“Put these on,” I said, shoving the servant’s clothes at her.
She complied and we left the dungeon, Desmond returning the key ring to the soldier’s belt before we clambered back up the stairs.Desmond’s movements were stiff, his eyes alert as he glanced both ways before entering the hall.
Footsteps approached from behind us, and panic surged within me.
I signaled to a window fixed within an alcove and Nadiyah nearly dove out without looking.Desmond followed after.Once his fingers cleared the ledge I lifted my leg to swing over it and climb down.
“Analleia.”
I froze.
No.
Goose bumps traveled up my arm, but I waited until I saw both Desmond and Nadiyah reach the ground before I turned with a faint smile on my face.
“Your Highness, how are you this evening?”
“You’re quite far from the party,” Valeris said.
I leaned against the window frame, trying to hide my trembling fingers in the shadows.“I felt unwell and came up here for some fresh air.”
“I would think the front courtyard is closer.”
Burning bridges.
As if the man thought at all.
“Perhaps,” I said.“But stuffy with people.I prefer quieter places.”
“I see.”He stepped closer, maneuvering around me to look out the window.
My chest tightened, the hair rising on the back of my neck.
Please let them be gone.
He cocked an eyebrow as he took in my attire.“Interesting wardrobe choice.”
I pursed my lips.“I’ve never been one to follow tradition.”
“You know,” he began, “I was thinking—”
There he went with the thinking again.
“—do you not find it strange the server happened to crash into you—who then crashed into my uncle—at almost the exact moment he realized someone had spiked his drink?”
I swallowed, refusing to meet his gaze.A knot twisted in the pit of my stomach.
He knew.
I didn’t know how, but he knew.
“His drink was spiked?”My voice pitched a bit higher.
Valeris watched me.“Yes, I guess you didn’t hear.Someone spiked his drink—which was so unceremoniously spilled all over the floor before he could confirm its contents.”
“How could he tell?”I risked asking.
I needed answers about his uncle.
