, as if his ribs hurt. No surprise, given the way the guards treated him.
Despite everything we’re facing, I’m filled with a wave of relief and joy at seeing him alive. No matter what the servant reported, I didn’t fully believe the king would let him live.
Pallan doesn’t seem the type for pity.
I rush over, arms out to hug him, but he recoils and backs away from me.
“Trick?” I stumble to a stop and wrap my arms around myself,suddenly so very cold.
He holds his hands up, palms facing me, and shakes his head. His dark-brown eyes widen in his lean face. “No, Soli. I’m sorry, but don’t come any closer with that goddess-cursed amulet around your neck.”
“But it’s safe now. The sorcerer warded it, so it’s contained.” I pull the locket out to show him.
He flinches away, his tawny hair shielding his eyes from me. He ducks his head to whisper, “We’ll get out of this. We’ll get that amulet off you and escape. Just trust me.”
“Soli,” Kaelen says, a harsh note of something I don’t understand in his voice. But when I turn to face him, his glare is aimed at Trick, not me. “We need to move.”
Already, the soldiers are pulling a wooden table away from the wall and pushing on one section of the stone. With a loud groaning sound, a panel slides open to reveal a dark space.
“A secret tunnel,” I murmur, caught between anxiety and a glimmer of childlike anticipation. So many of the tales I’ve read feature secret tunnels, lost princesses, and hoarded treasure. None ever centered on a library servant with Gray Mind, though.
Maybe one will, after this adventure.
Two of the guards flank Trick, who flinches at the sight of the dark tunnel but moves forward. Kaelen takes my arm, breaking me out of my ridiculous thoughts. I glance up at him and tighten my grip on my leather valise.
“Now?”
“Now,” he says grimly. We follow Neville, Bern, the Sylvan, the unknown woman, and Elianna into the tunnel, with Trick and the remaining two soldiers bringing up the rear. The dark space has rough-hewn walls of dirt and stone, and it smells dank and musty. Cobwebs hang down all around us. The ground beneath us is broken rock and mud from the rivulets of water trickling down the walls.
We move quickly after Neville and Bern and their torches. Elianna stumbles once and bites off a sharp word. Then a shimmering ball of light appears in the space over her head and illuminates the way more brightly than the torches. I catch my breath, startled by this casualdisplay of her magic, despite all I’ve seen.
Beside me, Kaelen’s teeth gleam in a quick grin. “Think of it as a party trick, and it’s less unsettling.”
“What’s happening? I mean, I know we’re being attacked, but how? How did they get in? Is it just coincidence that they’re attacking now, when we’re about to leave with the amulet? What—”
“The enemy has almost certainly been watching Pallanhold for any signs of the amulet for years,” Kaelen says, his smile fading. “If we’re lucky, they haven’t infiltrated high enough into the ranks that they know about you. Now, we should prepare for what we may face outside. Neville!”
The sergeant glances back over his shoulder at the command in the prince’s tone. “Prince?”
